Clapham Common: Gad-off-the-wall

Prettier plumage in large.
Gadwall extras:
Confused courtship
Flapping in the water
Flapping on the edge
Preening shapes (3/8)
Preening shapes (8/8)

I took photos of Tooting Common en route back from morning coffee with Mum at Balham, but then went to see whether I could see the Cayuga on Mount Pond before meeting a friend for coffee in the early afternoon... The Cayuga was nowhere to be seen (still), but I found this adorable gadwall on the boating pond which was a turn up for the books... He was persistently courting a female mallard, and being pushed around by the mallard drakes, but it was his stunning (yet subtle) plumage that I was most taken by, despite the more dramatic action that I saw and snapped... Oh, and even though I got pictures of pretty pigeons.

Today's overabundance is here (or right from Contrasty morning light)