Geese, ducks, pigeons and gulls in St. James's Park

I am not very good at writing posts after I get back from walks with my camera round London's parks.  I don't know why as I should have time on my hands, but it just seems to disappear into thin air!  I am going to try harder this year to write as soon as I can, but in the meantime I am trying to catch up with walks that I went on towards the end of last year.  This time, in the middle of December 2016, I went on a great walk round the lake in St. James's Park.

Firstly I had an encounter with a Greylag goose, which was giving me the eye!

Then I passed a tree with lovely Autumn colouring with a barren tree in front of it that had a branch covered with pigeons.

Next was an inquisitive Bar-headed goose plodding around in the muddy grass.

Sitting near to the Bar-headed goose was one of its juveniles - the result of a liaison with a Greylag goose, so it is quite strangely coloured.

Next I came across an opera squawking duo of troubadours - two black-headed gulls, taking it in turns to sing loudly and very out of tune!

One gull managed to stop singing for a moment and pose like a model in front of a pile of Autumn leaves.

Further round the lake, near the little Gingerbread house, I came across a large gathering of Red-Crested Pochards, Mallards and Tufted ducks.  They were a little bit too far away to get a good photograph - but here they are anyway.

A couple of Mallards were much nearer the edge of the lake.  Here the drake is preening his feathers while the duck floats nearby.

There is always a lot of wildlife to see in St. James's Park and I always enjoy a walk there.

Two Leucistic Greylag Geese

In July I took my camera for a walk in the park.  I love wandering round the lake and seeing if I can spot any unusual water birds.  This time I came across a couple of Greylag geese with leucism - where there is a loss of colour in the feathers, which go white.  One of the geese was almost completely white, with just small patches of brown, and the other white and brown.

I read on the internet that leucism is a condition where there is a partial loss of pigmentation in an animal, resulting in white, pale or patching colouration of the skin, hair, feathers, scales or cuticle, but not the eyes.  Unlike albinism (where the eyes are pink), it is caused by a reduction in multiple types of pigment and not just melanin.

The first Greylag that I came across with this condition was on the path, mingling with lots of Canada geese who were being fed unsuitable food by some tourists.  It was not getting much of a look-in, with most of the bread going to the other geese.

 It eventually gave up and went for a swim in the lake.

In this photo, the leucistic Greylag is in the centre of the photograph, with two Canada geese in the background.  In the foregroud is another strange-looking goose, which I believe may be a cross between a Bar-Headed goose and a Canada goose.

The leucistic Greylag is now back on land and looking for food from the tourists again.

The next Greylag with leucism that I saw was swimming along with a normal Greylag companion.  This time the goose is more patchy with a mix of white and brown feathers.

I think that it looks attractive with its brown head and patchy brown feathers on its back and sides.

I have to say that seeing the two leucistic Greylag geese and the Bar-Headed/Canada goose hybrid made it a more interesting walk in the park that day.