Smew - Lunt Meadows

I had a day off work towards the end of January to recharge the batteries and get outside in some bright dry weather. I always plan my trips, and I like to do a nice circular route. I headed to Lunt Meadows for the second time in a month, as I just really like the place and it's not too busy. 

The first bird of note, was a nice Marsh Harrier hunting over the reeds, my first of the year. It soon glided out of view and I continued my walk. I was drawn to a bright white bird on the water, and my binoculars confirmed my thoughts. A male Smew!!. I had a quick panic to set up the scope , but there it was. This was not what I expected to see, but what a real bonus of a bird. Only the second male I've seen, and this one just by pure luck and chance.

Male Smew

It later went missing, but flew straight over my head when the group of Teal it was with took flight from a Peregrine.

A bird that had been here for a while was a Richardson's Cackling Goose (origin unknown). A much smaller bird than the Canada Goose, you can see how much shorter the neck is on the front bird.