Thorpeness Meare

On Sunday 10th December, always a nice place to visit, with the House in the Clouds dominating the western skyline and ornate brick architecture as you drive in from the north. I parked up and walked over to the Meare and scanning at the back, I instantly saw the fine male Ring- necked Duck. Way at the back in front of an island. I thought I would get a better view from the GC Car park, so I walked down the road to the Golf Club but couldn't see it from the car park. Walking back through one of the gaps in the houses, I could see a fine female Goosander resting on the island. I walked back to my original spot, momentarily pausing to see a fine yellow billed winter- plumaged Great White Egret feeding around the reed filled margins of an island again viewed in gap between the houses. Finally back at my original viewing spot I was perplexed as the area where I had seen the male Ring- necked Duck (obvious black back and head greyish flanks and whiter area buffer area between the flanks and the breast and the pale blue bill with obvious white black band near the tip and slightly knobbly topped head). I saw an obvious male Tufted Duck but the Ring- neck nowhere to be seen. I was beginning to doubt if I had seen a mirage earlier. But i was joyfully distracted from these doubts by a fine male Goosander swimming left followed by 4 redhead Goosanders, so 5 Goosanders in total, nice! I shouldn't have doubted myself as I saw Adam R and he said the RND had swam back into the reeds bordering the island and just part of its flanks were just about visible. It did indeed later swim out. I then spend time watching the bird that consorted with 3 Mallards (2 males & 1 female) swim over to the reed fringes on the south side of the Meare before swimming back to its original spot, some very long range shots taken, I was hoping for much closer shots but it was not to be. 3 redhead Goosanders surprised me by swimming past and right at mid distance at terrific speed so again I missed the shot. I had seen some Ipswich birder (I'd actually thought they were from Colchester Essex) who told me about Bewick's Swans just east of half way house, I parked near Sizewell Hall and walked west (the route to the resvoir where the RND had been seen a year or so ago), saw a flying Great- spotted Woodpecker, but little else as it started raining and I got slightly lost ending up on the road to Sizewell before Halfway House and I had to walk a full 1.5 miles back to the car in the pouring rain without a raincoat which wasn't my best choice of clothing apparel.