Birds and flowers in St. James's Park, London - 4th July 2026

I set off for a walk round the lake in St. James's Park where I encountered large fluffy juvenile cygnets

resting with a parent Mute Swan on the muddy bank

Nene (Hawaiian goose) pulling up greenery from the lake

Lovely wildflowers planted at the edge of the lake

in front of the fountain and near tropical banana palms

Large group of cute fluffy little Mallard ducklings on their own in the centre of the lake

Barnacle goose marching along the edge of the lake right in front of me

Blonde Egyptian goose and partner

and juveniles

Two Bar-headed geese were very sensibly sitting in the shade

Blonde female Mallard

Not a good idea to go for a walk in the park on a hot Saturday afternoon!

Great White Pelican fishing in the lake

White hybrid goose

eating berry or seed of some sort

Cute baby Mallard duckling

Female Tufted ducks with a fairly neat line of fluffy little babies

Large patch of beautiful wildflowers

 

Birds and flowers in Battersea Park on hot sunny 8th April 2026

Lovely patch of Bluebells on the path at the beginning of my walk in the park

Egyptian parent and three goslings were startled by a sudden heavy flow of water from a nearby pipe

Close-up of gosling searching for snacks in the grass

Four military helicopters flew in formation over the park

Grey Heron pretending to be a statue in the Old English Garden

Beautiful white/yellow Irises

There were many fancy-shaped Tulips in the Old English Garden

The Grey Heron had moved round to the other side of the pond and posed in front of some flowers

Back at the lake, the Egyptian parents were standing with four of their six goslings

Oregon Grape at the edge of the footpath round the lake

Rather handsome Gadwall drake

and pretty female Gadwall

Common Pochard having a splashing time!

Coots doing what Coots love - fighting!!!

Recently I have seen none or just a few Mandarins - today one was swimming around on the lake

A Grey Heron flew overhead with what looks like a large fish in its beak

Two differently-coloured Mallard drakes swam across the lake

Back almost where I started, I was happy to see several Mandarin drakes - and just one female!

 I counted six male Mandarins altogether, but they refused to all be photographed together