Tufted ducks in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

 

During the week before Christmas I went for a long walk round the lake in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.  It seemed to be a day for Tufted ducks.

The first one I saw was on the Serpentine in Hyde Park - and I think he looks very handsome.

He spent a lot of time diving for food.  Unusually for me, instead of getting a photo of just disturbed water, I actually got a photo of his backside.  I like the fan-tail feathers in the photograph below.

At the other end of the park, in Kensington Gardens, there were several Tufted ducks on one of the ponds in the Italian Garden.  Here is a photograph of a drake.

Here is photograph of two drakes.

Here is a photograph of three drakes.

Now the picture is back down to two drakes.  I love the reflections in the water - almost as though it is on fire!

In this photograph there are three drakes again, with the one on the left-hand side splashing jets of water all over his pals!

On one of the other ponds in the Italian Garden, minding their own business and keeping well away from the boys, were a couple of female Tufted ducks.

Little Grebe on the lake in Kew Gardens

Yesterday I went with a friend for a stroll in Kew Gardens. We sat for a while on a bench right in front of the lake with an assortment of Egyptian Geese and Mallards asleep, or nearly so, at our feet.

I was intrigued by a little waterbird that was swimming around in the centre of the lake.  It was a Little Grebe.

 

It floated and swam around for a while and then swam off under the bridge and disappeared from sight. The reflection in the last photograph is from the unusual railings along the edge of the bridge.