Teal

The Teal is a small dabbling duck. Males have chestnut coloured heads with broad green eye-patches, a spotted chest, grey flanks and a black edged yellow tail. Females are mottled brown. Both show bright green wing patches in flight.

Teal can be found all year round but they are thinly distributed as a breeding species. In winter, birds congregate in larger numbers on low-lying wetlands both on the coast and inland in the south and west of the UK. Of these, many are continental birds from around the Baltic and Siberia. At this time, the UK is home to a significant percentage of the north west European wintering population.

Date: 24th December 2007

Location: Salthouse, Norfolk