Birds and a naughty squirrel in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

During a recent walk with my camera in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, I took photographs of some of the birds that I saw on the lake.

This is a close-up of the top part of a black-headed gull, which has speckled feathers on it's face.

I love this Red-Crested Pochard drake - he has an amazing hair style and great-coloured red eyes and beak.

He was rather a naughty Red-Crested Pochard as he was hanging around this female Mallard.

In fact, there was a three-some going on as she also had a Mallard boyfriend who kept trying to chase off the Red-Crested Pochard.  Here they have become temporary friends as they line up at the edge of the water in order to beg for food from some tourists who were throwing titbits at the ducks that had swum over to them.

 A couple of Mute swans were also hanging around in this area of the lake.

One of the swans stood up and stretched it's majestic wings.

A Cormorant was fishing at the far end of the Long Water, near the fountains at the Italian Garden.  I managed to get a close-up of it when it surfaced for longer than a few seconds.  What a great-coloured eye and I love the pattern of the markings on the body and the splayed tail feathers.

On a raft at the other end of the park, near the Serpentine cafe, a juvenile Mute swan was resting it's head on it's body.

I disturbed it when I stood nearby taking photographs - so it sat up and showed me it's very cute face.

Just before I left the park, I came across white Mallard drake that was having a swim at the end of the Serpentine.

I left the park via the rose garden where I found a tree full of green Rose-Ringed Parakeets, one of which was eating from a bird feeder meant for the small birds that live in the park.  There were two bird feeders on the tree and a very, very naughty grey squirrel was doing acrobatics by hanging upside-down with it's tail wrapped round one of the tree's branches while holding onto the other feeder with it's front paws and stealing food from it.  Bad squirrel!!!!

Bird walk in Regent's Park

Last week my camera took me off for a birding walk in Regent's Park as the day was sunny, though a little chilly with a cold wind.

While standing on a bridge by the road in the Inner Circle near Marylebone, I saw this Great Crested Grebe - one of my favourite birds.  It hung around for a little while, diving for food, before swimming off under the bridge and to part of the waterway that is for private bird-use only.

Further along the path in the park, under a tree near the footbridge that goes over the lake near the Baker Street entrance to the park, I discovered a snoozing Great Crested Grebe on a nest.

On the grass near the large main lake there was an unhappy goose-stepping Canada geese.  It hissed loudly at the people nearby and was clearly annoyed that it was not being given any food.

There were people having lunch on a bench nearby.  A mute swan took matters into it's own beak and stole a sandwich that was wrapped up in cling-film!  It pecked through the wrapping, which it tried to eat.  Thankfully the screaming owner of the sandwich managed to kick the cling-film out of the swan's way before it made a more persistent effort to eat it.  Clear of it's wrapping, the sandwich fell apart and was then quickly devoured by the swan before the neighbouring pigeon got too close!

A black-headed gull was parading about in the sunshine at the edge of the lake.

Two aggressive-looking mute swans sailed along the water, disturbing a couple of black-headed gulls that were in their way.

They crossed paths with one another.

Then, in a very synchronised manner, they majestically sailed off across the lake.

I walked round the lake, over a few more bridges, to the area of the park that holds the Waterfowl Collection.  There, on the grassy bank, I discovered a pair of Mandarin ducks - gloriously multi-coloured male and pretty brown female.

They were located in front of some reeds that were waving around in the breeze and were resting in the shade of a large tree.  Needless to say, though I tried to keep as still as possible and not make too much noise, they were very suspicious of the sounds that my camera was making and eventually left the area and swam across the water to the little island in the middle of the lake.

I then went to the small pond that is in the Inner Circle at Regent's Park and sat down for a while on a bench in the sun.  There were two magpies on the railings and grass in front of me.  Unusually, they did not seem to mind my presence (maybe they were juveniles) and did not hop off when I stood up and got closer to them.

They were moving around quite a lot.  One of them sat on the railings in front of the reeds. 

Then it marched around on the grass.  Until now, I did not realise what lovely fluffy white feathers a magpie has on it's chest. 

This is a photograph of one of the magpies with a shadow selfie of the photographer!

 When I returned to the Little Grebe's nest by the footbridge in the middle of the lake, I took some more photographs.  Here a much larger Greylag goose is sailing along in front of the nest.

The Great Crested Grebe has it's beak open in this photograph.  Maybe it is calling out for it's mate to come back and take over egg-sitting duty?

There was a heron on the grass in front of the nearby footbridge across the lake.

This is the view of willow trees that line the narrow lake near the footbridge.  The Great Crested Grebe's nest is on the water under the branches of the right-hand willow on the opposite bank.

As I was sitting on the bench having a rest after my long walk round the park, I noticed a lot of crows flying around.  They landed in one of the tall bare-branched trees behind the Great Crested Grebe's willow.

Sunny birding walk in Hyde Park

A few weeks ago my camera took me for a walk in the sunshine - hard to believe with the miserable, dull, snowy weather that London is having to put up with at the moment.  Anyway, we went for a walk round the Serpentine lake in Hyde Park. 

There we saw a pair of Gadwalls.

A large Greylag goose with a strange white patchy face.

Maybe it is a hybrid goose?  Does anyone have any clues?

An Egyptian goose was enjoying the sunshine at the edge of the lake.

A juvenile Herring gull was floating around in the water.

A Black-headed gull was enjoying drifting around on the air currents - it was quite a windy day.

Another Black-headed gull was enjoying telling all the other birds off!

This Black-headed gull was just enjoying minding it's own business and floating around in the water.

Near the cafe half way along the Serpentine I came across this Starling standing on the edge of a large plant container and admiring all the flowers.

Another Starling was posing while hanging onto the edge of the curved railings.

In fact several Starlings were hanging onto the top of the curved railings by the cafe.

At the end of the lake, near the other cafe by the Serpentine, there was a group of three Mallards - two drakes (one white, one with normal colouring) and one female.  They always hang around together and I have seen them before on other walks round the Serpentine.

When I was leaving the park via the flower garden I came across a robin standing on top of a bench and enjoying the sunshine.

It then flew onto a branch in a nearby flowering shrub and tried to hide from me.

It was not at all afraid and eventually landed on the ground in front of the bench and posed very nicely in the sunshine.

I am now looking forward to more sunny days!