I think I saw my first goosanders on west midlands waters sometime back in the nineties. There started to be a few on the Severn. But I only saw them by walking from Bridgnorth on footpaths by the river until I was a long way out of town and into quiet countryside.
Since then, numbers have risen, and so have chances of seeing them in built-up areas. They are, for example, a regular feature on the Shrewsbury loop section of the Severn in winter. On two successive years, we’ve spotted birds mating within a stone’s throw of English Bridge over the Christmas holiday period.
These birds were swimming near the Bylet in Bridgnorth. One year in the noughties, a pair of goosanders nested and raised chicks on the Bylet. I’ve no idea whether they did the same the year these pictures were taken. They date from February 2020. Covid was on the way; lockdown would be declared in a few weeks, so bus trips to Bridgnorth were off the agenda.