Before that I took a quick trip round the park to see the essential Little Owl at the leaf yard, rather hard to see amid the leaves.
The two young Carrion Crows from the nest near the Henry Moore sculpture were out and pestering their parents.
In the middle of a large group of Wood Pigeons feeding on the ground there was a solitary Stock Dove.
Although there were plenty of Reed Warblers at Rainham, the only one I could get a photograph of was in Hyde Park, at the east end of the Serpentine.
But there were lots of interesting creatures to see at Rainham, such as this Marsh Harrier, one of two that were circling in the distance.
A Redshank posed obligingly on a gatepost.
There were several Lapwings ...
... and a Shelduck on the scrape.
This Oystercatcher was on the Thames mudflats.
Unusually, most of the interesting sightings were of land birds, such as a young Linnet.
There was a Reed Bunting just outside the reserve near the riverside walk ...
... an a distant view of a female Stonechat.
... a cock Pheasant skulked in the long grass.
A Wheatear crossed the boardwalk.
A little farther along the boardwalk was a Painted Lady butterfly.
To a central Londoner House Sparrows are exotic. This young one was among two dozen in the bushes near the Visitor Centre.
The strangest sight of the day was a Marsh Frog making a tremendous noise by inflating and emptying his pouches. He was competing with a rival a few yards away. I made a video of this.
At the end, you can hear one of the numerous Cetti's Warblers singing.
Lovely, thanks for all that! Especially the overwrought frog(s).
ReplyDeleteYou can hear the rival frog right at the end of the clip.
Deletethought I did ; and are those dragonflies coming into the picture?
DeleteIt does look like mating dragonflies. But they're out of focus and it's hard to tell, and unfortunately the end of the clip is the actual point where I stopped filming.
DeleteP.S. I also enjoyed sparrows today, a Queen Mary's Secret Garden (sort of behind the Geffrye Museum, Kingsland Road); there is a small resident flock of them. Well worth a visit anyway- as is the Geffrye and its garden.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are a very few enclaves of House Sparrows in the centre, I think always because someone is feeding them.
Deleteanother one I know of is in an Anglican convent in nearby Queensbridge Road- the nuns feed them, and provide safety by having installed a sort of cage of chickenwire around the shrubs, so that only small birds can come and go.
DeleteThank you so much for the entry. Rainham Marshes sounds like a wonderful place to visit. Always glad to see a Lapwing.
ReplyDeleteOur house sparrows are dwindling dramatically :-(
I think Rainham Marshes is the best of the reserves quickly reachable from central London, much better than the Wetland Centre at Barnes where everyone goes.
DeleteWe certainly did go the Wetland Centre a few years ago and didn't see much of anything.
ReplyDeleteThere were some unusual ducks around over Easter:
ReplyDeletewww.flickr.com/photos/garyboggled/34657514096/in/photolist-US8g3F-TCyTxV-US8bHt-TCyXBX-US8cRk-UEARb4-UNyREw-TCyP9e-UNyGkj-Uh9SJh-UNyPuu-S6RZkN-wPoE1d-sGz3kF
Harry
Oh dear, they are trying a bit too hard to drag in the crowds.
DeleteIn the news - do you think you have noted same person in Hyde Park? - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4536712/Rice-causing-London-herons-born-deformed.html Jim
ReplyDeleteI think it's a different person. We get a fair amount of rice, but not much curry. I think our food dumpers come from the restaurants in the Edgware Road.
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