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

Patch Wildlife.

Just a few images of the varied wildlife seen on my patch walks during the past six weeks.

Strangely Mute Swan is a rare sighting on Epsom Great Pond. It didn't stay very long!

Two pairs of Tufted Ducks have appeared on the ponds. Once again it will be interesting to see if they stick around to breed.

I didn't carry out my weekly transect walk from mid to end of April due to the colder, windy conditions so only six Speckled Wood recorded in the past six weeks.

A female Orange Tip with its very distinctive under-wing pattern.

I didn't record any of this species on the Ashtead Common transect last year but this female was spotted on the 10 April this year and a male was recorded on 2 May. Brimstone's have been the most common species recorded this season but no photo opportunities so date.

Chiffchaff. Just one of many heard and seen around the common. There will be some more images on my FABirding blog shortly.

Willow Warbler singing from a typically high perch.

I nearly stepped on this Adder a week ago. It was basking on an open path but decided to slip into the nearby undergrowth.

Hopefully in a week or so I will have something totally different to post when I return from a trip to Northern Greece. FAB.

London Wetland Centre.

With a forecast of a few hours of decent weather on Friday morning I paid another visit to the London Wetland Centre at Barnes in the hope of catching up with a Bittern but it was not to be. Nevertheless there was still plenty of birds on view, both wild and captured species.

My southerly route towards the main reed-beds provided an opportunity to snap a few of the captive species including Hooded Merganser, Marbled Teal and White-headed Duck.

A male Tufted Duck

A scan over the flooded grazing marsh produced Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Cormorant, Wigeon, Gadwall, Pochard, Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Teal, Canada Geese, a single Egyptian Goose plus numerous Northern Shoveler, many enjoying a preening session in the sunshine.

The centre which opened in 2000 occupies the site of the former Barn Elms reservoirs covering a total area of about 100 acres including open water, muddy banks, grazing marsh, some woodland and an extensive reedbed right in the heart of the south London urban landscape. Three quarters of the site was designated an Site of Scientific Interest in 2002.

My route back to the centre only produced one additional sighting, an over flying Little Egret. The northern part of the reserve has several hides overlooking the open water enabling decent views, albeit often distant of the ducks, gulls and and a much reduced number of Northern Lapwing.

My only raptor sighting was a male Sparrowhawk who made a brief appearance on one of the small islands and from the first floor of the Peacock Hide I spotted a male Pintail (below) in its elegant finery fortunately within reach of the lens.

Despite the lack of a Bittern sighting (again!) it was a joy to be out in the winter sunshine enjoying our native wildlife. FAB.

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

Ducklings.

Another very windy day so I took a short stroll around Heron Pond in Bushy Park and spent a while watching the youngsters on the water with their mothers. First up was Mrs Mallard and her two ducklings.

Then my attention was drawn towards the two very young Tufted ducklings tagging on behind their mother.

This one decided to play peek-a-boo behind mum while its sibling (below) was slightly more adventurous.

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday.

A Mixed Birding Week.

A mixed week weather wise with dull overcast skies and the occasional sunny period. So here are just a few of the species that found their way in front of the lens.

Following on from my earlier post 'Visit to Warnham L.N.R.' a few more species seen that day including one of the many Blue Tits.

A female Chaffinch.

Mrs Pheasant strutting her stuff! (I have some close-ups of the feather patterns that I'll share in a future post.)

Later in the week I took a quiet stroll around the ponds at Bookham Common which played host to 10 Gadwall who were disturbed by other walkers before I could get any shots, but two of the 6 Tufted Ducks were more obliging.

Don't I look smart?  Male and female Tufted Duck.

A pair of Mute Swans enjoying time together.

Nesting time has begun. The local Grey Herons were flying back and forth about every five minutes collecting appropriate material. It will be interesting to see how many nests are occupied during the breeding season.

And finally a Robin in our garden letting the opposition know that it has taken up residence.

On Sunday, weather permitting, I hope to visit the coast to see some over-wintering waders and my favourite geese, the Black-bellied Brent.  FAB.

Linking to Saturday's Critters.

Visit to Warnham L.N.R.

On Monday morning with no obvious threat of rain I decided to pay a return visit to Warnham L.N.R. Beneath the dull overcast sky the pond hosted hundreds of noisy Black-headed Gulls and a few Herring Gulls with three perched on the tern raft.

A small flotilla of Tufted Ducks drifted past the hide. After scanning around and spotting Moorhen, Coot, Cormorant fishing, Mallard lazing around and a Grey Heron carrying nesting material I headed to the hide overlooking the various feeders to check out the activity.

Lots of colourful Goldfinch using the feeders.

A female Great Spotted Woodpecker made a couple of appearances to obtain a snack from holes drilled into an old tree trunk that had been filled with fat.

A male Reed Bunting taking advantage of the seed larder.

In addition to this male Chaffinch I also watched Blue, Coal, Great and Long-tailed Tits, Nuthatch, Dunnock, Bullfinch, Magpie, Pheasant, Moorhen, Blackbird, Robin plus Wren and Treecreeper elsewhere on the reserve. Fortunately the clouds dispersed and the sun eventually shined so after two hours plus I have a few images in reserve for future posts. FAB.

Linking to WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY hosted by Stewart.

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'.