Wednesday, 31 January 2018

A Cormorant on the Long Water disentangled a small fish from a packet that had once held chocolate wafers.


This fine picture is by Virginia, who also provided the next four.

A Moorhen stretched its wings on the edge of the Serpentine.


The Little Owl near the Albert Memorial looked down from her hole.


I'm hoping to be on my feet for a short trip to Kensington Gardens on Saturday, and with luck may be looking up to her again.

A Robin sang at full blast in the leaf yard.


And a Blue Tit perched prettily on a twig.


Achmet Amerikali took this picture of a Long-Tailed Tit on a twig, with leaf buds already swelling.


Here's a video by Tom of Long-Tailed Tits feeding on a tree at Warley Place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MxDjxkJj5c

I'm not sure what the white patch on the tree is, but it looks like the droppings of a larger bird that have attracted insects to that part of the trunk.

David Element went to Rainham Marshes, and got these striking pictures of a flock of Lapwings mingling with Starlings ...


... and a Reed Bunting taking off from a Common Reed head.


This Great Reed Warbler clinging to a Reedmace stem is not a local bird, and is rare in Britain. It was photographed by Tinúviel at the Talaván reservoir in Extremadura, a protected area rich in birds though she says that it is mismanaged and has deteriorated.


More of her pictures from Spain: a Green Sandpiper at Los Barruecos ...


... and Goldfinches feeding on fallen seeds.

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3 comments:

  1. Arjun Dutta31 January 2018 at 17:51

    Man would I love having Reed Warblers and Swifts etc in the winter as well as the summer!

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    Replies
    1. Ralph Hancock31 January 2018 at 17:54

      Looking at distribution maps, I see that Great Reed Warblers are possible in Extremadura in winter, but all the Swifts would be in Africa.

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  2. Tinúviel31 January 2018 at 19:16

    Yep, Swifts are all back home right now, although Pallid Swifts winter quite frequently here in the village of Alange at the very least.

    That picture was taken in the fall; the bird does not winter in Talaván. Talaván used to be a paradise for reed birds, but it got destroyed by government. They changed the habitat and the vegetation and greenlighted the building of a photovoltaic plant very near the protected zone:

    https://aves-extremadura.blogspot.com.es/2017/08/ocaso-de-la-zepa-embalse-de-talavan-y.html

    Sadly, this is business as usual in Extremadura.

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