I checked the weather forecast last night, and again this morning. 'Overcast' it said. So off I went to see the Fulham and Barnes Peregrines following on from yesterdays summary blog post.
I found Charlie straight away on one of her favourite perches at the back of the hospital...
I had planned on staying around for a couple of hours, but then it started to drizzle. I had no waterproof coat on nor any waterproof sleeve for my camera, and only my old camera rucksack not the one with the pull over waterproof cover.
I didn't even get to have a proper catch up with Nathalie as the drizzle started to come down harder.
With my recent bad luck with various camera bodies and lenses, I didn't dare risk it today out in that weather. I took a few snaps and swiftly made my way back to Hammersmith station.
I didn't even get to see Tom either.....
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| 7 Spot Ladybird in the drizzle - Margravine Cemetery |
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| Robin in the drizzle - Margravine Cemetery |
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| Blackbird in the drizzle - Margravine Cemetery |
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| Charlie, on the nest ledge, in the drizzle - Margravine Cemetery |
So apologies to Nathalie....
After some breakfast at the London Wetland Centre, the drizzle stopped but it was still very overcast which was what I had expected it to be today. It was just going to be one of those days when you didn't know what the weather was going to do next..
At the moment there are two species of orchids in flower at Barnes....
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| the Bee Orchid is just starting to go over.... |
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| but the Southern Marsh Orchid is in full bloom..... |
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| Close up of the Southern Marsh Orchid |
There were plenty of young birds around today including these two Moorhen chicks...
and this cute Mute Swan cygnet....
I didn't see one Great Crested Grebe today, but there was a lot of 'trilling' from the Little Grebes...
From the Wildside Hide a Common Tern has decided to nest on one of the shingle islands. It has one egg at the moment. The other island is full of Black-headed gulls. Hopefully the Tern will hatch the egg. My photo isn't great as there was some bloke with a huge camera lens hogging the best view point.....
As the day went on, it got a bit warmer and the Marsh Frogs started coming out and displaying to each other......
On one of the ponds there was a large shoal of fish breaking the surface regularly. I have no idea what species they are, and I'm surprised there wasn't a Heron waiting on the edge....
By the bird feeders I could hear at least two Reed Warblers, but they were invisible. I made my way around to the back where the kids Explore playground is, and after waiting just ten minutes on one of the handy benches there, I had my first sighting....
and then another....
You have to just wait and be patient sometimes. And with all of the branches and reeds in the way, it really is a guessing game as to when the Reedys will be visible enough for a photo.
I lost 90 minutes in that same spot today, but can confirm there are at least five Reed Warblers in that area, with two seen bringing food back into the reeds and another three seen singing, all at the same time...
Making my way back from the Explore to the café, I heard another Reed Warbler by the Wildlife Living area. I rarely bother walking through this patch, but as the weather got even more nicer, I thought it would be worth my while sitting at one of the benches there for a while.
And it paid off....
By sitting quietly and patiently, it was just a matter of time before the Reedy started singing again, and he did, just seven feet in front of me. There was a handy tall shrub on the edge of the reeds, and I used that as cover while I snapped away at this lone male. He doesn't seem to have a mate yet (hence all the singing)....
From being cold, windy and wet this morning, suddenly the clouds cleared, the wind died down and the sun came out. It was only brief, but it was enough to bring out the damselflies...
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| Ischnura elegans - Blue-tailed Damselfly (male) |
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| Enallagma cyathigerum - Common Blue Damselflies mating |
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| Damsel - id still waiting to be confirmed... |
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| Enallagma cyathigerum - Common Blue (male) |
With the weather suddenly picking up, other critters started emerging...
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| Sawfly sp. |
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| Honeybee |
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| Bombus pascuorum - Brown-banded Carder Bee |
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| Honeybee |
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| Bombus pratorum - worker - Early Bumblebee |
On the warm bridges, the Common Lizards emerged for a sunbathe....
Several times today I flushed a Green Woodpecker or two, but the one below made me laugh as it appeared to think I couldn't see it if it couldn't see me....
It was nice to see some of the old crew today, Birdy Phil, Joe, Posh Boy and Mary Anne and it was even nicer to see two of our rarer 'ducks' Spigg and Sue , and to finally put a face to a well know name to me, a Flickr 'colleague' called Paul aka ShaftinInAction.
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| Birdy Phil - the lesser spotted puff breasted version |
From Barnes it was a quick visit to Cranford Park. I was satisfied within ten minutes when I saw one of the Hobbys fly low in from behind me and swoop down in to the nest tree. No time to grab a photo and I'm happy to keep it that way until I know fledging has happened.
From where I had stopped walking to watch the Hobbys, a Wren started making alarm calls...
It took me a while to realise it was me she was calling at. There were three youngsters in the honeysuckle I was standing next to. I hastily retreated but was too slow to get photos of the three juveniles flying over to a nearby holly bush.
All in all I had a good day. I got to see Charlie and Nathalie briefly, saw my first Reed Warblys of the year and got told off by a Wren.
Super photos.
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