A Remarkable Weekend

It must have been the very sunny weather, between the end-of-this-December low pressure systems that have tortured western Europe lately. But with the clear blue sky and almost no wind, it was to be an interesting weekend. Nobody however could have predicted how remarkable it turned out to be.

On Saturday I visited London Wetland Centre, just to see if there was anything exciting going on. The domestic Wigeons (Anas Penelope) already made my visit worthwhile with their display of bravado against each other as seen in the banner.

But the Tufted Duck (Aythya Fuligula) that took a bath was just too good to be true. You only wonder why she needs this at all, provided that she spends most of her life in the water anyway.

I never knew that there were Pink-footed Geese (Anser Brachyrhynchus) there as well. I had seen some other geese in the Wetland Centre in the past, but these beautiful big birds with their regal brown heads and funny pink flippers were just a joy to take pictures of. And they treated me on a swimming display as well.

And to round of my visit to the London Wetland Centre, just two pictures: of a Mallard Duck (Anas Platyrhynchos) in flight and of two Northern Pintails (Anas Acuta). And this was only the beginning of my remarkable weekend…

I wondered where all the Common Teals (Anas Crecca) had gone. They should be here in their dozens now the winter has started, but I only spotted one or two in the Wetland Centre. But just across, when I walked back to Putney along the Thames I spotted about 15 of them having a jolly afternoon near the river.  I did not expect that at all!

But the most remarkable event happened today, when I was watching my bird feeder in the garden. I hadn’t seen much visitors lately, but the one that flew in just now was a first for me: a Nuthatch (Sitta Europaea) found the food and took its time to enjoy it.

There are many weekends I remember to be remarkable. Because of the weather or of a new bird or butterfly I saw. But this last weekend of 2013 was certainly very remarkable!

2013: A Year in Pictures, April - June

It is only fair to start this blog with new life in the world of the Canada Geese (Branta Canadensis), since my last blog showed a dead one. The circle of life is best shown in these three months of the year. The temperature rises and many animals prepare for the next generation. By nesting, such as the two Great-crested Grebes (Podiceps Cristatus) on the left.

In this period, I started to take pictures of some small birds, which is not very easy. They hop from branch to next tree and with all the new leaves growing rapidly, there is always a missed opportunity.

Here is my 2013 overview of the second semester.

 

 

 

April

April this year was definitely the month of the small birds. I hadn’t paid much attention to them, since I was always taking pictures of ducks or butterflies. But that changed dramatically after I had some decent shots of finches, robins and tits…as I hope these examples show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May

It is always a wonderful surprise if you see the first butterfly and May 2013 was no exception. Bute there were more pleasant surprises, as the pictures of the Edible Frog (Pelophylax kl. Esculentus) and the Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos Caudatus) below show.

June

In June there is already enough nectar for the (bumble) bees and butterflies to harvest. I did blog about that but it was in June as well that I had my first decent shot of a flying bumblebee. That required some patience, but the result was quite satisfactory.

I will end this blog with another first: A Greenshank (Tringa Nebularia) and a Redshank (Tringa Totanus)  together.

In my next blog the summer has arrived.

Until then: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

 

 

2013: A Year in Pictures, January - March

It is only a week until the year 2013 ends and I see all kind od lists an overviews being published to reflect on the past 12 months. So I have looked in my photo archive and tried to find those pictures that symbolise my year in photography. Rather self indulgent, I know…but fun nevertheless. Some you may have seen before, but others have never been published in my blogs before. So here is the first of a series of four blogs to celebrate the beauty of nature.

January

If you think of January, you think of snow and ice after it failed to be there for Christmas. And indeed, there is a wintery pictures (or animals for that matter) to be shown. This Mallard Duck (Anas Platyrhynchos) flew quietly over the unfrozen water, But later in the month there was indeed ice and his mates were getting cold feet.

They still seem to be a little bit surprised that they cannot just swim, like the Gadwalls (Anas Strepera) are doing in the picture below.

That picture was taken in London Wetland Centre, of which I blogged in October.

 

 

February

Although it was still winter, I could imagine to be in the wild grassland of Africa when I saw this African Wild Dog (Lycaon Pictus) in London Zoo. I did show another picture in my blog on the Zoological Society London in March, but this one was still in my archive and unpublished.

Also in February, I saw a group of Shoveler Ducks (Anas Clypeata) enjoying the sun at the London Wetland Centre…I couldn’t resist taking a picture.

And so February came to a close and March was approaching. Spring was almost in the air.

 

 

 

 

March

These Tufted Ducks (Aythya Fuligula) were just to good to be true for a picture. Their bright yellow eyes are very typical and it shouldn’t be long before the mating season starts.

But with new life there is also death, as this picture of a Canada Goose (Branta Canadensis) shows. Rest assured. So far, this is the only dead animal I have taken a picture of.

And although I normally take pictures of birds and butterflies, the occasional mammal will not go amiss. Therefore I will end this blog on my pictures of the first three months of 2013 with a Giraffe and some Otters.

Next time I will show my pictures of the next three months, leading up to the glorious summer of 2013.

Weekend Surprises

This weekend was full of surprise encounters. First a little story. In 1951 the Hollywood movie “African Queen”, with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn, was partly shot at Isleworth Studios in Middlesex. The story goes that a pair of Rose-ringed Parakeets (Psittacula Krameri) escaped and settled in the surrounding neighbourhood. Whether this is true or not I don’t know, but nowadays there are around 50,000 of these birds flying around in London.

This afternoon I saw about three in a tree in my garden, and they stayed long enough for a decent shot.

They normally fly in groups of at least 5 and make quite some noise in the air.

