Strange-looking white/brown goose

During a walk in the park last week I came across this curious goose.  It looks as though it is the result of a liaison between a Canada or Greylag goose and a white goose.  As can be seen, it has an orange beak and is mostly white, but with mainly brown head and some brown feathers on it's back, sides and tail.

In the two photographs below, I think it is looking a bit sorry for itself.

However, it is not lonely as it is hanging around with a large group of other geese, formed from a mixture of Canada and Greylag geese.  In these photographs, there are Canada geese in the background.

After some research on the internet, I have been told that this is probably a Leucistic goose.  This is a genetic condition that affects the colour pigmentation of the feathers, turning them white.  The eyes are not affected.  If they were, it would be an albino goose.

Blackbird in the park

Another day in the park - Regents Park again.  I went for a long walk round the lake in the Outer Circle and round the pond in the Inner Circle.  It was sunny and slightly windy, so a bit cool at times. It wasn't quite so peaceful as usual as there was a tree surgeon with a chainsaw working on a tree by the bridge over the lake near the Baker Street entrance to the park.  When he was cutting through the trunk with the chainsaw, it was very loud.  By the time I left the park several hours later, there was hardly anything left of the tree except for a stump.  I didn't bother to take any photographs of the tree and the workman - I was just annoyed he was there.  I had my lunch on a bench by the water and every so often was disturbed by the noisy geese, which was OK, and by the sound of the chainsaw, which wasn't.

Just inside one of the entrances to the park from the Inner Circle, I heard and then saw a blackbird in a tree. He was after the juicy berries or seeds and I disturbed him when I pointed my camera at him.

He flew down to the ground and hopped around in the grass. Here he is standing in the grass, near some leaves, a discarded feather and some daisies and he is looking at me with his beady yellow eye.

He flew back up to the tree and posed quite nicely for a short while, before disappearing into the centre of the tree where he could no longer be seen.

Egyptian Goose family in the daisies

In May the grass near the lake in the park was covered with white daisies and, from a distance, it looked just like snow.  During one of the days when I taking my camera for a walk (it's not as demanding as a dog, so I don't go out every day) I saw an Egyptian Goose with her babies.  Most of the youngsters were busy scouring the ground for food.

In the photo below, 2 goslings are on the left and the parent is keeping watch on what they are up to.

There are less flowers in this patch of grass and 3 Egyptian youngsters are still busy looking for food.

The parent now has it's back turned on the young Egyptians.  Two are still searching for food, while another two are having a rest in the "snow".

 It is time for one youngster to have a preen while the other is still on the look-out for a nibble.

One of the babies did not really join in the food search and spent the whole time resting and in a world of it's own.

Eventually the parent got annoyed with the crowd that had formed on the path in front of the family and started some loud quacking, which sent the youngsters through the nettles and into the water.  They were joined by a wandering Coot or Moorhen - I can't really tell which one it is from the view of it's back.

Then the parent also hot-footed it away from the watchers on the path and left us with just a patch of daisies.

Moorhen chicks in the reeds

During a recent sunny visit to Barnes Wetland Centre, I saw a Moorhen family in the reeds.  There were two really strange looking Moorhen babies with bald red patches on their heads and black fluff on their bodies.

Parent Moorhen with 2 chicks

At this stage in their lives, the tiny chicks really do look like a couple of aliens.

2 Moorhen chicks in the reeds

I can't remember if the Moorhen below was part of the family, but it looks very nice with a strange reflection in the lagoon.

Moorhen swimming in the lagoon

Hooded Merganser in St. James's Park

In the early part of June, during one of my favourite walks in London's St. James's Park, I was thrilled to see a male Hooded Merganser.  At first he was preening his feathers.

Preening Hooded Merganser

Then he sat up and was looking intently at me as I was wobbling in a crouching position while trying to take photos of him.  I am no longer very athletic, nor ever was actually, and crouching is a dangerous thing for me to do.  I have read that photographers are supposed to get down low, even lying on the ground, in order to take good photos of birds - but I will never be able to do the lying-down thing!  Crouching is all I can manage and it is hard work standing back up again.

Hooded Merganser behind the greenery

Anyway, I was very pleased to see this rather unusual waterbird in the park.  I don't know if he was a wild bird or had escaped from a wildfowl collection as that is where I have seen Hooded Mergansers before - in the captive collections in Regents Park and the Barnes Wetland Centre.

Close-up of male Hooded Merganser

He has an amazingly weird shaped crested head, lovely black-and-white wing feathers and piercing yellow eyes.  What a magnificent looking bird!

2 beautiful quacking white ducks

At the beginning of May I went on a walk with friends along the River Stort, starting at Bishop's Stortford. The weather was good and it was a very pleasant walk.  We stopped for lunch in Sawbridgeworth and then made our way along the river towards Harlow.

Part way along the river, we came across two beautiful white ducks who were floating in river.  They were right by the river bank, quacking to one another, and almost in the grass itself at times.

One white duck by the river bank

Two white ducks by the river bank

Inquisitive white duck

White duck getting out of the water

The ducks were definitely looking for or at something that was hidden in the grass on the bank.

White duck peering into the grass

One of the ducks got itself almost hidden in the plants and grass on the edge of the river bank.

White duck almost hidden in greenery

I think that the ducks had very pretty faces and I love their yellow beaks.  This one was still quacking at something.

Close-up of white duck with yellow beak

I don't know if they had a nest in the grass or were thinking of making one there, but I was very intrigued to find out what they were quacking about.  One duck was now on land, peering and quacking into the long grass.

White duck quacking and peering into the grass

The other white duck was still swimming around in the water.  It had got great orange flippers.

