Lonsdale Reservoir last Sunday

I have been so busy and/or tired this week that I am only just managing to get this out now. I went to Lonsdale Reservoir last Sunday and, at last, mission Little Grebe was successful with a pair by the reed bed at one end of the reservoir :) #39 for the year.


I had barely started going round that a jogger asked me if I'd seen the owl, then by the tree I met some people who'd come specially to see it, so it's become a local celebrity it seems :)



Nearby I heard a Chiffchaff, then another on the other side which I spotted briefly. #40. The male Kestrel was sitting in a tree, I didn't spot its mate. Jackdaws, Stock Doves, but no Egyptian Geese.
A crow was picking up nesting material on the path, and another one was making a strange noise I don't recall hearing before:

Crow

On the water, there were still a few Common and Black-headed Gulls, but not that many. I couldn't see any Shovelers, but there were still some Tufted Ducks, Teals and Pochards. There had been mention on the Londonbirders wiki of likely unclipped Mandarins so I has a good look for them. Finally found them, and they gave me the run-around initially, moving from one side to the other, hiding behind the vegetation, but I think I finally got photos showing full winged birds. #41






Last visit I had done, over a month ago, a pair of Grey Herons had started building a nest on one of the rafts. They were still there:




This time, from the other side, I noticed that there was a second one, much lower one, on another raft:



Back closer to the nest, I was busy photographing the Mandarins when I heard noise from the herons' nest: the other had arrived for an exchange, the end of which I managed to video:

Nesting Grey Herons

Now that I have a bike, it will hopefully be less than a month before my next visit, with not having to spend 1hr30 just to get there and back anymore...

Sometimes...

..you find what you have been looking for, albeit not where you are looking for it, and/or when you are looking for it...
It can be difficult to say why one likes some birds more than others sometimes, but little grebes are amongst those for me. It's not a bird I see often on my patch, as a matter of fact I was quite surprised when I saw one a few times last year. I went to the Wetland Centre about 10 days ago and among others I was really hoping to see one, almost failed but was thrilled to find one towards the end of my visit.
When I discovered the Lonsdale Reservoir, one of the things that attracted me in coming back was the fact that I saw 3 of them there on my first visit. I have been 3 times this year and have yet to see one. I was really hoping yesterday since one had been reported during the week, but to no avail. And if was even more frustrating that someone else reported one later in the day...
This morning, I was doing a Thames21 cleanup at Kew Bridge. When I arrived the first thing I noticed, actually no, the second thing, as the first one was a grey heron by one of the yellow cages, were 2 smallish birds under the bridge. "no, can't be!", check with my bins, and "yes, it is!" Big grin :)

Earlier, on my way to the tube via Margravine Cemetery, as I was getting closer, once again, there was no missing the Redwings as they were chattering at the top of various trees. I didn't have time to stop and count them but, on my way back a few hours later, they were busy feeding on the ground and I counted 54 of them. They have now been around for over 2 months ;)