Friday 18 November 2016

A Redwing visited the rowan trees on Buck Hill.


Some more could be heard chattering in a tree a short way off, but they were impossible to photograph.

The usual Blackbirds were making the most of the remaining fruit.


The male Chaffinch was also here, eating only the pips and spitting out the rest.


A Great Tit posed obligingly in a holly bush near the bridge.


The two Coal Tits living in this bush were so keen to be fed every few seconds that they were very hard to photograph. They kept perching straight in front of me to be noticed, and when I backed off to focus on them they just came nearer again. Once they get the idea of being hand fed, they really run with it.


There was a flock of Goldfinches at the top of a lime tree near the Henry Moore sculpture.


A Bullfinch was reported here a few days ago on the London Bird Club Wiki. People have been looking for it, but it hasn't been seen again.

This is not a pigeon-killing Moorhen, fortunately. The usual pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull had left his latest kill unattended for a moment while he chased away another gull, and the Moorhen saw its opportunity and had a quick meal before he returned.


The expelled gull had to content itself with an ash key, a mere mouthful for a big gull.


This is the Lesser Black-Back with pale pinkish legs that has already started killing pigeons. But its hunting ground overlaps with that of the original pigeon killer, so there are disputes between them.

Just up the shore, a Common Gull was preening. They look so gentle with their pretty dark eyes, but of course they are just as rapacious as any other gull.


A young Herring Gull was having a wash.


A Cormorant was having a yawn.


When the sun came out in the afternoon, it was impossible not to photograph a Shoveller drake. Their iridescent green heads are very dark, and need direct sunlight to be appreciated.


Male Tufted Ducks also have traces of green and purple iridescence on their heads.

4 comments:

  1. The Redwing picture makes for a very pleasing study in red, although the black-and-red of the Blackbird and the cheery contrast of the unfazeable Great Tit take today the cake for me.

    I nearly had a heart attack thinking that Moorhens were turning murderous. With their aptitude for climbing they would make very dangerous ninja-like assassins!

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    1. Well, I did put in a warning about the Moorhen picture. Unannounced, it would have been terrifying.

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    2. Yes it would have been!
      At least we can say that the pigeon numbers aren't likely to decrease dramatically. If they were killing Redwing or Starlings however i would probably be a little more concerned!
      Have you ever seen a Bullfinch in the park before Ralph?

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    3. Haven't seen one yet. It was someone else who found it.

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