Black swan on guard duty and 7 cygnets for Mute swan

On Monday I went for another walk with my camera in St. James's Park as I wanted to check up on the nesting black swans and I had heard that the Mute swans had cygnets.  Also, it was a lovely sunny day and just too nice to be staying indoors.

The male black swan was on guard duty - standing at the edge of the island near to the nest.

I was standing on the opposite bank and, when the female swan moved on the nest, I was able to get a photograph of her through the leaves and nettles that are surrounding her.  Most of the time, however, she was invisible!

Someone near me starting feeding the water birds, so the male black swan swam over in order to get something to eat.  He is very handsome.

He did not stay away from the island for very long and headed back over there to continue guarding his mate.  A white Ross's goose was honking and flapping it's wings, but was soon moved on by the swan.

Meanwhile, on another part of the lake, mum Mute swan was serenely sailing along by the side of the wildflower-covered bank.  She was followed by a line of the most adorable baby cygnets - seven of them in total.

She was joined by dad and they started feeding at the edge of the lake.

The family then swam along to the bridge that goes across the central part of the lake.  These photographs were taken from the bridge, looking down on the cute little cygnets.

Soon, hopefully, the pair of black swans will have a family of their own.  I can't wait to see them!

Black swans nesting in St. James's Park, London

Just over a couple of weeks ago, on my birthday, I went for a short walk in the late morning to St. James's Park.  I could not stay very long as I was meeting some friends in the afternoon in order to celebrate my birthday by going up to the Sky Garden in the Walkie Talkie building in Moorgate and then for a meal in a restaurant at Bank.  I just walked round half of the lake and I was so glad I did.

I was busy photographing something else when I got distracted by a Mute swan and some Greylag geese noisily honking and staring at something I could hardly see on the island in the centre of the lake.

When I got further round the lake, I saw what had attracted all the fuss - a pair of black swans had made a large nest behind a brick wall and in front of a fallen tree trunk on the island.  In fact, there was a Greylag geese sitting behind the tree trunk and watching the swans!

The swans were partially hidden by swaying fronds - the twiggy branches of a tree on the island.

The smaller female swan was sitting in the centre of the nest.

Her mate was sitting on one side of the nest and the whole area was covered with sticks.  He then got up and walked along behind the wall.

In fact, both black swans got up and started gathering up more sticks to add to their rather huge nest.   It is quite high up so I hope, if they have babies, that the young ones will be able to manage the long climb up to the nest!

Last Sunday, two weeks after I took the first photographs of the black swans on the nest, I went back to St. James's Park.  Now there are leaves and fronds on the swaying branches of the trees and it is almost impossible to see the swans.  The female, however, was still sitting on the nest and I managed to get a glimpse of her when the wind blew open a gap in the greenery.

Now I definitely would not know that the black swans were nesting on the island if I did not already know that they were nesting on the island!

Baby on board - Great Crested Grebes in Regent's Park

Last week the sun came out and I took myself off, with camera, for a wildlife-seeking walk round the lake in Regent's Park.  In the middle of the widest part of the long narrow lake in the park, and some distance away, I saw a Great Crested Grebe floating around.  It was only when I downloaded my photographs onto the computer that I saw that there was a striped little baby chick on board.  In the picture below, it's head can just be seen on the back of the bird.

The Great Crested Grebe is sleeping and the chick's head can hardly be seen on it's back.

The partner Great Crested Grebe then swam over and joined the baby boat.  A small tasty (to Grebes) morsel can be seen in it's beak.  It was feeding time for the chick.  Of course, until I looked at the photos later on, I was completely unaware that this was going on!

There is more food in the beak of the bird on the left, but now there is no sign of the chick as it is on the other side of the partner bird.

The grocery delivery bird took a drink, or washed it's beak - not sure which!

Here it is giving more food to the now invisible chick.

I took several photos of both Great Crested Grebes, but this is one of a parent bird on its own.

More feeding took place, with the striped head now being clearly seen on the back of the baby boat.

All food having been delivered for the time being, the grocery parent went swimming off along the lake.

I walked round the end of the lake to the opposite side where I was slightly nearer to the Great Crested Grebe, though I was still completely unaware of the additional passenger.  The chick's striped head can be seen below it's parent's beak.  The adult has now gone back into relaxed sleepy mode now that the baby has been fed.

I must say that I was absolutely thrilled when I looked at the photographs properly and discovered the chick.  I would have taken even more photographs had it known it was riding on the back of the adult bird.

Lapwings, Swans and Little Egrets at Rainham Marshes

In the middle of February I went to Rainham Marshes, near Purfleet.  There, from one of the hides, I saw a multitude of Lapwings.

In another part of the marshes, two Mute swans were walking in tandem.

I was overjoyed to see a Little Egret.

I was even more overjoyed to see two Little Egrets.

From another hide further round the site I got a closer view of a Lapwing.

What a great place!

Birds and a naughty squirrel in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

During a recent walk with my camera in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, I took photographs of some of the birds that I saw on the lake.

This is a close-up of the top part of a black-headed gull, which has speckled feathers on it's face.

I love this Red-Crested Pochard drake - he has an amazing hair style and great-coloured red eyes and beak.

He was rather a naughty Red-Crested Pochard as he was hanging around this female Mallard.

In fact, there was a three-some going on as she also had a Mallard boyfriend who kept trying to chase off the Red-Crested Pochard.  Here they have become temporary friends as they line up at the edge of the water in order to beg for food from some tourists who were throwing titbits at the ducks that had swum over to them.

 A couple of Mute swans were also hanging around in this area of the lake.

One of the swans stood up and stretched it's majestic wings.

A Cormorant was fishing at the far end of the Long Water, near the fountains at the Italian Garden.  I managed to get a close-up of it when it surfaced for longer than a few seconds.  What a great-coloured eye and I love the pattern of the markings on the body and the splayed tail feathers.

On a raft at the other end of the park, near the Serpentine cafe, a juvenile Mute swan was resting it's head on it's body.

I disturbed it when I stood nearby taking photographs - so it sat up and showed me it's very cute face.

Just before I left the park, I came across white Mallard drake that was having a swim at the end of the Serpentine.

I left the park via the rose garden where I found a tree full of green Rose-Ringed Parakeets, one of which was eating from a bird feeder meant for the small birds that live in the park.  There were two bird feeders on the tree and a very, very naughty grey squirrel was doing acrobatics by hanging upside-down with it's tail wrapped round one of the tree's branches while holding onto the other feeder with it's front paws and stealing food from it.  Bad squirrel!!!!