30 November, 2009

In The Bush...

It's been a while since I last posted, and even longer since I last took a trip to Bushy Park. I can't believe I'm saying this but the sun was out and it wasn't actually that cold when I decided to take a short trip on Sunday.
I've missed the Red Deer rut for this year, although occasionally the males do have a few fights in December and into January. There were large gathering of females at some of the large mud puddles resulting from recent rain... and I swear I actually saw two females stand on two legs and box each other like kangaroo do! There were also a few males about but no action...

Red Deer

Red Deer

I was very pleased to find a wintering Chiffchaff in amongst the bracken along the canal. It was very tame and at times I thought it might have actually been a rarer winter warbler... but then I realised that I was in the middle of London in Bushy Park, not on a remote island in Orkney!

Chiffchaff

Mallards were abundant along the main lake as where Black-headed Gulls...

Reflections...

Mallard

"Yeah that's right, get out of here... there ain't room for the two of us!"

Black headed Gull

What a grumpy old sod...

Black headed2

I'm sure there will be plenty more seagull antics as the numbers increase in the park, but for now.... happy wildlife watching!

14 November, 2009

Hardcore Moths

Below are two moths I've found in and around my garden in the last week. These two, like many others, can be found in the coldest months of the year. It makes you wonder how these hardcore animals manage to survive in the freezing temperatures and horrible weather that makes up an unbeatable British forecast!

Male Feathered Thorn... found back on the 10th.

Feathered Thorn

A Rush Veneer, a migrant species that can be found at any time of year... found on my local hill, Stoke's Field last week.

Rush Veneer

06 November, 2009

A Special Shrike...

A few weeks ago now I twitched a very rare bird called a Brown Shrike in Staines, just down the road...

Brown Shrike

Brown Shrike

You can probably get better shots than this out of a 5 month old baby. I can't give the excuse that my hands were shaking because they weren't. In fact the bird was so unexciting I found myself leaving a few minutes after arriving, looking forward to going home and getting started with some EXTRA FUN Music coursework!!