Shoveler ducks on the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens.

On Tuesday, a dull grey damp day, I went on an expedition with my camera to the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens.  I went there in order to try and find a white Egyptian goose that was mooching around with the park's usual suspects.  I did find it and hope to post some photographs at a later date - I took so many that it will take me ages in order to sort them out.

After photographing the geese on the grass, I walked to the pond itself where I found a pair of Northern Shoveler ducks.  These are waterbirds with large spatulate bills, which they use in order to shovel up food found in the water.

The male has a dark green head, white breast and chestnut flanks - just like this drake that conveniently swam over to the edge of the pond where I was standing.

Female Shovelers are mottled brown.  A sleepy female was floating in the water not far away from the drake and hiding her huge bill in her feathers.

The male Shoveler swam over to the edge of the pond and stood there having a lovely scratch with his wonderful orange webbed foot. 

The female Shoveler decided to join him and swiftly swam across the pond.

 The pair stood together at the edge of the pond for a while, in front of a preening Mute Swan and a swimming Black-headed gull.

After a short while they both swam off to the centre of the pond.

Shovelers on the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens, London

Just over a week ago I went for a long walk on a lovely day in London's Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. This time I went on the underground to High Street Kensington and entered the park near Kensington Palace.

I started by walking along the path to the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens.  I am relatively new to the birding world and am always on the look-out for wildlife that I have not come across before.  I was thrilled to see that there were several Shoveler ducks on the pond - as they are a first for me.

I took the following information about these ducks from the RSPB internet site:

"Shovelers are surface feeding ducks with huge spatulate bills.  Males have dark green heads, with white breasts and chestnut flanks.  In flight, birds show patches of light blue and green on their wings.  In the UK they breed in southern and eastern England, especially around the Ouse Washes, the Humber and the North Kent Marshes, and in much smaller numbers in Scotland and western part of England.  In winter, breeding birds move south and are replaced by an influx of continental birds from further north.  The UK is home to more than 20% of the NW European population, making it an Amber List species."

When I first encountered the Shovelers - all drakes - two of them were swimming round and round in circles with their long beaks under the water and, presumably, scooping up some sort of food.

The Shoveler in the photo below was swimming on its own and here has the end of its beak under the water.  Judging by the colour and pattern of the feathers on its side, I am guessing that this is a juvenile drake.

A Canada goose swam by the two circling Shoveler drakes, taking no notice of them at all.

I also presume that the Shoveler in the below photograph is a juvenile drake, with its head just beginning to turn green - but I don't know for sure.  Perhaps somebody can give me some further information?

In the below photo, the bird looks very bizarre with its weird shaped beak!

A gull then took up some synchronised swimming with one of the Shoveler drakes, making fast speed across the pond.  I just don't understand why the birds always want to get away from me when I am trying to take photographs of them!

This one was a bit braver and came nearer to me.

Well, it made for an interesting start to the walk and I was very pleased to have seen these very strange looking water birds.