White duck in the water

I never got to find out what the white duck was looking for.  Here it's beak was slightly open as it was still quacking while staring into the long grass.

These two beautiful white ducks were certainly having a great time having a beak around in the undergrowth and enjoying a paddle around in the water.  I believe that they were white Mallards.

Heron's yoga pose

There are usually lots of Herons in Regents Park, which has a large Heronry in the trees.  Earlier in the year, young Herons could be seen high up in the large nests.  Now they have mainly fledged.

During my walk through the park yesterday, I only saw a small handful of Herons.  This one was standing at the edge of the water and looking pretty normal.  It had a stare at me as I was taking it's photograph.

Heron giving me the eye

Then it went back to staring along the water and looking attractive under the dangling leaves of the tree under which it was standing.

Heron standing under dangling leaves at the water's edge

Now it was time for some exercises - stretching the left wing out.

Heron with extended left wing

Then it went into a very strange yoga pose - I don't know what it was trying to do here.  Stretching it's neck muscles, I guess?

Heron in strange yoga pose 

Time to stretch out the right wing now.

Heron with extended right wing

Who said it was doing strange yoga poses?  It was just stretching before preening it's feathers.  Just look at those lovely fluffy white feathers on it's tummy!

Heron in preening mode

I have never seen a Heron doing yoga before and I loved it!

Grebelets riding piggy-back on Great Crested Grebe

Another day, another London park!  This time I went to Regents Park where there is a very large lake and there are always lots of waterbirds.

One of my aims is to get a good photograph of a Great Crested Grebe.  They seem to me to always be in the centre of the water and a great distance away.  I try photographing them anyway, regardless, in the hope that something might turn out to be OK - or, at least, interesting.  This time, for me, I got interesting!  Three little stripey Grebelets are riding on the back of an adult.

Coot following Great Crested Grebe with 3 chicks riding on it's back

There is also a Coot swimming behind the Great Crested Grebe, but I was not interested in it at all.  I was thrilled to see the babies when I downloaded my photos onto the computer.  At first, I thought there were 2 chicks having a piggy-back ride but, when I cropped the picture further, I realised that there were 3 little stripey heads.

Great Crested Grebe with 3 chicks having a piggy-back

To say I was thrilled is a bit of an understatement.  Next time though, I would like the Grebe to swim nearer to the shore.

Young Coots and attractive nest

Yesterday, when I was walking round the lake in London's Battersea Park, I came across a Coot family.  The larger of the youngsters was swimming around and around in the water with it's parents.

Coot youngster

As is normal when trying to photograph wildlife, only one Coot parent was obliging enough to appear in my photograph.  The other was there, but kept well away.

Parent Coot with young

The larger youngster had a small sibling who was wise enough to stay put in the nest and just watch the day's activities.  It rather looks as though the nest is in a cage, but it is just in front of some railings that are in the water.  

Smal baby Coot sitting in the nest

This nest is very attractive, being made out of lots of sticks, green leaves and algae.  Some Coot nests that I have seen in my travels have looked absolutely disgusting, having been constructed mainly out of our plastic waste that stupid people have thoughtlessly thrown into the waterways.

Great Crested Grebe and chick - update

On my visit to Battersea Park yesterday, I was on the look-out for the Great Crested Grebes and chicks that I saw on a previous visit.

I found them - one Great Crested Grebe and one chick this time.  Yet again, they were in the centre of the lake and much too far away for any decent photographs.  Here they are, coasting around with a Coot and a sleepy Tufted drake behind them.  The chick is now much larger and looking almost grown up.

Great Crested grebe, chick, Tufted duck and Coot

Great Crested Grebe and chick, plus Moorhen and Tufted duck

I hope that, next time, they might swim nearer to the shore.  I will have to plan to spend some time watching and waiting!

Growth of nine cygnets in Battersea Park

My first visit to the lake in London's Battersea Park was on 9th April, which was a cool grey day.  I had never walked round the lake before and was surprised to discover how large it was.  There were the usual sort of birds on the water - Canada Geese, Coots, Moorhens, Egyptian Geese, Mallards and Herons.  However, there was a distinct lack of swans.  I have found that the lakes in parks usually contain lots of swans and the only one I saw that day was sleeping on a nest in the reeds at the far side of the lake.

Mute swan on distant nest in the reeds

The next time I visited the lake was over a month later, on 29th May.  This time I saw 2 Mute swans, mum and dad, with 9 tiny cygnets.  I presume that these were from the nest in the reeds as I still have not seen any other swans in the park.  Below was my first view of them swimming along the middle of the boating lake.  The male is leading the way while the female is swimming near her babies.

Mum and dad Mute swan with 9 tiny cygnets

Mute swan pen with 9 tiny cygnets

I made another visit to the lake just a few days later, on 2nd June, and was very pleased to see that the parent swans still had all 9 cygnets.  The swans were lucky to be living in Battersea Park as there did not seem to any seagulls hanging around.  They appear to be persecuting the swans in Hyde Park or Regent's Park instead, who seem to be lucky if they can hang on to just one cygnet, let alone the whole brood.

Female Mute swan with her 9 fluffy cygnets

I went to the park again today, 19th June, and how the cygnets have grown.  They are now looking like young fluffy swans with long necks - and there are still all nine of them.  Great!

9 large cygnets

The male and female swans were making sure that no harm came to their young while a couple of children were feeding them with unsuitable bread.

Male and female Mute swan with 9 large cygnets

9 large cygnets head towards the female Mute swan

It is interesting watching the cygnets grow and I will try to go for another walk in the park soon, if I can.