Rare blue-winged teal spotted attempting to breed in East Yorkshire - a UK first

A pair of rare blue-winged teal, which are native to North America, are ‘likely’ to have attempted to breed in East Yorkshire, according to wildlife experts who observed them in nesting behaviour this year. 

The male and female were spotted at Yorkshire Water’s Tophill Low Nature Reserve on a number of occasions over the last 12 months. 

If the pair did breed in the area, it is thought to be the first time the bird, which is a type of duck, have successfully bred in the UK.

The nature reserve wardens and volunteers at Yorkshire Water’s Tophill Low Nature Reserve, near Driffield, kept the presence of the birds a secret and observed nesting behaviour at the site.  

It appears the pair were not successful in breeding at Tophill Low, but it is thought they may have nested elsewhere in the area and attempted to breed. 

Richard Hampshire, nature reserve warden at Tophill Low, said: “Blue-winged teal are native to North America and are a stunning looking duck – particularly in male plumage with its white face crescent - and are counterpart to our own Eurasian teal which visit mainly in winter by the hundred to the reservoirs and wetlands. It extremely exciting to have them visiting the reserve for the last 12 months or so and we think they are likely to have attempted to breed in the region, which we think would be a first for the UK. 

“We managed to keep all mention of the birds secret and we even adjusted the schedule of investment work at the nearby water treatment works to ensure there would be no risk to the birds which are so rare they aren’t even on the official ‘schedule one’ list of protected birds as they have never occurred before.    

“We first spotted the pair in August 2023 and they returned in November, then again during breeding season In April this year when they engaged in nesting behaviour. We strongly suspect they went on to attempt a nest in the river Hull valley somewhere. They came back to Tophill Low in June, but unfortunately, we’ve had no sightings of immature blue-winged teal locally. We’re hopeful they will stick around and try again next year, and we get a first for the species in the UK.” 

Tophill Low, near Driffield has been a nature reserve for 30 years and is home to otters, barn owls, kingfishers and grass snakes. Thousands of hours of volunteer input supported by Yorkshire Water have delivered numerous conservation successes including breeding otters, nesting cetti’s warblers, a thriving heronry, booming bitterns and perhaps the strongest population of greater water parsnip in the UK.