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Sunday, 11 March 2012

Almost Spring at London Wetland Centre

Earlier I wrote that I was facinated by the Wigeon. I even described the Wigeon (in Dutch: Smient; In Latin: Anas Penelope) as a mystical duck. Since my first sighting in November 2011 I have been seeing them many more times, especially in the London Wetland Centre. It is known that they hardly dive and that they eat ashore. It is also known that they migrate in the Summer to iceland and Norway, even to Siberia, in order to breed.

So this afternoon, I was actually not surprised to see lots of Wigeons eating their hart out on the juicy grass lands in the London Wetland Centre. They seemed to be having no other purpose in life, than to make sure they stored enough energy for their great flight North. When this will happen, I do not know. But I am grateful they gave me a peek in their day-to-day life.

Talking of great gatherings: I have never seen so many Cormorants together (in Dutch: Aalscholver; In Latin: Phalacrocorax carbo). There must be a lot of fish in the lake, because this afternoon they gathered, together with quite a lot of Grey Herons, on one of the islands. waiting for something to happen. Both types of birds eat fish, although the Cormorant swims and dives for it, whereas the Heron just uses it's beek as a spear. By the way, a couple of years ago I used to live alongside a small canal where anglers would give their catch to the herons. They would just stand quietly next to the angler, waiting for a snack...

Anyway, back to the Cormorants. After fishing, cormorants go ashore, and are frequently seen holding their wings out in the sun. All cormorants have preen gland secretions that are used ostensibly to keep the feathers waterproof. So with the nice Spring sun this afternoon, it must have been a great day for them too.

I have been surprised during any visit to the wetland centre so far. Today was no exception. Just outside the main area, there were two Bewick's swans enjoying the sun. These smaller versions of the Whooper Swan have not been seen before in the wetland centre by me. It is not easy to see the difference between the two. The Whooper (in Dutch: Wilde Zwaan; in Latin: Cygnus Cygnus) has more yellow on the beek and is larger. The Bewick's Swan (In Dutch: Kleine Zwaan; In Latin: Cygnus Columbianus) has therefore less yellow on the beek and is smaller.

But both types are nevertheless magnificent birds and it was very nice to see the Bewick's for the first time. I can now compare the differences using the picture I took last November in regent's Park.

All in all an extremly pleasant afternoon, together with my son, in the everytime surprising and always entertaining London Wetland Centre... where Spring is definitely on its way.

Saturday, 11 February 2012

Gems in the Snow

After a week of some snow and some freeze, I wanted to check out the woodland nearby. Just to see how much snow there was. And more importantly, if there were still some colours to be found amongst the white. In this time of the season, you normally expect something like this. The ice is still there and some snow is covering it.

A total silent scene as if the time has stood still. No activity, not even some skating.

Therefore I was pleasantly surprised to see that if you wanted, you could still play golf. I heard from members that the golfcourse is actually closed for another week. But even if it wasn't closed, you would need some very colourful balls and a robust set of clubs. You need a snowmobile for transport and a lot of patience and stamina. Nevertheless, I was pleased to find these red gems.

But still this was too artificial. I wanted some natural colours and therefore I walked further on. And finally, I found some real gems in the snow. It really seems as if nature just finds he right combination of colours to be seen together. With the bright sunshine, the yellow just screamed at you. But in a very nice way. I don't have to visit an artgallery, because it is just out there. For free. You only have to see it in order to see it.

And the gems kept on coming. What a nice way to spend your afternoon. Just walk an watch, take some pictures and share it afterwards.

Saturday, 7 January 2012

Regent's Park, a duck extravaganza

Today was a fine day for a walk in the Regent's Park in London. The park has a decent pond with quite some different ducks and geese. But first some history.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the RSPB, was formed to counter the barbarous trade in plumes for women's hats, a fashion responsible for the destruction of many thousands of egrets, birds of paradise and other species whose plumes had become fashionable in the late Victorian era.

There had already been concern earlier in the century about the wholesale destruction of such native birds as great crested grebes and kittiwakes for their plumage, leading to such early legislation as the Sea Birds Preservation Act of 1869 and the Wild Birds Protection Act of 1880, but the trigger which led to the foundation of the Society for the Protection of Birds in 1889 was the continued wearing of ever more exotic plumes. Indeed the young Society was so successful that it was granted its Royal Charter in 1904, just 15 years after being founded.

As a tribute, I took a picture of this Great crested Grebe in the Park. In Dutch this bird is known as a fuut. The Latin name is: Podiceps Cristatus.

But there were much more ducks to be seen today. A group of Northern Pintails was having a meeting near one of the bridges. I had seen two pintails a couple of weeks earlier in the park, but today there were much more swimming around. Very proud and distinguished ducks with their funny tail feathers pointing in the air. The Dutch name is the same: Pijlstaart. In Latin these duck are called: Anas Acuta.

And finally a small surprise: There was a Wigeon couple amongst the ducks. they normally keep a low profile, but these two apparently were happy with the audience. All in all a nice day for a nice walk.

Thursday, 22 December 2011

The second day of the Winter

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.

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.

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.

Friday, 25 November 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.

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 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...

Saturday, 19 November 2011

A Magical Day

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.

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.

Sunday, 13 November 2011

Always a surprise

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...

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.