Wildlife at Walthamstow Wetlands on 14th August 2025

I visited Walthamstow Wetlands on a sunny day in the middle of August and firstly went to the bridge  over the stream on the main road.  

There I saw of pair of mating Willow Emerald damselflies

also a female Banded Demoiselle damselfly

and a male Banded Demoiselle damselfly

and a Migrant Hawker dragonfly

Over the road in the other part of the Wetlands, I saw a beautiful Waterlily in a small pool

I walked along a path at the edge of one of the reservoirs where a young Grey Heron was hiding from me

It moved onto a shrub near a blackberry hedge at the edge of the stream

A tiny blue butterfly was resting on the edge of a leaf

View of one of the imposing tall electricity pylons on the site

Multi-spotted Ladybird on a patch of yellow flowers

Three juvenile Tufted ducklings swam in unison along the stream

A juvenile Grebe was lurking near some waterlily pads

A parent was skulking near reeds at the edge of the stream

I was lucky enough to get a view of a Kingfisher with a fish in its beak

A Little Egret was standing in nearby shallow water

A Terrapin came up for some air - I originally thought it was dead because it was motionless for some time but, when I went past the same spot a little later, it had gone

Pair of mating Common Blue damselflies attached to a twig

Large juvenile Great Crested Grebe swimming in one of the reservoirs

There was an adult Great Crested Grebe with two unevenly-sized chicks in the distance

 

Birdie visit to Rainham Marshes nature reserve - mid-March 2025

Singing Robin near the Visitor Centre when I first arrived at RSPB Rainham Marshes

also a singing Dunnock

The old numbered rifle range amongst the reeds

Pair of Great Crested Grebes in front of the Shooting Butts hide

plus a Little Grebe

and lots of electricity pylons

and a pair of Shovelers

Male Teal in front of the Ken Barratt hide

and a male Gadwall near a female Teal

Lapwing posing in front of the Purfleet hide

Pair of Wigeon

Pied Wagtail

I think that this is a Marsh Harrier

Two Redshanks by a little island in the middle of the lagoon

Redshank and Mute Swan

Swan in flight in front of a fast train

Visitor Centre viewed from the path

 

Mandarin ducks, Coot fight and other birds in Battersea Park - 25th January 2025

I went for another walk in Battersea Park towards the end of January and saw lots of Mandarin ducks

Tufted ducks passed by the island in the centre of the lake

A Cormorant was viewing the lake from the top of a tree

A pair of Northern Shovelers were shovelling together

I was photographing a Magpie that was standing at the base of a tree

...when it suddenly took flight!

As I approached the bridge over the lake, I could hear a loud commotion

A pair of Coots were fighting, egged on by, presumably, a female Coot

The drowning Coot eventually managed to escape and swam away - followed by the other two birds!

I discovered a little Wren in a quiet corner of the park

Grey Squirrel walking along the fence outside the Old English Garden

The first Snowdrops had appeared

Rose-ringed Parakeet on a branch on the path outside the Old English Garden

The chimneys of Battersea Power Station in the distance

Little Grebe on the lake

....with a pair of Gadwalls and two Moorhens

Close-up views of a male Northern Shoveler with blue reflections in the water

...his partner - female Northern Shoveler

The only pair of Mute Swans in Battersea Park with lots of Black-headed gulls and ducks