We weren’t looking for wildlife today – we went on a Bear Hunt! Southport Business Improvement District (BID) have commissioned ten fibreglass bear models, asked artists to decorate them, and scattered them around the town. They are mainly aimed at younger kids, so the prize is a family trip to Legoland. The aim, of course, is to attract visitors to the town and boost the struggling local businesses. It attracted us (that worked) but we didn’t spend any money at all! There are ten of them, seven close to the town centre and three further out. We only looked for the easy seven, and here is the best – “Luna and the Moon” by Marnie Maurri, outside the Prince of Wales hotel.
When we got near the Marine Lake we spotted some real wildlife – the usual Swans, Geese and Mallards but also a smart pair of Gadwall.
Hanging out on its own was this very odd duck, some sort of hybrid I think. At first glance, swimming towards us, it said “Mallard” by its shape and by its green head and yellow beak, but its light-coloured sides looked wrong. We came away convinced we had seen a hybrid of a Mallard and a Tufted Duck. Now I look at the picture, I am perplexed by the bird’s red head. It looked green in life. Is there a Pochard in the mix somewhere?
I have just looked up all three possible parents, and the Pochard and Tufted Duck are in the same genus, Aythaya, while the Mallard is more distantly related, in the genus Anas. So Pochard / Tuftie is the more likely pairing. The “Bird Hybrids” blog says Pochard / Tuftie is the commonest duck hybrid in the UK, so that is what it must be.
Public transport details: Bus 47 from Queen Square at 10.15, arriving Lord Street / Duke Street, outside Morrison’s, at 11.30. Returned on the Merseyrail train from Southport at 1.36, due into Liverpool at about 2.20.