Bird Watchers visiting Leighton Moss have been surprised to find a male Tufted Duck with a bright blue upper bill. Closer inspection revealed that it was a nasal saddle with the letters ZH.
We have traced this bird and it was ringed as an adult at Saint Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu in France. this is a large lake in western France just south of the Brest peninsular. it was marked on 15/02/06 as part of a study of this species.. Further sightings showed it is quite a wanderer. In September 07 it was still in France but by March 08 it was found in Lincolnshire and in January 09 in Bedfordshire. December 10 found it back in France not far from its marking locality then finally to Leighton Moss this month.
I've been asked wether the nasal saddle in any way affected its survival. Obviously not for this bird is at least six years old . Will be interesting to see if it stops long at Leighton Moss.
Thanks to Brian Howson for the photo
John
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