It's not often I discover a rarity but I did today in the shape of a Scaup, in fact a very rare and endangered duck. This one is a female and probably here from Iceland where they are known to breed. There are also breeding populations in other countries in Northern Europe, however it is thought that the birds that come to the UK for the winter originate from a breeding population in Iceland.  They are a threatened species because of rapid declines in breeding populations.  This bird was on the new, only recently flooded, fishing ponds near to the Exeter Ship Canal.  At first, when I saw it I thought I was looking at a grebe species, I hadn't got either binoculars or camera with me and I had to rush home to get my photographic equipment.  When I got back I was pleased to see it still there and quickly identified it as a Scaup.  This was  confirmed when I got back home and compared it to the photos taken in January 2009 of a Scaup very close by on the canal.