A report of a Harlequin Duck at Hes East on 27th February, was worth checking out as it was clearly something unusual, perhaps a female Velvet Scoter, though if it was a Harlequin, there was no chance it would be wild. Anyway, moments before I arrived Chris messaged to say it was a hybrid, and sure enough, a few minutes later I was watching what was quite a striking duck, swimming around with the Gadwall. With an orange body and a white-spotted dark green head, it didn't really look anything like a Harlequin, but was a smart bird nevertheless. It turned out this was a Wigeon x Shoveler, or possibly American Wigeon x Shoveler and had been seen in various parts of Yorkshire over the past few years. A scan around revealed little else of note besides the common ducks, with no sign of yesterday's Sand Martin.
