London Wetland Centre.

A location that I often visit throughout the year is The London Wetland Centre at Barnes. As you cross the bridge astride the entrance pools the statue of Sir Peter Scott always serves as a reminder of his dedication to education, research and the conservation of wildlife. His establishment of the Wildfowl Trust in 1946 has allowed millions of people to enjoy getting close to living wildfowl from all round the world.

A mix of habitats throughout the 'World Wetlands' area provides an opportunity to watch and photograph species such as White-faced Whistling Duck, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks chilling out, Ferruginous Duck, plus Red-breasted and Barnacle Geese. Just a a few of the many and varied captive species.

The various hides around the 'Wildside' areas produce an array of our native and migrating avian species throughout the year. A few regulars depicted here .. Tufted Duck, Black-headed Gulls, Canada Goose, Moorhen And Coot.

During a break for coffee and cake during a visit earlier this week we were joined by a young Carrion Crow constantly opening and closing its beak but not uttering a sound. It hung around for a while before flying off to another table to pick up a discarded scrap.

Elsewhere there was interest from colour in the wildlife garden, Frogs and resting Common Darter.

 But all too soon it was time to head home via the entrance bridge.  FAB.

Linking to Good Fences hosted by TexWisGirl.

Patch Birds.

A few images of some of the recent regulars seen on my local patch just to keep things ticking over.

Coot out for a stroll.

  Mallards on the move.

Grey Heron.

Female Linnet (Shame about the background)

Willow Warbler.

Male Blackcap.

 Common Whitethroat high amongst the blossom

Starling checking out a possible threat from overhead!

 A Roe Buck watching the 'watcher'.

Carrion Crow just strutting around.

 

Canada Geese enjoying a feed around the 8th green at Horton G.C.

 Speckled Wood alighted in the garden.

And finally (through the window) a Starling eying up the freshly filled suet feeder.

N.B. This is a scheduled post and I should be back live sometime over the weekend.

A Frosty Morning Stroll.

Last week I decided to take a stroll in Richmond Park on a cold and very frosty morning. Initially the landscape  seemed deserted of any wildlife but it wasn't long before I spotted a small group of Fallow Deer exceptionally well camouflaged amongst the frosty grasses.

A Fallow Buck showing its distinctive rear view.

A much younger buck gave me a brief glance before heading of into the frosty undergrowth.

As usual there were plenty of squawking Ring-necked Parakeets flying around and while I snapped a quiet individual perched overhead I also noticed Song Thrushes, Redwings and Blackbirds dropping down to feed around the base of the trees. Bearing in mind the recent drop in temperatures I wasn't surprised to find that most of the water on the two main ponds was frozen over with many of the ducks; Mallard, Tufted, Wigeon, Gadwall and Pochard plus Coot occupying a distant patch of clear water close to the central island.

 A female Shelduck decided to brave the thin ice in order to get a drink.

While nearby a Carrion Crow kept a beady eye on me!

Other sightings included Jackdaw, Magpie, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Cormorant, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Little Grebe, Egyptian Geese and Kestrel. It was good to get out in the fresh, frosty air with the camera again.

Reason for my blogging absence: A little while ago I experienced an very unusual event which led to an unplanned early morning trip by ambulance to a local hospital. Some four hours later I was eventually allowed home but referred to a Respiratory Specialist. After various tests including a C.A.T. scan and a Bronchoscopy I finally received the 'all clear' last week but still no clear explanation as to the cause of the initial problem. So with my mind put at ease everything should now return to normal with some minor adjustments to my lifestyle and hopefully some more regular blog posts in the future.    FAB.

End of month Patchwalk.

My final patchwalk at Epsom Common for June wasn't particularly spectacular for the birdlife .... the Canada Geese families have joined up to babysit the ever growing youngsters.

One Grey Heron was stalking around the shallow water edge of the main island but not having much luck finding anything to eat. Two Common Terns flew in and did a circuit before heading off somewhere else (new addition to the year list for this site). Mallard and Moorhen were also present on the main pond plus a single Swift high overhead.

Heading off across to White Heath I added Goldfinch, Robin, Blue Tit, Jay, Chiffchaff (singing), Common Whitethroats still actively collecting food for their youngsters, Jackdaw, Magpie, Blackbird and Chaffinch.

