In, Around and Above the Stew Ponds.

It has been many months since I posted any information about the bird life on my local patch so here are some images of a few of the 50 or so species I have seen so far this year frequenting the Stew Pond and surrounding area.

 Grey Herons are daily visitors, patiently waiting for a tasty meal to swim within their reach.

Cormorants turn up fairly regularly to fish the Great Pond often spending a lot of time sitting around doing nothing!

I have recorded Tufted Ducks annually over the last ten years. Evidence of breeding over that period has been spasmodic and the youngsters rarely survive due to predation ... there are some extremely large fish in the pond!

Again the Mandarin Duck has been an annual breeding species with sighting from January through to August. Until two years ago it was not uncommon to record up to 15 males courting just one or two females through January into March but I believe increased  disturbance from dog walkers has affected this and other species greatly in the last two years. This year I only saw one male on 5 April.

Egyptian Goose is a very infrequent visitor but a pair turned up on the island on 5 April. Unfortunately the pond plays host to quite a few pairs of breeding Canada Geese who are extremely territorial so other geese species don't tend to hang around for long like pairs of Greylag Geese who dropped in briefly between the 8th and 15th May.

 Common Buzzard nests locally so it is not unusual to see at least one or two flying around.

A selection of migrant warblers can be found in the surrounding area including good numbers of Chiffchaff. Others include Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Garden Warbler and I have recorded Willow Warbler on the common for the last 6 years during April into early May but they don't seem to stay. Just one male seen and heard singing close to the Stew Pond on 1 May this year.

The Jay is not the most common corvid locally but certainly the most colourful. Typically very wary of humans this individual was very confiding ... for a few minutes.

Linking to:

Saturday's Critters

Wildlife around Heron Pond.

A very mixed week weather wise so here is a small selection of the wildlife seen during my visits to Heron Pond in Bushy Park.

As usual one of the very approachable Grey Heron was waiting near the car park.

Black-headed Gulls, in various stages of their winter plumage, waiting for a handout.

Ducks on the water included the bright eyed Tufted, Gadwall with its finely vermiculated grey body and a single (Northern) Shoveler all slowly changing into their full breeding plumage.

A surprising find this week was a juvenile Herring Gull in its mottled plumage resting on the remains of a floating nest.

 The pond also supports a small but healthy population of Red-crested Pochard.

Large numbers of Jackdaw frequent the park. They are fairly friendly and always willing to pose.

The local residents also include these two introduced species, Canada and Egyptian Geese. 

At this time of year one is never far away from a Red Stag wandering through the bracken on the lookout for hinds or protecting his existing harem often resting and hidden deep in the vegetation.

During the rut the general advice is to keep at least 50 metres from any of the deer, especially the stags but sometimes they just appear and let everyone know their intentions!

And then he sauntered away to be camouflaged once again by the autumnal hues of the ferny landscape.

All these three images are cropped so I wasn't that close and always respect the boundaries when photographing any wildlife. FAB.

Linking to Camera Critters, Saturday's Critters and I'D-Rather-B-Birdin'.

Tices Meadow Visit.

With a few interesting species being reported from Tices Meadows I took the opportunity to pay a visit today and set up the scope on the mound overlooking the large expanse of water. As expected a large number of Canada Geese (which I didn't bother to count), Greylag (1), Egyptian Geese (2), Mallard, Tufted, Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon (1), Coot, Great Crested and Little Grebe, Mute Swan, Cormorant (2), Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Grey Heron (5), Kestrel (1), House Martins, Swift (2), Woodpigeon, Starlings and Magpies.

Egyptian Goose having a stretch.

Mute Swan not wanting to wait around.

Black-headed Gull moulting into its 1st winter plumage.

My main interest however was scanning the distant muddy margins for waders and this proved quite fruitful as apart from the usual Lapwings I located Common Snipe (2), Black-tailed Godwit (3), Ringed Plover (2), Greenshank (1), Common Sandpiper (2), Green Sandpiper (1) and Ruff (8) which added five species to my Surrey Year List.   FAB.

Preening (Part 1)

Second only to feeding, preening is a common bird behavior easily observed in a backyard or out in the field.

Little Egret making sure its flight feathers are in alignment.

Birds can have up to 25,000 feathers so regular grooming that may take up to several hours each day is very important to keep them in tip top condition for various reasons; efficient flight, waterproofing and insulation, removal of parasites and lice that may carry disease, removing tough sheaths from newly moulted feathers and improving their overall appearance to attract a mate.

Black-headed Gull in winter plumage.

Egyptian Goose reaching those difficult to access areas.

Even youngsters like this Juvenile Blue Tit have to learn this tricky and important art very quickly in order to survive.

And finally Mrs. Mallard.

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday.

Recent Wildlife.

I will be off-line for a while hopefully putting the new lens and a another camera to good use in a totally different environment. After sifting through the archives here are some images taken during March and April.

The first set is from my wanderings around the lake in Bushy Park in March.

 Egyptian Goose with its early brood of youngsters.

One little gosling was very hesitant about getting its feet wet!

Red-crested Pochard (male)

Red-crested Pochard (female)

A young Grey Heron following its parents advice .... 'always stand very still'.

The next set is from a very recent stroll at Riverside Country Park, on the outskirts of Guildford.

 Tufted Duck (male)

Taken with the new lens ... I'm very pleased with the improved clarity and detail.

 Green-veined White (Pieris napi)

Cormorant resting.

 A very fluffed-up Robin.

 Inquisitive Wren.

The under-wing pattern on a Green-veined White (Pieris napi) taken just a few days ago with a new Cannon PowerShot SX50 HS.

And finally my early morning alarm chorister, the Blackbird.

So in about 30 hours time it will be ....... Arrivederci. Durante la prossima settimana speriamo di essere godendo un gelato e una vista sulle coste del Lago di Garda. FAB.

Colour on the pond.

A few weeks ago we decided to check out the colours by taking a stroll around the Isabella Plantation within Richmond Park. A you can see many of the Azeleas were in full bloom providing a glorious feast of colour.

On some of the Rhododendrons the buds were just opening, suggesting a hint of the colour about to emerge but these weren't the only colour on show .....

On a very small pond hidden amongst the vegetation were a couple of Egyptian Geese but the stars were definitely the five male Mandarin Ducks.

 Despite being an introduced species, I never get tired of watching this exotic and charming duck.

 A little time was spent smartening up those feathers.

After their morning swim it was time to chill out together ... such is a duck's life!  FAB.

Linking to WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY.

Little Egyptians.

The British population of Egyptian Geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca) dates back to introductions into wildfowl collections from Africa in the 18th century.

This species was formally added to the British list in 1971 and my first sightings were during trips to Norfolk in the mid 70's where there was a healthy feral population. Over the years other populations have formed and it is now a species that I regularly encounter in Surrey, particularly during visits to many of the local parks with rivers or lakes. The adults are identical in plumage although the males on average are slightly larger. Both sexes are aggressively territorial, particularly towards their own species, during the breeding season.

During a recent walk around Bushy Park we came across this circular huddle of brown and off-white goslings being watched over by their very attentive parents. 

Even when they woke up and entered the water the parents made sure they didn't stray too far.

Back on dry land it was time for a stretch and some preening ......

.... before topping up their tummies.

Then they gathered together once more into a huddle with their parents back on sentry duty.  FAB.

Linking up to WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY.