I found this first-winter drake Scaup on the Fishing Lake at Ditchford Gravel Pits this morning. It was still present at midday. Difficult to see on the video below, surprisingly it was already showing a greenish sheen to the otherwise brown head and adult vermiculated grey scapulars were just beginning to appear.
Scaup is a scarce visitor to Northants with about half a dozen records per year, the vast majority of which relate to single birds although small flocks have occasionally occurred in the past.
Northants birds 