Parakeets, Magpie, Egyptian Goose and Blackbird in Hyde Park

Just before Christmas I went for a long walk in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.  Not long afterwards I wrote posts about the Tufted Ducks and Gadwalls I had seen there.  Now I am adding photographs of some other birds that were around at the time.

Not far from the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens people are always feeding the green Rose-ringed Parakeets.  In the below photograph, one of them is watching out for the next feed and can be seen perching in a bare-branched tree.

In this photograph there are 5 Parakeets, all looking out for the next tourist offering some food to them.

In the same tree there was a Magpie also, no doubt, waiting for some dinner to be offered to it.

On the other side of the lake, near the large Henry Moore statue, there were a pair of Egyptian Geese.  One of them was sleeping, with its back to me - so I didn't bother to take a photo of it.  This one is posing on one leg and has a nice array of feathers showing.

Towards the end of my walk round the park, I went through the rose garden.  There I came across a female blackbird.  Normally I can't manage to get very close to birds, but this one was very obliging and did not immediately fly away.  Perhaps it was hoping I would feed it?  I gather that other photographers go round the park with seeds, biscuits, etc. in order to entice the birds and water fowl near to them for close-up photos.  I will have to try that myself one day!

This is another photograph of the same female blackbird in a slightly different pose.  She was definitely not shy with me!

It was December in the rose garden and there were just a few roses in bloom.  I was actually quite surprised that any of them were flowering at that time of the year, but it had been very mild weather.

 In the rose garden there is a bird feeder that is supposed to be for the use of small birds.  Two naughty green Rose-ringer Parakeets were rocking around on it instead!  Poor tiny birds - the Parakeets probably eat all their food!