But it is always a funny sight to see these cute birds in your garden. You feel in a different world, just as Humphrey (who won an Oscar for Best Actor for his role) and Katherine.

 

Last week I saw a handful of Little Egrets (Egretta Garzetta) in a tree near Ruislip Lido. In the past I had seen just one every now and then in that area, but I was presently surprised to see so many together. Of course I had to revisit the actual site and so I did yesterday. The surprise was even bigger, since about a dozen were flying up and down the trees.

Unfortunately, you can not approach them totally silent and they flew away the moment I came too close. But waiting a while (as quiet as possible) helped a little in making these shots.

I was even able to take a picture of two of them in flight as is shown below. I will definitely return to this “scene of crime”.

 

Talking of birds in flight: I also took some shots at the Ruislip Lido of three Canada Geese (Branta Canadensis) and a Muted Swan (Cygnus Olor) in full flight. It is always a thrill to see these shots being sharp enough to share (in stead of deleting them straight away). The picture at the beginning of this blog showed the occasion for the flight: there was some food on offer further down the Lido…and they all had to tuck in.

I will finish this blog with a picture of a Eurasian Jay (Garrulus Glandarius) that seemed to be as surprised as I was this weekend of the variation of birdlife, just around the corner.

Shovelling along

Today I saw quite some Northern Shovelers (Anas Clypeata) in London Wetland Centre. And I realised that I never wrote a blog about this typical duck. It’s name is obviously derived from the unique (and not so pretty) bill, with which they can do all kind of useful things. especially when it comes down to getting food.

They feed by dabbling for plant food, often by swinging its bill from side to side and using the bill to strain food from the water. They use their highly specialized bill (from which their name is derived) to forage for aquatic invertebrates – a carnivorous diet.

Their wide-flat bill is equipped with well-developed lamellae – small, comb-like structures on the edge of the bill that act like sieves, allowing the birds to skim crustaceans and plankton from the water's surface (source: Wikipedia).

 

But I have seen that their bill can also be used for other activities, such as scratching, fighting etc.

The colours of the male (outside the eclipse period) are very distinctive and quite remarkable. A white base chest with a brown underbelly. Very bright dark-green head and beautiful black and white feathers on the back. The colours do compensate the ugly broad bill.

The female Shoveler has typical female duck colours, but with the different bill. They must eat as well after all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will finish with a picture where both male and female Shovelers can be seen. It was taken in London Wetland Centre.

Another wonderful duck, that’s for sure!

 

 

Goose Bumps

With the autumn definitely started, there will be thousands and thousands of geese coming to this side of Europe. But there are also geese who are permanent residents of the UK, such as the Canada Geese (Branta Candensis) as shown in the banner who are quite frankly turning into almost a pest in this part of Europe.

Nevertheless, this blog is all about geese and the beautiful variety there is amongst them.

The first type to show is the White-fronted Goose (Anser Albifrons). They are very recognizable with their white band around the orange bill. They breed in Russia or Greenland, but fly to our shores in the Autumn. The picture on the left was taken in Slimbridge Wetland Centre where they are living all year round. But I still need to see the White-fronted Geese in the wild, so this picture has to do for the moment.

They do have a little cousin, the Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser Erythropus) that is smaller in size and has a more pink coloured bill. They rarely come to the UK for the winter, although with a reintroduction program in Sweden, this may change.

On this picture you can also see the Red-breasted Goose (Branta Ruficollis). The Red-breasted Goose is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. They are normally staying near the Black Sea during the winter and breed in North Russia (Siberia).

Sometimes you see them in north-west Europe, where they will stay in small groups during the winter, in amongst other geese. Their colours however are very distinguishable. This picture (as well as the one above) was taken at Arundel Wetland Centre.

But if you don’t like the coloured geese, you can always refer back to the domestically bread Embden Goose (Anser Anser Domesticus). Men have created this breed and you can find them in parks, at farms and basically everywhere throughout the year, since they do not migrate.

There are many more types of goose that I could show you. But let’s finish with the Greylag Goose (Anser Anser). It is in fact the ancestor of the domesticated Embden Goose and is also non migratory. I give you: the original goose.

The Rare House Sparrow

Everybody knows the simple House Sparrow (Passer Domesticus). It is (or should I say: was) the first bird you learn to recognize and every garden in the country has them as a visitor…or not. Because the RSPB website gives some daunting facts:

House sparrow numbers have dropped nationally over the last 25 years (BTO various data). In Greater London they declined by 68 % between 1994 and 2009 (BTO Breeding Bird Survey data) - and sparrows are now absent from many areas of central London where they were once common.

Recent research has shown house sparrows in urban areas suffer from a lack of invertebrates (insects) to feed their young. This was shown by a study in Leicester, where poor condition and death of young chicks was linked to low numbers of invertebrates in their diet (RSPB and De Montfort University study). A large-scale feeding experiment in London (RSPB study) has demonstrated the importance of invertebrates for the survival of young chicks. Through this project, we tested more natural ways to increase the numbers of invertebrates available to sparrows and other birds in our urban green spaces.

And to be quite honest: I haven’t seen them so much lately. But there is hope. Their decline has been addressed by all kind of projects lately and the facts and figures gathered in those projects (e.g. House Sparrow numbers in relation to insect availability) will help to move to the next step: to bring these little friends back to our urban wildlife.

In order to make the case for the House Sparrow and their re-introduction, I will show some of the few pictures I made of them.

Even if they are merely brown and grey, they are quite pretty little birds and definitely worth preserving. I will finish this blog with a picture I took a couple of years ago of four females chatting along (as they do) on a fence.