Wednesday 11 February 2015

There was a small flock of Goldfinches around the bird feeder at Kensington Palace.


When I went into Bayswater to do some shopping, the streets were a-twitter with Goldfinches wherever I went. These were on an aerial in Porchester Terrace, a hundred yards north of the park. The numbers of these birds are increasing dramatically.


A Great Spotted Woodpecker appeared at the top of a tree in the leaf yard.


There are usually at least two pairs in here, but we shan't know until spring comes and they start drumming.

A Wren was hopping about in the shrubbery near Peter Pan, and paused on a tree trunk long enough for a quick picture.


The Scaup was on the Round Pond as usual, but was a long way off and not doing anything interesting, so here instead is a picture of an ordinary Tufted Duck preening his belly near Peter Pan.


Near the Serpentine island a Shoveller came into the edge and started scraping algae off the concrete.


These normally shy birds have become very blasé about people staring and pointing cameras at them.

The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull had been sharing a pigeon with his mate and, having eaten his fill, rinsed his beak in the water.


The male Tawny Owl was out on his tree all day, rather surprisingly considering what a grey day it was. But it is less cold, and perhaps even this hardy bird prefers not to sit in an icy blast.

5 comments:

  1. what a lovely pic of the goldfinch ralph. thank you. i know it's totally wrong to EVER have caged birds but if it weren't i would have one of these for company. so pretty & make a most beautiful sound. i live in bayswater & i agree they have multiplied. i can hear them many times throughout the day tv aerial-hopping :-) a great joy.
    Mark W2

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do you have anywhere you could put a feeder full of nyjer seeds that would bring them closer?

      Delete
    2. i did do that ralph for a time & it amazd me how many species were happy to come to a first floor balcony in bayswater - jays, dunnocks, gold/greenfinches. but the pigeons spoiled the party. began to congregate and foul the place even though the feeder was technically 'pigeon proof'. they simply wait underneath for seeds to fall. ingeneous! got to admire them. but the fouling was unacceptable. then one day the mice discovered it. well. that was the end of that. i still have a jay who i think remembers it from years ago & still pops back looking puzzled. v handsome chap. i'm lucky to be able to pop into the park whenever i want a few hundred yards away so it's not so bad.
      Mark W2

      Delete
  2. Hi Ralph in your travels around the parks are there any Snowdrops, if so are they in flow yet and whereabouts ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, they've been out since November in several places. Try the little scrubby patch between the east end of the Serpentine and the Dell.

      Delete