Saturday 7 February 2009

7 February 2009

It was freezing this morning and I hesitated about going out but went to the Thames as usual in the end.
Sparrows were very noisy at their nests near Frank Banfield Park, I counted 8 including 1 which was inside the nest. There were some more on the other side of the park, one even chased away a pair of starlings from a TV aerial. Said starlings were very noisy, lots of clicks and whistles...
When I got to Hammersmith Bridge, one of the 'flags' was a crow but it was dislodged quite quickly by another one and they flew away.
The tide was low but quickly going up, and it had been so cold that the puddles left by the previous tide were frozen. By the time I was walking back the tide had risen enough that pretty much all the teals and gadwalls had flown to the Wetland Centre and the gulls and mallards were starting to congregate on the pier and pontoon. Still, I saw:
  • lesser black backed: 2 adults (1 with streaky head, the other white)
  • black-headed gull: lots, more and more are on their way to getting their summer plumage
  • common gull: 10, including a 1W, the most I have seen for a while
  • mallard: 40
  • gadwall: 21
  • teal: 36
  • tufted duck: 18, pretty much the only birds left on the water when I left
  • cormorant: 4
    coot: 1 (2 in one year, I wonder if this going to be a regular, like the moorhen)
  • moorhen: 2, adult and youngster

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