1 April 2009

I passed by the Thames while running some errands. Tide was very low, some of the lowest I have seen, though it was even lower yesterday as I was walking a dog with a friend,
Still a few birds:

• mallard: 14
  
• gadwall: 16
  
• tufted duck: 20
  
• teal: 2
  
• moorhen
  
• coot: 3
  
• cormorant: 2
  
• black-headed gull: 20-30, mostly 1st years, only one had a black head
  
• lesser black-backed gull: 1 pair
  
• Canada goose: 14, mostly of them resting on the shore (now that the gulls are gone, it's nice and quiet. ;) )
  

I saw 4 (3 males & 1 female) house sparrows in the bush by Crabtree Wharf; I usually only hear them, but today the female, especially, gave me some good views. No colour ring on any of them.

30 March 2009

I have found another nest of long-tailed tits in Margravine Cemetery. And, once again, it is in an area of high traffic, i.e. near the entrance by Barons Court. I'd heard a pair in the area a few times but thought they might be nesting on the other side.

In the meantime, the great spotted woodpecker continues to drum all over the place, including the aerials (until crows or magpie chase it from them...)

29 March 2009

You will have seen this photo already if you follow me on twitter. It was taken shortly before the Boat race, at high tide. I assume it is the same one I have seen doing the same thing, i.e. going against the tide going nowhere, if not backwards, on previous occasions. It even had a youngster in tow at Christmas, twice the fun! Must be damn fit!

28 March 2009

I went and checked the Thames part of my patch this morning. Tide was low and there weren't very many birds:

• mallard: 24
  
• gadwall: 16
  
• teal: 12
  
• tufted duck: 15
  
• moorhen: 3
  
• coot: 3 (2 of them fighting it seemed)
  
• lesser black-backed gull: 1 adult
  
• great crested grebe: 1 adult asleep on the water
  
• herring gull: 1 3rd winter(?)
  
• black-headed gull: 3 first year
  
• pied wagtail
  
• cormorant

There was a fairly strong northerly wind, and, at some point, I was treated to a minute or 2 of a female peregrine in stationary flight against it. Awesome!

22 March 2009

This morning, with my sister, we went and saw the fish outside of Charing Cross Hospital. Most people visiting her are amazed at how big her goldfish (Maurice) is, so I thought I'd show her some really big ones so she can tell her visitors it's not that big really :)
I quite like going to look at them from time to time, I tend to make the slight detour if I am passing nearby, I find it very relaxing.
The two papyrus plants, one of which I successfully cloned a few years back from a broken stem, are not looking very healthy,which is a shame.

In the afternoon, after a big meal, we simply laid on the grass in Margravine Cemetery, taking the sunshine, listening to the birds, watching the squirrels. Protected from the chilly westerly wind, it was lovely.

20 March 2009

With my sister over from France and the weather looking nice, we decided to go and spend the afternoon at the Wetland Centre. It is my first visit this year, probably the first year I wait so long to go there. When we crossed Hammersmith Bridge on the bus, tide was quite low and it was immediately obvious that the black headed gulls are pretty much all gone from there as well.
We spent most of our time in the captive birds part of the reserve, in part as I wanted to see the Demoiselle Cranes which I had not seen yet since they arrived back in November (I think), and take photos of them for my parents who are cranes 'fans'. Not as exciting obviously as when a common crane flew over their house a few weeks ago as they were gardening (they're quite on the outside of their migration route through France, but occasionally one of them strays a bit from the path), but quite nice nevertheless.

It was grooming time, it seems, a constant throughout our visit. This mandarin duck in the same pen was no exception:

I was reminded reading ShySongbird's blog a few weeks ago that, when I was a youngster, I did not seem to have a roll of film without a black swan on it. I'll have to have a look one day to see if my memory is playing tricks with me, but in the meantime, here are some more:


It was grooming time for them as well...

18 March 2009

As I will be picking up my sister at the Eurostar at the time I do the weekly shopping, I went today instead. First thing I noticed was the almost total lack of black headed gulls, except for a dead one on the pontoon. Not too many other birds there except for some young big gulls, 3 greylag and 2 Canada Geese, the usual mallards, a grey heron fishing and a singing grey wagtail. I noticed at least 8 sparrows feeding on the catkins, but I don't think they were too impressed with the 2 gardeners leaf-blowing 'their' gardens. I certainly wasn't.
I was trying to photograph a cormorant in flight (practice hopefully making perfect) when my eye caught a commotion slightly higher and further: one, then 2, crow was harassing a peregrine, probably a male given the size difference, chasing it from the Battersea direction further West into Fulham.