Today I returned to Tooting Common, hoping to get another view of the Ferruginous Duck that has been spending the winter there. This is a rare migrant especially for the London area.
Arriving at the lake, I found it was quite difficult to move around as the ground was flooded and very slippery. So I decided to just set myself in one place and hope that the duck made an appearance. After about 10 minutes I found it on the far side of the lake near the island and this time I was able to see all the features diagnostic of the species including the white undertail, which is the biggest difference between it and the many female Tufted Duck that were present. It continued to swim along the front of the island and then I lost sight of it.
Photos of the Ferruginous Duck at Tooting were taken during my visit last year when it came much closer to me.
There was a good selection of other waterbirds present including Mute Swan, Coot, Mallard and Tufted Duck plus lots of Black-headed Gulls. Also seen near the lake were 2 Dunnock, a Coal Tit and a Greenfinch.
After waiting a while for the Ferruginous Duck to reappear (which it didn’t) I made my way to the Common’s café for a coffee break before following a route back to my starting point that took in some of the more wooded areas on the common. There were lots of Robins and Great Tits signing, but the highlights were a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Redwing.
In all on the morning’s walk I recorded 27 species.
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