A rare bird

original 6000x4000 scaled down to 1000x667 pixels
15 Mar 2022

detail 150x90 pixels from original 6000x4000 image above
 (enhanced with GIMP)

First I noticed a white bird far away on a small lake. I made some photographs with a telephoto lens. However, from that distance it is impossible to get a good image. Whatever, it was a kind of duck. A white duck is rare. In general, white birds are rare. A swan, a spoonbill and a snowy owl are good examples. Because a white duck is rare and remarkable, I remembered the name from my Lars Jonsson bird guide. But I never have seen it in real life. It is a smew, in Dutch: Nonnetje. The smew (Mergellus albellus) is a species of duck. Suddenly, the bird flew away. In this case, I was lucky. It flew into my direction!

white bird with a black spot around the eye...

English: Smew (male) Dutch: Nonnetje (cropped)
and the wings are black!

A good opportunity for some better pictures. I am happy with the pictures. It was good enough for ObsIdentify (image recognition software) to identify the species with 100% certainty. 

These birds visit our country only in winter. They don't breed in the Netherlands.

Technical details

Camera: Sony A6400. Lens: 70-350mm. Handheld. t=1/4000 sec. 

Location: google maps Polder Nieuw-Loosdrecht.

Wikipedia: Smew; Nonnetje. Waarneming.nl

tags:  English, fotografie, vogels,