A busy day at Kensington Gardens

My first visit of the year to Kensington Gardens coincided with my friend Susans 'day out' for her Birthday, so a group of us arranged to meet up there. I had also promised my local birder friends, a glimpse of the resident Tawny Owls, so they came along for the morning. So that made ten of us in total, not counting then bumping into Tricia, Pete and Oscar. So a very busy visit to the park today, and the weather was on our side. Bright, cloudless and with barely any breeze at all.

 

First bird of note we saw was a lovely male Green Woodpecker

 

Grey Squirrels were sunbathing flat out against the tree trunks

 

Great Tits were looking glorious in their plumage

 

Parakeets were numerous as always

 

At the Serpentine there were the usual birds, Moorhens......

 

Territorial Mute Swans......

 

Black-headed gulls whipped up in to a feeding frenzy.....

 

Tufted ducks.....

 

Lesser Black-backed Gulls.....

 

juvenile Herring Gulls.....

 

Pochards, this male was having a stretch...

 

with this female in full winter plumage....

 

and Cormorants.....

 

By the leaf yard, the small birds were more than happy to take the food from our hands..

 

 

 

We bumped into the infamous Ralph Hancock

 

Lots of little birds around today. There were Robins...

 

Starlings, looking splendid in the sun....

 

Great Tits...

 

Blue Tits....

 

I played 'hide and seek' with a Jay....

 

and had a Rat right by my foot....

 

The Nuthatches were showing particularly well....

 

 

along with at least two beautiful Coal Tits....

 

and more Robins...

 

and another very photogenic Jay...

 

with a showy Pied Wagtail on the Round Pond.....

 

As always, the high-light of our visit was the fantastic Tawny Owl. We only saw the male today. The female was seen late yesterday, which could indicate she isn't yet on eggs.

 

 

So a very enjoyable day out with good company, and topped off with a few glasses of Prosecco at Wholefoods. Cheers Susan, Happy Birthday for Thursday. 

A soggy New Years Day morning at the London Wetland Centre

Despite the dreadful weather forecast, there was no way I was going to stay in on New Years Day, so wrapped up and water-proofed I made my way to the London Wetland Centre.

 

Most of the morning was spent in the Peacock Tower trying to see a Jack Snipe. I caught one brief glimpse of it moving behind some Common Snipe before it tucked itself away, and could then only be seen with the aid of a scope.

 

Plenty of Common Snipe around, at least five counted on just one small patch of scrub.

 Lots of Tufted, Shoveler and Teals were dabbling or hunkered down in the reeds.

 

Tufted on the left, Teal on the right

Common Snipe

Shovelers

A nice addition was a pair of Pintail. There was also a male Shelduck flitting between the main lake and the wader scrape, and a Water Rail was first heard, then briefly seen.

 

male and female Pintail

male Pintail

Lots of juvenile gulls were around, but despite extensive searching

there was no sign of any of the Bitterns.

 

 

After lunch the rain came down heavier, so we gave up and went home.

There's always next weekend. It was nice to see the regular crowd though, and Gina braved the atrocious weather to join me.

 

Happy New Year everyone.



My 2013 high-lights

As the end of 2013 draws near, I realise I have, at last, kept one of my New Years Resolutions, which was to keep up my blog for at least a year. So to celebrate I have chosen my favourite photos and memories from 2013.

 

 None of my photos are going to win any prizes, but for me each one of them is a memory of a great day. I was also attempting to post just twelve pictures, one from each month, but how could that be possible when I tended to have more than one favourite moment from a month ? So prepare yourself for a complete photo overload.......

 

Jan 2013 was a good month. There were a pair of very showy female Bearded Tits at

Kensington Gardens......

 

 

And a small flock of long staying Waxwings in South Ealing....

 

 

At work I was often joined by a young fox.....

 

At Lake Farm I spent an afternoon in the close company of a lone Redwing.....

 

 

In February I counted an all time high of 22 Reed Buntings at Lake Farm in one day.....

 

Early morning February frosts at work meant my horse companions were well wrapped up.

This is Nelson. I managed to use the horses as portable hides during those cold mornings.....

 

February Fieldfare....

 

My first visit of the year to RSPB Rainham was on the 1st March, and I was lucky enough to have some great close up views of a Marsh Harrier......

 

along with some Redpolls.....

 

In the same month I also went to Warnham for the first time.

This Coal Tit was by the excellent feeders.......

 

along with a fine male Siskin.....

 

and my first ever Brambling....

 

 In April I had excellent close up views of two female Northern Wheatears at Lake Farm....

 

and at Warnham this lovely Chiffchaff posed just long enough for me to grab a shot....

