December- Displaying goldeneye, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland
This was a cold and disappointing morning. Or very nearly disappointing anyway. A cool blue mist hung in the forest which under normal circumstances, would have my trigger finger poised permanently over the shutter button. But the mist on this particular morning just wasn't quite right - it was somehow not misty enough and more of a smoky shroud that was less than inspiring. And then I heard it. Too early in the year surely? No, the familiar rasping call of a male goldeneye from a nearby loch was unmistakable.
These tree-nesting ducks are now a familiar sight throughout the Cairngorms, having prospered from an extensive nestbox scheme started over 30 years ago. I grabbed a couple of frames but it wasn't until a few weeks later that I was taken by this simple graphic rendition of a much photographed species.