The most common butterflies on the wing were Meadow Browns (I have kept some other images for a future post) and the lazy flapping Ringlet .... fortunately this one perched with its wings open for a short while.

A White-legged Damselfly posed a few problems as I tried to get close and focus on such a tiny object with the 70 - 300 lens without disturbing it .... these tiny creatures always seem to sense the slightest movements.

Quite a few Large Skippers on the wing and one female perched long enough for me to get close with the Canon Powershot S95.

 Finally a Carrion Crow creeping through the meadow.

Wherever you are I hope you have an enjoyable wildlife watching weekend.  FAB.

Sunny Stroll in Richmond Park.

After days of grey skies it was good to take a stroll across Richmond Park earlier this week and observe the local inhabitants in some sunshine. The first encounter was a large group of Red Deer .... over 30 Does being watched over by their master.

Every so often this large buck made his presence known to a couple of other younger males that were wandering around the periphery of this herd while making sure his charges were safe and secure.

 

A Kestrel hovered over the open heathland and then decided to perch a little way in front of me but typically as I moved a little closer it decided to move away and I wasn't ready to change the camera settings for a flying seqence!

 

 

 Still plenty of water lying along the pathways as I headed towards Penn Ponds.

 Carrion Crow patiently waiting for some action.

 One of many noisy Ring-necked Parakeets that patrol the parkland skies.

 Grey Heron in its usual pose.

 A Cormorant flies over ......

 .... and joins its chums to chill out.

 Male Pochard and Tufted Duck.

 Male Gadwall.

 Great Crested Grebe.

After a very inquisitive stare from an Egyptian Goose it was time to head home and review a well filled card that should produce more images for some future posts. Have a enjoyable wildlife watching weekend.  FAB.

Walk In The Park.

A recent stroll in Richmond Park on a chilling but sunlit afternoon started out quite bleak with just Jackdaws and Crows pecking through the fallen leaves under the woodland canopy and attempts to capture an image of a small mixed group of Fallow Deer feeding was thwarted by the depth of the brown undergrowth, their constant movement and interruptions by other walkers so only a rear end view!

Despite this disappointing start to my leisurely walk it actually turned out to be a series of unexpected photo calls. So here are a few images [ Click for larger views] to set the scene for some future posts.

First up were two Red Deer stags enjoying some quality time together .....

..... one sleeping with his friend on sentry duty. Without getting too close I stood and watched some interesting interaction between these two ... so watch out for a future post.

As I crossed the open parkland a Kestrel hovered overhead hoping to spot a tasty meal but moved on to search somewhere else.

When I reached the larger of the two Penn Ponds most of the water was frozen over with nearly all of the inhabitants (Coot, Moorhen, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Gadwall, Mandarin Ducks and Black-headed Gulls) some distance away so I was doubtful that any close photography would be possible ... but you never know!

 While waiting for some closer action on the pond I was visited by a couple of Ring-necked Parakeets.

A Coot finally decided to brave the ice and I spent quite a while watching this character and eventually coaxed it to get much closer to the lens by scattering some seed .... more pics to show in a follow up post.

Initially the view over at the smaller pond looked even bleaker ... more ice and no ducks in view BUT all that was to change.

First I was greeted by Mr. Crow giving me the once over .... "So who are you starring at?"

As I got closer to the edge of the pond I was delighted to see that there was some clear water and a few species that I needed photos of including this female Pochard who swam over towards me.

 Next I spotted a (Northern) Shoveller tentatively pacing slowly across the frozen floor to get into the water.

Not just one but a group of 7 Shoveller were paddling round and round in circles as they dredged the surface with their spatula shaped bills. I took a lot of shots of these guys .... so something to show in future.

As the activity both on the water and in the air increased a Moorhen popped out from behind me to see if I had anything to eat .... and of course I had. 

When there is any chance of a free meal you can be assured that the Black-headed Gulls will get in on the act.

When I turned around to look over the main pond once more there was just a lone Mute Swan on the ice.

With plenty of shots in the can it was time to take my leave as the late afternoon sun shone through the woodland ...... the end to an interesting and productive stroll.   FAB.