Gadzooks! Methinks tis Common Scoter herewith

There, if the "Ooh it's a....." series is a bit dull sounding. Those geezers got away with the "Now That's What I Call Music" albums for long enough though, are they still in existence? In the end they shortened it to "Now", so perhaps I should've shortened by blog series of self-found surprises to "Ooh!".

As today (Easter Monday) is a complete washout, I'm glad I checked Uttoxeter Quarry yesterday. If it was a calm sunny day I don't think I would've bothered. After checking on Good Friday and Saturday there hasn't been much to shout about, apart from a few White Wagtails and a couple of Wheatears.

But with a drizzly Easter Day morning, I'd better go and check. A scan of the main gravel pit revealed a group of Coots together. "That's a good idea, I'll count the Coots". Except one of the Coots had yellow on the front rather than white. Drake Common Scoter!


It seemed to enjoy the company of Tufted Duck and Goldeneye for a while, before settling down to sleep. Also around were quarry year ticks in the form of Common Sandpiper, Willow Warbler and House Martin. In the end it was quite difficult to tear myself away!