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 nature in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria - 5th November 2025

I decided to visit Grange-over-Sands on the second day of my short trip to Cumbria

There was a beautiful autumnal-looking Hornbeam in the area not far away from the railway station

I walked along the prom in the opposite direction to the town

I could not go far in that direction and so turned round and headed back to the town where a Little Egret was searching for snacks in the shallow water in front of the prom

Little Egret with Holme Island on the left and Arnside Knott in the distance

Beautiful multi-colour Hydrangea in the long flowerbed at the back of the prom

House Sparrow perching on a thin twig

Several Shelduck feeding in shallow water at low tide

Curlew walking across the wet sand

I went into Ornamental Gardens next to the railway station where a group of Bar-headed geese were feeding in the area round the War Memorial

Bar-headed goose feeding on the lush grass

A white Snow goose was with the Bar-headed flock

I have only ever seen Bar-headed geese in the UK with clipped wings as part of a Waterfowl Collection - these had obviously flown into the gardens as they showed off their huge complete wings!

The huge group of Bar-heads, plus one Snow goose, continued feeding round the War Memorial for some time against a background of Autumn-coloured trees and shrubs

 

Amongst the group was a Bar-headed goose with an almost completely white head

I was surprised to see a solitary American Wigeon on the lake - I believe that there used to be a Waterfowl Collection kept in the gardens in Victorian times, but there isn't one kept there now