January 2012
Wildlife enthusiasts visiting East Lake at Chard Junction nature reserve in Dorset have been given a rare treat - the chance to see two ring-necked ducks.
The drakes landed on the reserve, next to our sand a gravel quarry at Chard Junction, in mid January and have proved a popular attraction. The reserve itself is a restored part of the quarry site.
The ring-necked duck is a very scarce visitor to Britain from its native North America, with only a handful of sites across the whole of Britain recording sighting so far in 2012.
Bird photographer and blogger Michael Southcott captured some great pictures of the drakes and posted them on his blog, they are well worth a look. The picture at the top of this page is credited to Michael.
Jeff Hazell, whose interest specialises in the wildlife of Somerset, sent us the picture below which shows the drakes on 27 January. You can see more of Jeff’s work on his website.
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