Michael Hancock writes:

In the middle of March, looking out of the window of The Watershed, the MA SDA’s base in a renovated building on the south bank of the the Wye, I noticed that there were no Goosanders (Mergus merganser merganser) bobbing in the current down river of the old Wye bridge. The Goosanders had been present almost all winter. The flock started fairly large, shrank to a single pair in December, and then built to a flock of 20+ birds, containing many male birds, in February.

At the beginning of November I had been delighted to see a single pair of Goosanders land on the river. At the time I thought little of this, except they were uncommon birds to see this far inland.

The following day there were three pairs of the birds and an odd youngster. For a couple of days they hung around fishing in the water streaming under the old Wye bridge. Then, 3 days later, only two females remained. Unused to the bird life of Herefordshire I thought this must be a rare visit. I had thought of this duck as being a bird of estuaries not of inland rivers.

A trip to the library on Broad Street proved me wrong. Bird records from 1888, 1954, 1988 and 2007 indicated the bird is a regular winter migrant in the county between December and March/April. Not in great numbers, mainly females and young birds, males being rare. There were no records for Hereford itself. This winter it seems they were early and more males were present.

Why? Had they been driven further up the rivers searching for fish? Or by the unseasonable cold-snap of the previous ten days in October? Why were more males, than previously, observed? Were any of these factors important?

It is tempting to dismiss these questions, but a moment of reflection might prompt a deeper examination of the sightings. Here in the centre of Hereford, a river runs through a beautiful park landscape. The park itself provides opportunities for many living creatures to live their lives, moderates our climate, provides opportunities for people to run, walk, exercise their dogs -and themselves, and reflect on their lives in general. An important space that increases the biodiversity of the area; that is the richness of the inner city environment. The importance for us is almost immeasurable. Here then were ducks, unusual in place and time, a facet of that biodiversity, whose pattern of behavior seems to have changed. Should we take note of this small change so close to home?

Although a park is like an island in the midst of the town, it is also part of the greater urban sprawl. All the organisms, including all humans, trees and worms, that live here are interconnected. If one part of the complex changes, all other parts are affected - there must be an accommodation of that change by all the elements of the environment. If something goes so far as to die out - become extinct - everything is diminished and changed forever.

For instance, if fish become less plentiful in the Wye estuary, all Goosanders may then be driven further inland, up the Wye, in search of food, flocks of females and youngsters augmented by unnatural numbers of adult males put fish stocks under greater strain earlier in the season, the stocks plummet, young Goosander numbers are seen to be less for one reason or another (to do with more limited food?), and all the remaining birds move further up stream, ever earlier, seeking more of an ever diminishing food supply.

So the landing of a unseasonable duck on a river in the middle of a city is indicative of much more than a pleasant view of an unusual, beautiful bird. It is indicative of an entire system under strain - the river, the park, Hereford and our lives.

On a happier note, however, it seems that although the pattern was abnormal in the beginning of the winter, normalcy was reasserted by spring. The Goosanders left at their usual time. We can still wonder, however, why the ducks came early and why so many unaccustomed male birds graced the water throughout the winter.