Pintail Duck

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I was near the Cumbrian coast yesterday and saw large numbers of this bird which is a winter visitor to coastal areas at this time of the year. The more colourful male is shown above with the long tail that gives it the name. These are dabbling ducks a little smaller than mallards. Our birds spend the summer in Iceland or Northern Scandinavia. When looking it up I discovered that in this country it is classified as a "quarry " bird and it is legal to shoot it. I can't imagine why this is as it is not that common - another of the mysteries of government legislation.

Diary.
A family of three roe deer ran across the field by the house this morning. The deer were moving at speed but I couldn't work out what spooked them. A named storm is due to make landfall here tonight with very strong winds.

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