March 3, 2007
Fudge, Diver and the perils of lunchtime twitching
Birding buddy Yves Massin found a great duo of Parisian rarities following a recent cold snap - a Great Northern Diver/Common Loon (Plongeon imbrin) and a Ferruginous Duck (Fuligule nyroca), both on the same small lake a stone's throw away from an RER station. Having received this information at around 11am, I decided to sneak out of work for a long lunch break....
An hour later and I was watching the birds. The diver put on a splendid show, often fishing at point blank range. I reeled off a camera battery's worth of shots in dismal light, the best of which are included below.
The Fudge Duck, a pretty male, generally kept his distance and hung around with a flock of Tufties and Pochard (Fuligules milouin et morillon).
Fully-winged!
A ray of sunshine transformed the bird from a dark blob to a handsome chestnut contrasting with the brilliant white eye.
By the time I got back to Orsay, it was pushing 3pm, so I decided not to return to the office and make up for lost work time in the evening. Unbeknownst to me, when I slipped out of work before lunch, I locked out my office mate who had left her keys, wallet and mobile phone on her desk. Having failed to reach me by my landline and email, and English mobile (which I never switch on), I finally learned of her plight late in the evening, by which time one of the technicians had broken into the office and replaced the lock! After much grovelling and box of chocolates, I think I'm just about forgiven, though my workmates are taking great delight in not letting me forget about it...
Posted by rjhall at March 3, 2007 3:04 PM