A Smew at Brockholes Wetlands but in vile weather

February 6, 2011;
Since the autumn there have been intermittent reports of Smew, both male and female/juvenile, being sighted on the Ribble in the vicinity of the Reserve or roosting on a nearby reservoir. Just before the end of the year a bird spent several days on the icy river below the M6 bridge (see earlier posting for December 29) whilst during this past week up to three birds (including one drake) were seen on the river above the weir. They would therefore seem to be wintering in the area but are very elusive and probably under-recorded since upstream from the reserve the river has virtually no public access over a 7-kilometre stretch.

In today's appalling weather (wet, dark, and with near gale-force winds) a female/juvenile Smew was on No.1 pool, consorting with at least ten Pochard and a similar number of Goldeneye. Watched for a while before being defeated by the weather, it could be seen preening and occasionally diving whilst riding out the semi-gale.






[Preening, two photos above]

A few very indifferent photos (above) were taken at long range in very poor light and through a constantly vibrating scope. Under the circumstances it was fortunate that any recognisable images were obtained.

A failure averted: two drake Smew at Talkin Tarn, Cumbria

January 5, 2011:
Reports over the last two days of a drake Smew having been seen at Talkin Tarn caused a slight dilemma. Would a round-trip of 200 miles to north Cumbria be justified on the off-chance that the bird would still be there? This locality is rather under-recorded on national birding websites and birders themselves are relatively thin on the ground here so up-to-date information wasn't readily available. However, as the big freeze was abating and the bird likely to be soon gone, it was decided to take a chance and pay a visit.

On arrival things looked distinctly unpromising, no birders present and no sign of the bird either. It's quite a large tarn and, in the biting wind, took a lot of scanning with the scope but other than a nice flock of Goosander there were only the commoner wildfowl and gulls to be seen.

After two hours without success it was time to head back home. Just when leaving Mike arrived so I gave him the bad news and asked him to phone me if he did locate the Smew. Needless to say, when ten miles down the road home, the message came through that two birds had just flown in! So it was back again to the lake to find them swimming conveniently close to the north shore. By now it was almost 3.30 pm and with rapidly fading light and a heavy shower pending, photography was very difficult.




Smew nest in the holes in tree trunks in the taiga forest zone of northern Europe and Asia. Some overwinter along the coasts of the Baltic Sea and northern Germany and Holland and small numbers also sometimes reach Britain, especially in hard weather. This site at Talkin has several previous records for the bird and appears to be especially favoured.




In the late afternoon the two Smew consorted with 20+ much larger Goosanders (also saw-billed ducks) on a small area of unfrozen water where they spent much time diving along the edge of the ice in the impending gloom. They were exceptionally handsome birds and always kept close to each other. On one occasion one climbed out onto the ice to preen whilst the other was briefly put to flight when a Black-headed Gull attacked it. It's quite probable that both of the Smew were commuting between here and nearby Tindale Tarn which would account for their absence earlier in the day.




[Above, some of the 20+ Goosander photographed in better light before the Smew flew in]

So a day which seemed likely to register as blank, finished on a really high note after all.

Smew on the Ribble near the M6 bridge

December 29, 2010:
Much of yesterday's daylight was taken up attempting to locate the female Smew reported earlier on the Ribble near Brockholes Wetlands. It proved to be a very elusive bird and readily flushed but was eventually found late in the afternoon near the north bank of the river just downstream from the bridge. Failing light and heavy drizzle meant that any attempt at photography was hopeless. However, returning this morning in better conditions and light, the bird was still in the same place, diving and feeding around and amongst a huge mass of blocks of floating river ice.




Soon afterwards it climbed onto one of the ice floes to rest and preen. Although the light was still poor, its reddish head and faint crest could be seen.







It was accompanied for part of the time by a juvenile Goldeneye, although the latter usually kept some distance from the ice.



Eventually the Smew crossed to the south side of the river where it continued to dive. Presumably there was another good food source there. On the whole though, it favoured the ice-choked part of the river when diving.



Several other Goldeneye and Goosander were on the river which at times was partly covered by floating ice. Being a sub-Arctic bird, presumably the Smew felt quite at home here.



[The ice-choked part of the river favoured by the Smew. It can be seen (very small dark object) on the edge of the ice in the centre of the photo]