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.