Goldeneye revisits Wanstead

So when was the last time? Well the last time I saw a Goldeneye around here was  was in November 1977 when a female turned up on Alexandra Lake on 20th and stayed until 24th December.

There have been a few records since: one on the Perch Pond on 9th January 1982, a duck on the Hollow Pond on 17th November and another duck on Eagle Pond on 9th January, both in 1985, but it was that one in 1977 that prompted me to write a little 'poem' about the occurence which is available here, if you can stand it. You'll see that it is based on a rather better-known one by J. Milton Hayes, and I had to use a bit of poetic license to place it away from Kathmandu and nearer to Manor Park - "to the north of E12", get it?

Anyway, suffice it to say that Goldeneyes are not that frequent in these parts, so when I got a report from Jonathan Lethbridge that Stuart Fisher had spotted one on Heronry Pond after a wild night, even I was tempted to go out on an almost equally wild day. In fact, so wild was it that I waited a few hours for a break in the rain before attempting a 'twitch' - and failed to see it.  That was on 14th November. The following day - which happened to be the 15th - was much nicer, so I went for what turned out to be a lovely stroll, saw Stuart, saw the duck, photographed it, and returned home happy.

And here is the picture...

Female Goldeneye on Heronry Pond - 15th November 2009

Paul Ferris, 15th November 2009