Blackford Pond

I had read that two drake teal have been seen on Blackford Pond in the last few days so I popped along there today. The teal is a beautiful duck that only occasionally turns up at Blackford Pond and when it does it usually lurks under the overhanging vegetation at the back of the pond.

Today however two drake teal were swimming around the pond, seemingly trying to evade photography. My photos are all very disappointing but I've included some of them here.

This is probably the best photo I could get of either of the teals. It clearly shows the difference in size between the teal at the front and the mallard at the back.

I was really pleased to see that all six of the cygnets have made it to full size, that's quite an achievement as often young cygnets are eaten by gulls and other predators

The pond is still partly frozen and it was amusing to watch the mallards and teal skating on the ice

For a much better photo of one of these same teals, see this tweet from @MNisbet5 yesterday. You'll then see what a truly beautiful little duck it is!