Wednesday 1 June - Mergansers

The forecast was cloudy today so we decided to stay in town.  It wasn't cold but there was a wind. We first went to the Dingle to check on the family of ten ducklings we saw the day before yesterday. There was no sign of them but the rhododendrons made a spectacular display.

Further up the river towards the Welsh bridge we saw a family of mergansers sitting on a partly submerged branch of a tree.

After a sandwich at the Coach and Horses we walked out along the river to the English Bridge. Another merganser was teaching her brood to fish by putting her head under water to look for fishes.  At one point all five were swimming along with their heads under water.

The mother swam off but three young managed to scrsamble on to her back with the other two paddling furiously to keep up.