The Drake Hooded Merganser.

It was only in June 2008 that the British Ornithologists Union ( BOU ) finally admitted this species to the The British List which they administrate, with a category A rating -  '' Species that have been recorded in an apparently natural state at least once since 1 January 1950 ''.

The British list currently stands at 578 species.

Of North American origin the Hooded Merganser is a  '' sawbill '' and only slightly bigger than the smallest merganser, the Smew, a winter visitor to the UK when the continent is gripped by hard weather conditions.

Only seen in the wild once every few years it is a very, very rare visitor to these shores.  I caught up with this domesticated chap at the Pensthorpe ornamental water bird collection near Fakenham in Norfolk, it is of course a captive bird.

Notice the way that its tail is resting on the surface of the water creating a meniscus.

But what a storming looking Duck this is as a recognised visitor to the UK - very, very occasionally.