 

The highlight of April though, had to be the male Pied Flycatcher that stayed at Cranford Park for four days. A lifer for me and on my local patch.........

 

 

Whitethroats were abundant at Lake Farm......

 

And I got another lifer, my first Nightingales at Pulborough.........

 

 

May was the month for the resident Little Owls at Kensington Gardens......

 

and my first ever photo of a Treecreeper in the same park.....

 

and a visit to Rhyl saw me studying Sandwich Terns.....

 

and Sedge Warblers on Rhyl Golf Course........

 

June was all about Peregrine Fledgewatch at Charring Cross Hospital. Three days in a row watching Amy, George and Buster, (the offspring of the famous Fulham and Barnes peregrine pair, Charlie and Tom) in glorious sunshine and with great company.....

 

 

 

Buster (with mum Charlie in the photo below) disappeared a few days later. My blog post on the attempts made to find him, was picked up by Simon King and he put it on his Twitter page.

My blog hit over 500 views that day. Buster was never found, but he'll certainly never be forgotten.

 

June was also a good month for Reed Warblers at a new site discovered in Stockley Park.......

 

July saw me back at Rainham with a close encounter with Sid the Stoat......

 

and at work I watched a spider take on a damselfly........

 

July was also the memorable month that I spent many days at Cranford Park watching the juvenile Little Owls, Ozzy and Izzy........

 

 

In August I reared five Painted Lady butterflies from tiny caterpillars to beautiful adults, and released them all at Cranford Park........

 

 

Another lifer for me was found in September at Lake Farm, my first Spotted Flycatchers.....

 

and at work the Foxes still kept me amused..... 

 

Another day at Rainham produced excellent views of Hobbys......

 

 

and another visit to Rhyl gave me great views of Redshank.....

 

Ringed Plover.....

 

Sandwich Terns......

 

Stonechat........

 

and Northern Wheatears.....

 

A memorable day in October at Cranford Park, gave me a Kingfisher......

 

and a few short minutes in the company of a pair of Weasels..........

 

November saw me back at Kensington Gardens where the gulls are confiding, including this gorgeous Common Gull......

 

and where Great Crested Grebes are abundant........

 

the resident Buzzard at Cranford Park was mobbed daily by the corvids......

 

and a lone Grey Wagtail was seen by the bridge in the same park.....

 

In December I was back at Rainham where a high tide surge inundated the site with Plovers, Godwits and these magnificent Curlews......

 

and a Kestrel stalked the party I was with.....

 

with the day completed by a close encounter with a Fox......

 

The same month found me back at Kensington Gardens to see the resident Tawny Owls.......

 

and witness a Lesser Black-backed Gull devour a whole crayfish.....

 

So those are my favourite memories and photos from 2013.

 

Although none of my favourite photos came from the London Wetland Centre, it is still one of my favourite places to visit. I saw my first Garden Warbler and Jersey Tiger moth there this year, and hopefully in 2014, I'll make more of an effort to visit there more often.

 

2013 was all about my local patches, Cranford Park and Lake Farm, and in 2014 that wont change. The late Peter Naylor loved Lake Farm, and he would hate the changes that have been made to it since he passed away on Christmas Eve 2012, so for his memory alone I will continue visiting that site.

 

Cranford Park has become a place very dear to me. I love the numerous habitats the park holds, and its a place that calms and relaxes me whenever I visit.

 

RSPB Rainham has become another favourite site for me to visit. There is always something to see, whatever season it is.

 

Kensington Gardens is a gem of a park in the middle of the hustle and bustle of London, and to find not just one variety of owl there, but two, means it is a place I will continue to visit in 2014 too.

 

Rhyl is very dear to me too, and with understanding family there, I often disappear along the prom and sand dunes for hours. The dreadful tidal surges in December meant that a lot of the prom and golf course was damaged. I'm going back up there in February to see it for myself.

 

So last but by no means least, thank you to all of the below people for all those days out that meant I had a great 2013 doing what I love doing most, watching and photographing nature............

 

Gina, Elaine, Susan, Tony S, Maggie B, Tony B, Xtine, Tricia, Nathalie, Maggie OB, Laurence, Duncan, Ian, Sue G (and Jasper), Sue B, Philip, John Cass, Therese, Martin, Oscar, Joe, Michael, Howard, Bob Barton, Alison, Mac, Tony J, Awee, Corinna, Bill, Roy, Valerie, Mark W, Bob Copsey, Gill K, Paul P, Sheila, and of course my family and friends in North Wales.

 

Happy New Year and Happy 1st Birthday to my Blog