Species Account
Extract from Bird Report 2024
Regular winter visitor in moderate numbers. (Red list).
There were no signs of breeding activity, although a lone female was at Blunham Lakes on 24th June.
Typically, the largest numbers in the first quarter were at Brogborough Lake, with peaks of 26 on 17th January and 22 on 3rd February. Elsewhere, counts at Harrold-Odell CP reached eight on 20th February, with smaller numbers at Blunham Lakes, Meadow Lane GP, Priory CP and Stewartby Lake. The last in this period was at Harrold-Odell CP on 23rd March. The first in autumn was presumably the same female mentioned earlier, at Blunham Lakes on 18th September, and after that one was at Rookery North ClP on 2nd November. At Brogborough Lake there were ten on 25th November, 30 on 23rd December and 21 on 25th December. No other site held more than two in the second half of the year. Overall, these figures were much lower than in 2023, partly due to access problems at Brogborough Lake, for a long time the best site in the county for diving ducks.
