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

 

Ducks and geese on the river Yare - and Santa! - in Thorpe St Andrews on 23rd December 2025

 The river Yare in Thorpe St Andrews on a rather overcast pre-Christmas afternoon

Plenty of Black-headed gulls, a Greylag goose and a selection of Mallards

Female Mallard following three different types of Mallard drake

Two of the feather variations in the Mallard drakes

Large Cayuga duck

Egyptian goose

A few females with Mallard drakes in normal and different feather combinations

Male Gadwall with a female Mallard

I was watching the male Gadwall when it suddenly flew up from the river

Handsome Gadwall drake

Melanistic Mallard drake

Mallard in the usual colouring at the top and one with different feather suit at the bottom

I was hoping that this was a white Dove, but think it might be a white Pigeon - not sure?

The Cayuga duck is almost as large as the Greylag and Egyptian geese

The Cayuga towered above the Mallards when it was standing up

Cygnet at the edge of the river

One boat was decorated with coloured lights - better seen in the dark!

Light-coloured female with a Mallard drake

Pair of Egyptian geese ready for a ride along the river

Mallard hybrid having a word with a pal

Selection of Mallards on the grass

A skein of geese flew overhead

Later in the week I discovered a very large Santa had visited one of the nearby houses!!!!!

Birds, flowers and an exotic outfit in St. James's Park in mid-September 2025

All six Great White Pelicans were preening or resting in the sunshine on Pelican Rocks

Colourful Pumpkins were hanging on a plant in the vegetable garden in front of Duck Cottage

A young Grey Heron stretched out its long neck

A Moorhen with an unusual patchy red/yellow beak was resting among a plant in one of the flowerbeds

There were some large Dahlias in the flowerbed near Horseguards Parade

The fountain was in full spray mode

I encountered a white Ross's goose at the edge of the lake

Portrait of a Barnacle goose

The Barnacle goose then stood at the edge of the lake and began to preen the feathers on its back

A small Coot marched towards a large juvenile Cygnet that was sitting on the footpath

Very acrobatic Red-breasted goose at the edge of the lake

Grey Heron sunbathing at the water's edge

Male Common Darter dragonfly perching at the edge of a twig

Suitable attire for a walk in the park????

 I never know what to expect when I go for a walk in London's St. James's Park!!