Garganey, West Bexington, Dorset - 24 Mar 17

I popped over to West Bexington late morning following the report from Mike M. @Bexbirder that a drake Garganey had been seen on the Mere. After 5 minutes walking westwards from the car park I had a decent view of the mere and quickly found the bird on the north shore. Always distant, I managed a few record shots of this beautiful spring migrant drake Garganey. About the size of a Teal, Garganey are relatively small ducks which appear in small numbers regularly at this time of the year. I didn't manage to get a shot of the bird with Teal but the first photo shows its comparative size with the much larger Shoveler in the foreground:

Garganey: a very handsome scarce spring migrant ... 

 ... showing unmistakable crescent above each eye and drooped back feathers.