Birds at Rye Harbour nature reserve on 28th February 2025

Our coach left London on a drizzly morning and stopped off at Castle Water so that we could walk along a muddy path to the viewing platform there.  

It was still overcast when a male Marsh Harrier flew above the water and in front of sheep in a field

We then drove to Rye Harbour, where a Stonechat was sitting in brambles near the Visitor Centre

A Redshank was standing on the edge of grass in front of four sheep

Oystercatcher searching for food in the wet mud at low tide

Redshank refused to turn round for a photograph

A Turnstone was searching for food on the ground near the edge of the river Rother

Group of Golden Plovers on a spit of land in the lagoon near the Visitor Centre

Group of Avocet standing together in another part of the lagoon

Flocks of birds were spooked by something as I sat in one of the bird hides in the centre of the lagoons

Lapwings took to the sky

Shelduck striking an usual pose

Lapwings were standing on a small island in a lagoon with the old Lifeguard building at the back

Just caught a couple of ducks before they flew out of sight!

Male Kestrel sitting at the top of a tree

Group of Wigeon and a few Redshank near the water with the Visitor Centre in the background

Walking Wigeon with a couple of Redshank at the edge of the water

At the end of my walk, I took a photo of the famous black tin shed with red roof at the edge of the river

 

Birds and flowers seen in Battersea Park during a hot sunny day - 26th February 2026

I went to Battersea Park on a sunny day at the end of February and discovered a pair of Mandarin ducks at the edge of the lake.

Mandarin drake doing his aerobics or practising his skateboarding!

The pair of Mandarins were watching me watching them!

The Mandarin drake fluffed up his feathers and made himself look very large

The pretty female relaxed at the edge of the lake

A pair of synchronised male Tufted ducks swam past

A Grey Heron stood at the edge of the lake and was being watched by a Black-headed gull

A male Norther Shoveler stopped shovelling for a few minutes near to some bubbling water

A female Northern Shoveler was in a shady part of the lake that was surrounded by trees

Long Catkins were hanging from branches at the edge of the lake

A Magpie perched on top of railings for a short while

Beautiful crocus growing in grass on a sloping mound

Carrion Crow admiring flowers in the sunshine

I was wishing that I could join this dog in one of the fountains in the park!

Brimstone butterfly feeding on tiny violets in the Old English Garden

near a Ladybird in the same flowers

Pretty mauve Scilla flowers - also in the Old English Garden

Back at the lake, I found two female Pochards

a distant Great Crested Grebe

and a pair of Northern Shovelers

It was lovely to see buds forming on a shrub at the edge of the lake

and some white Quince flowers

Finally, a pair of Great Crested Grebes at the edge of the island in the lake - one was adding bits and pieces to the nest underneath the overhanging branches

 

Lapwings, Shelducks, Bewick and Whooper swans seen during visit to RSPB Minsmere nature reserve on a soggy overcast day - 7th February 2026

I went from London to Minsmere in Suffolk by coach on 7th February, which turned out to be a wet and dark day.  Sizewell C could be seen in the distance as I began my walk round the reserve.

The view across the lagoon from the East hide - it was misting with rain nearly all day!

There were lots of Lapwings and four Bewick swans in the distance

Synchronised dipping from the four Bewicks

Lots and lots of Lapwings on the spits of land in the lagoon

There were some horses on the land in front of a bird hide on the other side of the water

More birds on the zig-zag land in the lagoon - again mainly Lapwings, with a few Shelducks

Pair of Shelducks on the lagoon

Ringed Plover in the distance at the edge of a spit of land

Something had spooked the Lapwings and a large group of them took flight

Shelduck and a pair of Gadwalls on one of the little islands

Posing Shelduck

Eurasian Teal and Norther Shovelers on the lagoon in front of a viewpoint

Gadwall at the front and Teal at the back

A very distant Goosander

Round the other side of the lagoon I saw a Whooper swan from the Island Mere hide

A Mute swan was not pleased to the see the Whooper and came after it in an aggressive manner 

Blue Tit in the bushes near the Visitor Centre just before I had to go back to the coach

Two Blue Tits in the bushes before my journey back home

and a Great Tit too!

Minsmere is a great reserve - and especially would be on a nice day!!  It is  huge area and we only managed to walk round a small part of it during the few hours that we were there.