The second day of the Winter

Flying Gadwall. MAE©2011

Truth be told: it did not feel like Winter at all today. The sun was bright and almost warm and the temperature was in double figures. It was a good day to visit London Wetland Centre (LWC) once again. And there was some more good news: during weekdays there are much less people fighting for a window in the hides.


The first thing I saw once I opened a window in Dulverton Hide was a Gadwall starting to land. I have never seen one flying before so that was already a nice surprise. He met up with his wife and they paraded in front of me after his landing. A Gadwall is called in Dutch: Krakeend and the Latin name is Anas Strepera. Much less colourful than the Mallard duck, but still a cracker.

Some Wigeons enjoying the sun. MAE©2011

Further away, there were a lot of Wigeons to be seen. These funny ducks do swim, but they find their food ashore, as they did this afternoon. Not disturbed by the always available seagulls, they found the sun very pleasant as well. They do have funny faces, especially with the rebellious light brown stripe on their head. They have now taken residence in almost all the little lakes of the LWC, as can be seen on my FlickRiver page. This duck is called Smient in Dutch and the Latin name is: Anas Penelope.

Comorant showing off. MAE©2011

Whenever there is water (and fish), you can see a Cormorant around. An almost pre-historic bird that likes to show off. They fly in, dive for food and flap their wings to dry before flying off again. They take no notice of any bird around them, nor does anyone take notice of them. A Cormorant is known in Dutch as an Aalscholver and the Latin name is: Phalacrocorax Carbo.


Finally, I should talk about the very uncommon and beautiful Common Teal. This morning the wardens of LWC went out early with their cans of feather paint to give them a once-over before the visitors arrived. Because I can still not believe that these ducks have natural coloured feathers. The green they have in their face is as beautiful as the green of a normal Mallard duck. And they are at peace with each other as the last picture below shows. A Common Teal is called a Wintertaling in Dutch and an Anas Crecca in Latin. Oh, I almost forgot: a Mallard Duck is called Wilde Eend in Dutch and the Latin name is: Anas Plathyrhynchos.

Mallards and Teals. MAE©2011

Clear to land

It is pretty obvious that birds need to land after a flight. And while any bird in flight is a joy to watch, they don't necessarily grace us with a pretty sight at the actual landing. But it all comes down to adversing forward speed and lift into reduction of speed and preventing to drop down.

Grey Heron landing. MAE©2011

The first example of a less graceful landing must be the Great Blue Heron. They look very strange in flight with their bent neck and stretched bill. They are normally vertically orientated while looking for fish and they are horizontally orientated once in the air. But once the landing procedure start (do they also work through a check-list?) they spread every wing and limb they have available so as to not crash beyond repair. The sight is almost frightening.

Herring Gull just landed. MAE©2011

Herring Gulls have the tendency to land in the water rather the on the water. As if they are not able to calculate the moment of impact. I have already shown one example in another post. But this was not the first time I saw such a landing. Earlier I had seen a fine example of this just by accident. You cannot make nice pictures without any occasional luck. This one was landing just outside one of the hides in London Wetland Centre and I am very grateful to the gull.


But the most impressive landing I have taken a picture of to date must be the Harris Hawk during a falconry display this Summer at Blenheim Palace. And although she has some extra, unnatural footwear and the display was a bit circus-like, it was a beautiful sight altogether. But then again: any bird of prey is impressive...

Harris Hawk in attack mode. MAE©2011

A Magical Day

Canada Geese grooming. MAE©2011

Today was just a Saturday like any other...or so it seemed. The weather forecast stated cloudy at the start but brightening up later in the day. Just another November morning. But things were about to happen.


For starters, all public transport was running on schedule and I did not have to wait more than five minutes with every change I made. So when I finally reached London Wetland Centre at Barnes, the odds were already in my favour. As always, my first stop was the Dulverton Hide. It was quite crowded and I had to fight for a spot at one of the windows. But the first view was of a flock of Canada Geese grooming themselves for the day. You have to look good if so many people come and watch you. I am not a big fan of these geese, but the view was magical. Their Autumn colours fit well against the background of the main lake.

Touchdown! MAE©2011

Next I had a lucky shot of a Herring Gull landing in the water. Although I will admit I waited a little bit for this moment to be right. But then again, I was in no hurry. It is always amazing to see them fly and land. They are so graceful in their movements. They compensate it though with their ugly, shrieking voice.






The icing on the magical cake today must have been the group of Teals that was taking a nap. They were enjoying the warm and were totally relaxed on the banks of the little inlet. Earlier I already took a picture of just one indecisive male Teal. All in all a magical day with some magical birds to be seen.

Teals taking a nap. MAE©2011

Always a surprise

The usual suspects. MAE©2011

Whenever you walk in nature, even on your standard route to your standard place, you know you will be surprised. It is not a matter of if but  when. That is certainly the case whenever I walk around Ruislip Lido. A camera that is ready to use may come in very handy...

Two lost Wigeons. MAE©2011

Normally there are always many "common" Mute Swans, Mallard Ducks and Canadian Geese around. All year long that is. And whilst they are of course interesting creatures, everybody knows them very well. I did speak about the surprise of seeing some Gadwalls in my blog from 6^th November.










