Drake Red-breasted Merganser.

A member of the sawbill family as is the Goosander, the RBM is mostly a bird of coastal waters but in winter can occasionally be found on inland waters particularly when the weather is inclement and this was the case when I took this image at a boating lake in Lancashire with the water being whipped up by a strong westerly wind coming in off the Irish Sea.

An accomplished long bodied diving duck it spends a lot of time under water and can also  be seen bobbing on the surface with its head under the surface searching for fish.

It is a very handsome bird with its wispy crest, dark green head and grey and white body with a cluster of patterned spots at the base of its neck ..... stunning.