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...

a slice of mandarin

Last Saturday, on my way to watch a friend race on the river, I spotted this female Mandarin among the barges at Furnival Gardens. I don't know if it is the same one I saw in February, and mentioned in this post, but, if not, it's her body double. I took photos on my way back home, on my way there the branch she's perched on was at water level.




I had previously seen her (difficult to imagine that there are that many of them lurking about around Fulham) in February, preening on the foreshore.



I like how the water appears to be boiling around her, but also how clear it was.



The difference between her two wings is fairly obvious this way.




For bigger versions and more photos click on the photos above or go to my gallery.

between you and me and a packet of crisps

I went by the Thames yesterday afternoon, more to stretch my legs than anything, but, you never know, my luck of the previous day could have continued. No such luck, and unlikely as the Thames was chock-a-block with rowing boats, I assume it was the Junior Head of the River or something.
Unsurprisingly, there wasn't much out there, though a good quantity of Black-headed Gulls were congregating by Hammersmith Bridge. A pair of Gadwalls were a surprise, I barely saw any all winter, and, now, barely any other duck, and there they were!
Then this pair of geese arrived. I'd seen them before, pretty sure, as I was cleaning up the foreshore slightly further south last week. One, I assume the female, a classic Canada Goose, the other one of those Canada x Greylag hybrids which pop up from time to time. I tried to ignore them, but they kept on passing by, and then the hybrid one started honking. I couldn't resist any longer and got my camera out.

"Hey you! Stop taking photos!"

"And a packet of crisps swims by..."

"What sweet music we make"

"Bye!"

of boats, ducks and gulls

It was a bit strange by the Thames when I did the weekly shopping trip today. First, it was freezing cold but for a few seconds it felt like I was by the Mississippi when this boat sailed by:


It is called The Elizabethan, and is apparently a perfect replica of an 1890s Mississippi Stern-wheeled Paddle Steamer. "The Elizabethan is one of the largest vessels on the Thames for private charter, with an enviable reputation for excellent cuisine and service."

Second, there seemed to be more big gulls than in recent times, mostly Herring Gulls, but also 3 Great Black-backed Gulls. Considering I've hardly ever seen one there, seeing 3 at once was quite something, especially as 2 of them were engaged in loud courtship behaviour.

Lastly, there was a duck I wouldn't mind for my patch, a Pintail. Minding its own business on its lonesome.



For bigger versions, and more photos, click on one of the photos above or go here.

To finish, some gulls, just because. This pair was involved in a lot of courtship while I was there. I assume it's the male at the back and the female at the front, she somehow has a bit more of a feminine look to her. I quite like the composition of this photo but it doesn't show how hard they had to work to stay put against the wind.


A younger one on one of the numerous bicycles to be found on the foreshore unfortunately.



I quite like juvenile and 1st winter plumages, the only reason why I'm adding this one.

of birds and bees

I have finally processed some of the photos of Redwings in Margravine Cemetery I took on a sunny 17th January.









After 2 months 1/2, nearly 3 now, of their presence, I shall miss the little fellows when they leave. It's been difficult to find them the past 2 days. I would initially find a few up in a tree, sometime singing, then a few more, and then they would finally end up on the ground looking for worms. That part they prefer, between Barons Court and Queens Club, will seem empty.



I felt very much under the weather today, but it looked so nice that I went and spent an hour in Margravine Cemetery. Primarily to check on the Redwings, then on the Great Spotted Woodpeckers. I haven't found yet if and where they've decided to nest this year, but they gave me fantastic views today. I even had them both in the same tree for a few minutes. First the male:


Then the female. First in a fairly classic pose:

Then a more unusual angle:


Then, I think I have been spotted:

That didn't distract her from finding food:

Even trying her best Blue Tit impression:


Lastly, the sunshine on the crocuses, now in full bloom:


And on one of those crocuses, a bumblebee, covered in pollen! I actually saw 2 today.

bits and pieces

Wednesday means it's supermarket day, and means checking on the House Sparrows out there. I was getting increasingly worried as I couldn't see/hear the nice little flock that was in the bushes by the car park. I couldn't either find them by their nesting site, yet the catkins they loved last year are almost ready. Today, I finally saw a male peer through those bushes and call. It then flew off and initially looked like it was flying to the houses on the other side of the roundabout when he suddenly made a sharp angle and descended in the 'wasteland' that's between the car park and the derelict warehouses. When I got closer I could indeed hear sparrows in there, but the vegetation was just too dense. However, looking for them, I found a pair of Foxes having a nap in the sunshine.



Its left eye appears to be crying, but it looked otherwise in good health. I miss the time when we used to see them in the back gardens (2004 & 2005 (when we had a litter of 4 cubs)).

The past few weeks, I have noted aMoorhen which must have been from a very late brood last year as the red mask is barely developed, though I admit it's not that obvious on the photos at this size. I would have thought that last year's birds would have fully developed to adulthood by now.





Lastly, I have plugged them before, but it is now even more important than before: if during the months of February to July you see Peregrine activity around tall buildings in your area, please contact the London Peregrine Partnership.

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 ;)