| INFO:
| "A Coot pair set up nest amongst some of the old twigs in the water right in front of the Goosander Hide, giving nice views of this real character of a bird. I'm sure many photographers got similar shots to this, though maybe not with such mirror-calm water which doesn't always happen. Early visit to the Goosander Hide to see how many Sand Martins were around, lovely calm conditions and lovely early morning sunshine which had just cleared the top of the hide to shine fully onto the nest, and to pick out that beautiful gleaming ruby of an eye that the Coot possesses (just visible in this size of web image).
Sadly, nothing much came of this nesting attempt - apparently only two or three eggs were seen and only one chick was seen briefly, so presumably they were quickly predated (quite usual on Ibsley Water due to the proximity of numbers of the larger gulls) - the next time I saw this nest (late May) it was just a sorry-looking wet pad of vegetation amongst fewer twiggy branches, most of it having been damaged by big waves caused by strong westerly winds. Nevertheless, the pair were still there, mating and occasionally bringing nesting material, for another nesting attempt."
April 2011 (Goosander Hide)
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