Birding walk round Rainham Marshes - 8th May 2024

 I travelled by train to Purfleet and then walked to Rainham Marshes along the road and Thames path.

A Goldfinch was having a bath in a large puddle just outside the visitor centre

A Lapwing was standing on the shore

Two Shelducks were in the shallow water at the edge of the river

My first (and only) photograph of a blurry distant Cuckoo!

Cruise liner heading for London

Common Whitethroat on blossom (in the reserve and viewed from the Thames path)

Avocets marching along the riverbed at low tide

Dunnock with wild rose

Inside the nature reserve, cows were blocking the view from the Purfleet hide

Male Shoveler duck

Female Shoveler duck

Pair of Shovelers

Shoveler drake on the move

Shoveler drake putting on a show of head bobbing and following the female

Great-crested Grebe with a small fish

Two Common Pochard drakes

Pair of Canada geese with young goslings

Hovering Kestrel

House Sparrow on the roof of the Purfleet hide

Pair of nesting Great-crested Grebes in front of the Purfleet hide

Little Grebe

Redshank on its own

then joined by its partner!!

Whimbrel or Curlew - I'm not sure!

Marsh Frog

Reed Bunting

Flowers and birds in Phoenix Gardens - between Tottenham Court Road and Covent Garden in central London - 4th May 2024

I visited Phoenix Gardens with a friend at the beginning of May.  It was the first time I had been there and I had not realised that this small oasis of calm existed in the centre of the busy London streets.

Horse's head sculpture among the plants

Good use for an old vacuum cleaner!

Lovely purple Aquiligia

Red Hot Pokers

Other lovely flowers in the garden

Male Blackbird on one of the paths

Robin checking me out

Another birding visit to Walthamstow Wetlands on 29th April 2024

I had a such great time during my previous visit to Walthamstow Wetlands a few days before that I decided to go there again on 29th April with the hope of seeing the Black-necked Grebes once more.

There was a lone Sandpiper at the edge of a reservoir

A couple of Starlings were looking for food

A Ladybird was crawling around in the vegetation as I stopped to eat a sandwich

and then the summer plumaged Black-necked Grebes appeared again!  I was so happy!

Further round the reservoir two pairs of Tufted ducks were resting at the edge of the water

Six Common Terns were standing at the edge of the reservoir

A Great Crested Grebe was getting blown around in the wind

General view of Lockwood reservoir

Greylag geese led their goslings away from me!

On the other side of the Wetlands a pair of Great Crested Grebes were riding out the choppy waves