Goldfinch, Blue Tit and Greenfinch in the Greenwich Peninsular Ecology Park

Last week my camera and I went for a walk in the North Greenwich Ecology Park, which is a very small place.  There are a couple of large bird feeders located near the boardwalk which, at this time of the year, are filled with assorted seeds and attract some beautiful little birds.

Waiting their turn in the trees before flying onto the feeders were:

Goldfinch

Blue Tit

Greenfinch

How lucky was I to be able to take photographs of these three little beauties!

Blackbird sunning itself in the North Greenwich Ecology Park

During one of my visits to the North Greenwich Ecology Park in the summer I came across a blackbird that was sitting on the boardwalk.  It's beak was open and it was panting.  It was a very hot sunny day and I think it was trying to cool down.  I tried to stay still and take some photographs without disturbing it.  This did not last very long!

The blackbird could obviously hear the clicking of my camera and flew up into a tree and tried to conceal itself in the leaves.

I would assume that it would have been cooler in the shade of the tree than on the ground - so perhaps it was doing something else on the boardwalk?  Was it sunbathing?  I wonder!

Geese, ducks, pigeons and gulls in St. James's Park

I am not very good at writing posts after I get back from walks with my camera round London's parks.  I don't know why as I should have time on my hands, but it just seems to disappear into thin air!  I am going to try harder this year to write as soon as I can, but in the meantime I am trying to catch up with walks that I went on towards the end of last year.  This time, in the middle of December 2016, I went on a great walk round the lake in St. James's Park.

Firstly I had an encounter with a Greylag goose, which was giving me the eye!

Then I passed a tree with lovely Autumn colouring with a barren tree in front of it that had a branch covered with pigeons.

Next was an inquisitive Bar-headed goose plodding around in the muddy grass.

Sitting near to the Bar-headed goose was one of its juveniles - the result of a liaison with a Greylag goose, so it is quite strangely coloured.

Next I came across an opera squawking duo of troubadours - two black-headed gulls, taking it in turns to sing loudly and very out of tune!

One gull managed to stop singing for a moment and pose like a model in front of a pile of Autumn leaves.

Further round the lake, near the little Gingerbread house, I came across a large gathering of Red-Crested Pochards, Mallards and Tufted ducks.  They were a little bit too far away to get a good photograph - but here they are anyway.

A couple of Mallards were much nearer the edge of the lake.  Here the drake is preening his feathers while the duck floats nearby.

There is always a lot of wildlife to see in St. James's Park and I always enjoy a walk there.

Parakeets, Magpie, Egyptian Goose and Blackbird in Hyde Park

Just before Christmas I went for a long walk in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.  Not long afterwards I wrote posts about the Tufted Ducks and Gadwalls I had seen there.  Now I am adding photographs of some other birds that were around at the time.

Not far from the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens people are always feeding the green Rose-ringed Parakeets.  In the below photograph, one of them is watching out for the next feed and can be seen perching in a bare-branched tree.

In this photograph there are 5 Parakeets, all looking out for the next tourist offering some food to them.

In the same tree there was a Magpie also, no doubt, waiting for some dinner to be offered to it.

On the other side of the lake, near the large Henry Moore statue, there were a pair of Egyptian Geese.  One of them was sleeping, with its back to me - so I didn't bother to take a photo of it.  This one is posing on one leg and has a nice array of feathers showing.

Towards the end of my walk round the park, I went through the rose garden.  There I came across a female blackbird.  Normally I can't manage to get very close to birds, but this one was very obliging and did not immediately fly away.  Perhaps it was hoping I would feed it?  I gather that other photographers go round the park with seeds, biscuits, etc. in order to entice the birds and water fowl near to them for close-up photos.  I will have to try that myself one day!

This is another photograph of the same female blackbird in a slightly different pose.  She was definitely not shy with me!

It was December in the rose garden and there were just a few roses in bloom.  I was actually quite surprised that any of them were flowering at that time of the year, but it had been very mild weather.

 In the rose garden there is a bird feeder that is supposed to be for the use of small birds.  Two naughty green Rose-ringer Parakeets were rocking around on it instead!  Poor tiny birds - the Parakeets probably eat all their food!

Blackbird in the park

Another day in the park - Regents Park again.  I went for a long walk round the lake in the Outer Circle and round the pond in the Inner Circle.  It was sunny and slightly windy, so a bit cool at times. It wasn't quite so peaceful as usual as there was a tree surgeon with a chainsaw working on a tree by the bridge over the lake near the Baker Street entrance to the park.  When he was cutting through the trunk with the chainsaw, it was very loud.  By the time I left the park several hours later, there was hardly anything left of the tree except for a stump.  I didn't bother to take any photographs of the tree and the workman - I was just annoyed he was there.  I had my lunch on a bench by the water and every so often was disturbed by the noisy geese, which was OK, and by the sound of the chainsaw, which wasn't.

Just inside one of the entrances to the park from the Inner Circle, I heard and then saw a blackbird in a tree. He was after the juicy berries or seeds and I disturbed him when I pointed my camera at him.

He flew down to the ground and hopped around in the grass. Here he is standing in the grass, near some leaves, a discarded feather and some daisies and he is looking at me with his beady yellow eye.

He flew back up to the tree and posed quite nicely for a short while, before disappearing into the centre of the tree where he could no longer be seen.

Robin's lunch in the park

When I was wandering through the park not long ago, I tried to take photos of a robin who was hiding in a tree and flitting about from branch to branch.  When I managed to find it, the pesky robin moved, so I usually got great pictures of branches and leaves - but no robin.  Below is the only photograph where it actually appeared, though the leaves are in focus and the robin isn't.  However, I rather like it anyway.

Branch and leaves, with robin in the distance

The robin then moved to the ground, where it was not at all disturbed by me taking photographs of it.  A little later I discovered the reason that it stayed put.  There was a lovely long wriggly worm slithering about in the grass and leaves.

Robin Redbreast in the grass near a worm

In this photograph, the robin has it's claws clasped around the poor worm.  At the same time, the robin is still keeping an eye on me.

Robin standing on a worm 

The worm did not stand much chance of getting away - though I must admit that it did escape a few times from the robin, but the bird was definitely not going to let it get away.

Robin with a worm in it's beak

That's nature for you.

Soggy summer in the park

It was lovely and sunny yesterday morning so I decided to go for another walk in the park.  It was a big mistake!  I forgot to take an umbrella and had not been there very long when the heavens opened. 

Luckily, there was no lightning, so I sheltered under a tree by the lake.  It was very pretty with a view of azaleas, irises and all sorts of greenery.

Shelter under the tree during heavy rain

 Also, in the distance, was a Mute swan and her cygnets.  There is a lot of green algae in the water at the moment, which does not look very attractive.  I suppose it must provide extra food for the waterbirds.

Mute swan and 6 cygnets in the rain

While I was still sheltering, a group of Mallards swam across the centre of the lake.  Well, it was good weather for ducks!

4 Mallards with Mute swan and cygnets in the background

I had to take shelter for quite a while.  In the end, I got fed up and gave up standing under the tree. Needless to say, I got very wet while walking to the underground station.  I had decided to take a tube train home rather than walk - I wonder why?