'Near Miss Ibis' ... Again!

After the excitement of last week and it's 'white-wingers', the best I could come up with this week were 'black-neckers' (somehow I don't think the latter phrase will catch on). First this rather distant Black-necked Grebe that lingered all week...

Winter plumaged Black-necked Grebe (click on the image to enlarge).

and the over-wintering Barnacle Goose that is rather worryingly getting slightly less skittish, hopefully due to it settling in with its' feral Canada Geese companions rather than possibly revealing a feral origin of its' own.

The long-staying 1st winter Scaup was joined by an adult male and the probable hybrid female took a real shine to the newcomer, having ignored the young male all winter...

Ad. male (Greater) Scaup (right) with female (hybrid?)

Various shots of the ad. male and hybrid (?) female (Greater) Scaups with Tufted Ducks and (Common) Pochards.
The obvious peak to the rear crown in the female being a constant feature.

The only other sightings of note were the female Marsh Harrier (but no sign of the male), a few Mediterranean Gulls (nowhere near last weeks numbers) and a couple of Curlews in the meadow, where as usual at this time of year, with the inevitable decline of the Eelgrass in The Fleet, there was a small influx of grazing Wigeon...

(Eurasian) Wigeon in the water meadow.

If only there had been a Glossy Ibis too! With one at nearby Radipole this week and near misses at Burton Bradstock, West Bexington, Littlesea and Lodmoor in the last few years, surely it's only a matter of time?