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The Goosander is a spectacular winter visitor to the Blackwater Valley where its stronghold is Moor Green Lakes Nature Reserve, near Eversley. They are attracted here, particularly as a roost site, because of the large open waters with carefully managed surrounding vegetation, well away from human disturbance. Although a rare sight at most places, at Moor Green birds can total over 30, sometimes 40 in the hardest weather, where they are most often seen on Grove Lake. Goosander also makes occasional appearances at Frimley Hatches on the fishing lakes.
Goosanders are one of the sawbills (mergus family) and are therefore related to Red-breasted Mergansers and Smew, neither of which are often found in the Valley, although Smew can be found in surrounding counties at other sites. Sawbills - so called because of the serrated edge to their bills - feed on fish and will move to rivers to feed on occasions causing some interesting sightings to occur. I have seen one, for example, on the Blackwater at Swallowfield, well away from any suitable lake but it’s unlikely you will see one near the river’s source because of the greater human disturbance and because the river is too small for them to fish successfully.
 The Blackwater Valley birds probably mainly come from Scandinavia where it’s too cold
to stay over winter, others come from as far as Russia. An increasing number of Goosanders breed in northern England and Scotland but they tend to stay nearer their breeding places, so few of these are likely
to be seen at Moor Green unless hard weather forces them to move south.
Identifying the male Goosander is easy! It’s a large strikingly beautiful bird with a long red hooked bill and a dark green head (pictured top right). The underparts are whitish but show a beautiful salmon pink  tinge in winter. The female is quite different with a duller bill, a reddish-brown head with a drooping crest, a white throat and otherwise grey body (pictured bottom right). It’s easily confused with Red-breasted Merganser females, but that shouldn’t be a problem in the Blackwater Valley where the vast majority of the birds will be Goosanders.
So, if you want to see the beautiful Goosander the time is now and the place is Moor Green Lakes.
Colin Wilson
Berkshire Ornithological Club
www.berksoc.org.uk
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