But yesterday I had another surprise: There were a couple of Wigeons around. I had not expected that, since they need quite some land to graze like Geese and there is not much around...that is not disturbed by passers-by. And they are definitely not as cool as those Geese...who follow you for some more bread if they can.


Truth be told: there were actually only 2 Wigeons to be seen, so they may even have been lost or waiting to fly to some other place. But the surprise was nevertheless very well appreciated. I just hope that there will be more Wigeons who will find this place nice enough to stay a while.

Common Teal (The uncommon duck)

I had heard about the Common Teal or in Dutch Wintertaling before, but I never saw one until recently. It is a migrating bird, so you have to wait until Autumn anyway. The Latin name is: Anas Crecca. The moment I saw this duck, I was mesmerized. 

Male and female Teal. MAE©2011

There is nothing "common" about the Common Teal. The very bright green and brown colours of their feathers makes this duck look very special. Most teals are actually very special. The Cape Teal is very pretty with their grey-brown feathers and their bright red bill and the Marbled Teal looks as if somebody has glued their thick feathers on an "empty" duck one by one. Finally the Ringed Teal is just a funny looking duck and looks more like a toy. But being a teal, it is still a beautiful one.



But this blog is a tribute to the simple common teal. As always, I found out on the website of London Wetland Centre that they were spotted and I could not resist. Once inside, I immediately went to the first hide and saw the duck just in front of me.


The pictures speak for themselves...

Brightly coloured male Teal .MAE©2011

Tufted Duck (The favourite duck)

Those eyes are magical. MAE©2011

There is no doubt in my mind, that the Tufted Duck or Tuffy is my all time favourite duck. Not that other ducks are not to be favoured, but you can't challenge taste or preferences. The way they look at you with there very bright and yellow eyes is close to magical. But the most lovely feature must be their little tuft at the back of their head, which looks as if they are ready for mischief and pranks.


The Tufted duck is called a Kuifeend in Dutch and in Latin their name is: Aythya fuligula. They can be found all year round in lakes and ponds. Their normal food supply comes from below the water and they can dive for quite a long time.

Mother with some extra kids. MAE©2011

I have seen mother Tuffies with a huge amount of ducklings, sometimes even with some toddlers adopted from another species. They seem to be very dedicated to their care, but then again: what else is there to do. The male Tuffies are not seen around the kids...

I could go on about these ducks forever. But the joy of taking pictures of them should speak for itself. Therefore I have dedicated some web space to this wonderful duck.


Hurray for the Tufted duck!

Three males and a female. MAE©2011

Wigeon (The mystical duck)

For whatever reason I have been hoping to see a Wigeon. This stems from the moment I heard about them and maybe also because their Dutch name is so funny: Smient. By the way, the Latin name is Anas Penelope. Reading about this duck, I learned that it is a migrating duck, who travels in the Autumn from Scandinavia to the more moderate winters of Northwest Europe.

My first sighting of some Wigeons. MAE©2011

Therefore I was very excited when the website of London Wetland Centre announced that a handful of these ducks where spotted at their Main Lake. Without further ado, I went and started the chase.


The lake was very smooth and it didn't take long before I spotted them standing in one of the hides. Unfortunately, a close-up shot was not possible, since they kept themselves to themselves at a considerable distance.


Wigeons, especially the male, are very recognizable because they are small and compact and they have a light brown stripe from front to back on their head. Their bill is small and blueish. Their feathers are predominantly (golden) brown.


They do not dive for food but graze like geese on the dry banks.


A very funny but beautiful looking duck that deserves to be noted, although to me they will always remain quite mystical.

Lovely colours. MAE©2011

Gadwall (The unknown duck)

On a quiet November morning  I went to the Ruislip Lido, to see if there were any interesting pictures to make. Normally you will find a lot of Mute Swans, Canada Geese and (common) Mallard Ducks on the Lido. And of course many Herring Gulls flying over them making a lot of noise. Even the Great Crested Grebe can be seen every now and then, although I do not know if there is enough fish in the pond.

Almost a dozen Gadwalls trying to get away from my camera. MAE©2011

So I was pleasantly surprised to see a handful of Gadwalls in one of the inlets amongst some geese. I had not seen them at the Lido before and I only recently came to know them from a visit to the  London Wetland Centre. Unfortunately, the Gadwalls notice me before I noticed them and the moment I came around, they swam quickly towards the open lake. I tested this many times, but despite my perceived subtle approach, they were not to be fooled. It took some attempts to get a better picture but it was worth the effort.

Gadwalls at the London Wetland Centre. MAE©2011

Gadwalls are less known than their cousin the Mallard and they can be seen throughout the year. For a duck their colours may be simple, but very beautiful nevertheless. They are called Krakeend in Dutch and the Latin name is Anas Strepera. The male has a black bill and greyish-black patterned feathers with a distinctive white feather at his flank. The female has a very distinctive yellow-orange bill and has a similar feather pattern as the female Mallard. Both sexes have a horizontal black "mascara" stripe around their eyes. 


Finding the Gadwall made a nice change from the ordinary. I do hope they are not so shy next time I see them.