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

Flora and fauna, including White Storks and other captive birds, at Barnes Wetland Centre on 23th September 2025

I started my visit to the Barnes Wetland Centre by heading to the southern part of the reserve

On the way I passed some lovely fluffy Cardoon seed heads

A male Common Darter dragonfly was perching on a leaf

I saw a male Wigeon from one of the bird hides on the south side

and a pair of Gadwalls

I then went to the other side of the wetlands where I saw a pair of American Wood ducks - part of the wildfowl collection

A free-flying Grey Heron was trying to eat a frog

The following photos are of some of the other exotic birds kept at Barnes:

Group of Chiloe Wigeon

White-faced Whistling ducks - don't know the name of the other ducks

Three Cape Teal

Beautiful White Storks

After leaving the wildfowl collection, I saw a dainty Willow Emerald damselfly resting on a leaf

A Magpie joined me for lunch on a nearby bench

Then, on the way out of that side of the wetlands, I saw a Cape Barren goose

On the way back to the south side of the wetlands, I passed some lovely Autumn berries

First time I have photographed green Rose-ringed Parakeets from above

I was on the top floor of the Peacock hide

Snipe standing at the edge of the lagoon

The light was fading by now - Three Northern Shovelers in the water and two Snipe in the background

Two more Northern Shovelers swimming across the lagoon

An orderly row of juvenile Cygnets - even without their parents there to guide them!

The highlight of the day was a Bittern in the far away reeds

Unfortunately my bridge camera could not do it justice!

 

Mandarin ducks in Battersea Park

My camera and I went for a walk in Battersea Park today and it was lovely to see a group of colourful Mandarin ducks on the lake.

Black-necked Grebe at Walthamstow Wetlands

 At the beginning of October my camera took me to Walthamstow Wetlands in the hope of seeing the Black-necked Grebe that had recently been spotted on one of the reservoirs.  We were unlucky during a previous visit a couple of weeks earlier, but this time we struck the jackpot!

The Grebe was on a fishing trip and I ended up following it along almost the whole length of the reservoir and managed to take several photographs when it was above water.  Fortunately, it was within reasonable distance for the range of my camera's zoom lens.

Eventually it turned tail and swam off to the other side of the reservoir - and out of my view!

Avocets at Two Tree Island, near Leigh-on-Sea, Essex

Yesterday I went for a group walk along the estuary from Benfleet to Leigh-on-Sea.  My camera and I stopped off briefly at Two Tree Island where we encountered a group of Avocets in the lagoon.

Here a few of the Avocets are standing in the shallow water, while a large group of Redshanks are roosting at the edge one of the small islands that are scattered across the area.

A large aeroplane went overhead while I was watching the Avocets, frightening the birds.

After flying above the lagoon for a few minutes, the Avocets landed back in the water.  The Redshanks did not move!