Time for a Few Birds

I have been having a lot of fun photographing brown hares this spring and started feeling I had been neglecting the birds a little. This was particularly the case as I could feel spring gathering around me with various migrants coming through and arriving locally. So it was time for a bit of bird time. Also I wanted to get in a little bird practice as I am away to Romania in three weeks where the majority of subjects will be birds. This post is a small collection of different birds photographed recently from a series of often short sessions in various places.

Starting of with a trip down south recently to visit my parents which resulted in a brief stop-off in Bushy Park to break up the journey. The avian soundscape of the London Parks has been transformed by a flourishing population of Ring-necked Parakeets, with their constant sqwarking from the trees. Their vivid green colours certainly add a splash of the exotic to these park lands. This is a species of considerable debate given the suggested competition between these introduced invading species and our endemic tree nesting birds. The light was not great on the day so I was looking for birds in places where I could avoid the sky which either meant low down or with a tree trunk filling the frame.

On one of the ponds in the park there were three Pochard. This is a duck species that has frustratingly evaded by efforts to photograph it and as on this occasion I have only managed a few photographs. This pair of Pochard where in the middle of mating with the female getting half 'drowned' in the process.

Moving closer to home, I have undertaken the occasional early morning or evening session before or after work. My good friend Gerhard created, with quite a lot of sustained effort, an 'out in the wild' feeding station for Linnet. These are quite a flighty species and so it provided a good opportunity to get some photos and watch the birds up close.  His efforts paid off attracting increasing numbers of the birds, which were mainly young birds or females but there were a couple of better coloured males amongst them. They tend to be a slightly overlooked species  which most will associate with loose bounding twittering flocks, but a good coloured male up close is a fine looking bird.

It was nice to see good numbers of Skylark along the local coastal strip. There liquid song dripping down from their high display flights is always a pleasure to the ears.

Always a tricky subject in flight.

This next photograph was a completely unplanned bonus as the bird landed next to me in a bramble patch whilst trying to photograph some warblers. A male Reed bunting in all the finery of its full spring plumage.

Over the last week or so I have finally turned my attentions to the increasing numbers of arriving warblers. These birds really bring an area to life as the once silent reeds, scrub and brambles suddenly takes on a whole new life with the incessant whirling, clicks, and scratchy warbles of various species trying to lay claim to a breeding patch. To appreciate this at its best requires the alarm clock to be set to a very early time which will leave you feeling fuzzy headed with tiredness by the early afternoon. Its worth it though.

A Sedge Warbler establishing its territory over an area of brambles from four different song perches.

Another lover of the security provided by a bramble patch is the Grasshopper Warbler. Now I did intend to avoid these this year but then again I say that every year and was once again drawn in by that mesmerizing insect like song. For me watching these birds broadcast their song is one of the real pleasures at this time of year and no doubt I will find myself drawn to them next April.

Bushy Birds

This post follows on from my previous one. During my visit to Bushy Park and whilst wandering around looking for the deer I came across a few birds to photograph. The first images provide a good link back to the last post as it shows some symbiosis between a red deer and jackdaws. Symbiosis is the mutually beneficial relationship between two different types of organisms. In this case the deer benefits from having skin parasites (such as ticks) removed, whilst the birds are gaining a easy snack. As you can see from the photos the female deer is very relaxed and oblivious to the birds foraging on her head.

I also took a few moments to take a few flight photographs of the Jackdaws, although decided to give up quite quickly as the birds were still going through moult and not looking at their best.

Another bird species which I always keep my eye out for when in the London parks is the Egyptian Goose. This species is generally restricted to the south-east corner of the UK and so not a species I can photography locally at home. These feral populations may not be native but they are a very attractive bird.

Up close and personal.

With the adult goose in the photograph above were two goslings. By sitting still and letting the birds make their way along the lake bank to my position I was soon getting full frame images of the youngsters.

How does the song go...'walk like an Egyptian'.

The other non-native birds I always keep a look out for are the Ringed Necked Parakeets. However, these colourful and noisy birds were sticking to the tops of trees during the session except for one bird which was perched on a old decaying trunk.

Grey herons are a species with a large 'circle of fear' and are not normally easily approached. For example, the herons on my local coast will often start walking away or take flight when a person gets within 75 metres. The 'circle of fear' for the urban park herons is significantly reduced through daily exposure to park visitors. I spotted a heron fishing in a small channel that ran along one side of the car park and which proved to be typically approachable.

After a while the bird stepped out of the channel and immediately was mobbed by two crows which caused the heron to raise its 'hackles' in defensive posture.

Hopefully from these last two blog posts you can see that the Royal London Parks, although not particularly challenging in terms of photography, can be very productive, good fun and ideal for a short visit.

Capital Birds - Seeing Green

One aspect I really enjoy of my occasional visits to London are seeing and photographing the ever increasing numbers of ring necked parakeets. We do not see them much in the north west whereas the captial is overrun with them. I did not realise how numerous they have become, until packing the camera gear back into the car at Bushy Park, in the fading light, flocks of 50-150 birds continuely sped past every couple of minutes as they headed to their night time roost. They are noisey and probably competitive with native birds, especially for nest holes, but they are so colourful and show some interesting behaviour that makes for a great photographic subject. However, they can be quite difficult to photograph as they seem to prefer to perch high in trees but with a bit of patience you usually find some lurking down lower.

Checking out nest holes seems to keep them preoccupied. I assume they nest at a similar time to our birds but then again that is something I must look up.

I thought that would be it for green birds but while at the wetland centre during my visit, a rare opportunity arose to photograph a green woodpecker. These birds really are many UK bird photographers' nemesis as they are normally very, very difficult to approach. Given that fact, I was pleased to get the brief oppotunity for a couple of photographs.

As the bird hopped to the lake edge for a quick drink before lifting off and away in its undulating flight.

Bushy Park's Exotic Wild Birds

A visit to Bushy Park in London puts me among birds that I do not regularly encounter on the home patch. These are namely Ring-necked Parakeets and Egyptian Geese. Both introduced bird species are mainly confined at present to the south and east of the country but their numbers are swelling and they are spreading. Some welcome the 'intruders' but others worry about their ecological impact but the bottom line is they are most likely here to stay.

An Egyptian Goose preening

The parakeets present more of a challenge as they like to stay high in the trees but are easily found from their calls and can be frequently seen flying very rapidly between trees.

or just lurking The best opportunities for photography are when they land on a trunk.

Return to the Wetland Centre

I was recently back down in London and ahd some free time to pay a brief return visit to the London Wetland Centre. When I arrived it was quiet on the wild bird side of things so I decided to spend a bit of time with some of the captive waterfowl collection.

Long-tailed duck

Goldeneye
Smew

and a couple of the captive birds bathing.

Having had my fill of the captive birds I decided to move on to try and find some wild birds.

Feeding coot Tufted duck

Gadwall ShovelerLittle grebe in breeding plumage

Taking another dive To finish off I decided to have another go at the Ring-necked parakeets
As I was leaving I got up really close to a parakeet on a feeder.

and so decided to take the opportunity to take a close-up head shot.