Winter 23/24
The best bird of the winter period at Blenheim was undoubtedly the drake Scaup that spent one day on the lakes on 22nd January. I'm always hopeful of something good amongst the tufted ducks. Ring-necked duck seems a reasonable bet and there has been at least one at Blenheim in the past, so I'm always careful to check the gatherings of tufted ducks dotted around the lakes during the winter. So I couldn't quite believe it when I saw a Scaup a few feet from the lake edge with a small number of tufted ducks, gadwall, coots, etc. In a Blenheim context, a true mega. I watched it on and off for most of the morning. It remained on the Queen Pool for an hour or so before moving across to the Great Lake where it was more distant. It wasn't to be found the next morning. I cannot think there will be another one any time soon so I count myself very lucky to have got this on my patch list. The dredging work last year on the Queen Pool and the removal of the thick vegetated edges see