A cold grey day meant fewer people at the restaurant, so the resident Dunnock was looking for bugs under a bench. It's quite used to people, and much less shy than Dunnocks usually are.
No one had come out to feed the Rose-Ringed Parakeets in their usual place, and they were lined up on the railings looking hopeful.
Some were on the other side of the bridge finishing the last of the Japanese crab apples.
A stray racing pigeon, unaware of the pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull, became his latest victim. A Carrion Crow, a young Lesser Black-Back and another adult squabbled over the leftovers. I don't think the second gull killed the pigeon ...
... because the usual killer gull was up the shore in his usual place looking satisfied with his last meal of expensive pigeon, and not bothering to hunt.
On the other side of the lake the male Herring Gull who is always there was playing with an algae-encrusted stone he had fished up. Gulls like to peck at the algae on stones, which can't provide much nourishment for them so maybe it's just part of the game.
Two pairs of Egyptian Geese tried to claim territory on the edge by yelling at each other. You can tell males from females by their calls: females quack and males make a hoarse panting sound.
The Goldeneye was still here, diving non-stop ...
... and the solitary Pochard drake had come over from the Long Water.
The Great Crested Grebes from the east end of the island were having another display.
The Grey Heron was on the nest as usual, with its mate on the ground below.
There are three regular herons on the island. The third is a young one.
On the Long Water, a Cormorant crossed paths with a Lesser Black-Backed Gull ...
... and there were Shovellers at the Vista.
A visit to the Round Pond found the Black Swan in good order, sitting on the edge and preening.
There were a couple of Gadwalls here ...
... and plenty of Common Gulls, including this first-winter bird, just beginning to get its pale grey back. The adult colour, in this case grey (it can also be off-white or pale yellow) is beginning to appear on its pink legs.
You should send the ring to the pigeon people and see where it came from.
ReplyDeleteIt can be looked up online. But owners aren't interested in pigeons that stray. They are worthless and simply written off.
DeleteI am torn between admiration for Pigeon Killer's velocity and precision that enables him to catch a racing pigeon, and pity for the unfortunate victim. I wonder what is the point of raising pigeons if you don't care about them when they stray.
ReplyDeleteThere is a saying in Spain about women from a famous region. They are all reputed to be uncommonly beautiful, but as soon as they open their mouths, their charm is fouled up. It's the same with Egyptians.
Breeders of racing pigeons are used to the fact that some birds just don't have the homing instinct. Bringing them up is a gamble. If they come home when released elsewhere they're OK, if they do it quickly they're winners. But if they don't come home at all they're not worth the feed and are forgotten about. I've already traced some pigeons seen in the park, and that's the reply I get from their owners.
DeleteIt was the most miserable day yesterday! Good to see some lovely wildfowl shots. Particularly love the image of the gull & Cormorant passing. We were surprised when we saw a Cormorant either side of the A40 perched on top of street lights by the canal. Often see Kestrel here but not Cormorant but I guess a good vantage point to view the canal.
ReplyDeleteI have sometimes seen a Cormorant in a tree and it looks terribly out of place. But they seem to be quickly adjusting to life inland.
DeleteYes-often seen them in trees along the Thames such as opposite Kew & of course many build their nests in trees as can be seen at the colonies at Walthamstow Wetlands & further up the Lea Valley, north of Fishers Green.
ReplyDeleteThese inland breeding sites seem to be a new thing. Not sure when they started.
DeleteAccording to the London Bird Atlas the first nest built in the London area was at Stocker's Lake in 1987 & the first successful breeding at Broadwater Lake in 1987.. Walthamstow had 360 pairs breeding in 2004.
ReplyDeleteI think inland breeding started with the colonisation by continental sinensis race birds, though inland colonies also now also contain our traditional carbo birds. Last year they bred at the heronry on the upper Pen Pond in Richmond Park for the first time, though not this year.
Thanks for the information. Really a quite recent move, and who knows where it will lead.
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