East Park Birding

The largest park of Hull, and, after the recent revamp, by far the most beautiful, East Park is a wonderful bird-watching site. The large lake has deep and shallow areas and islands. I have seen nesting Great Crested grebes bringing little fish to their young in the lake. Swans, geese and coots also breed in the lake. Wildfowl is abundant in winter, with Canada Geese, Greylags, Barnacle geese, Pochard, Tufted ducks, Mallard, Moorhen and coot usually around. Occasionally there are whooper swans, lesser white fronted geese, Goosander, Pink-footed Geese, pintails and Red-crested Pochard. Wildfowl is quite used to people and allow close approach, so if you want photos close-ups are guaranteed.

There is a large, new aviary which could do with a few more birds - and a zoo with goats, guinea pigs, alpacas, wallabies, fallow deer, peacocks and rheas. The zoo has an educational building with some tanks with millipedes, stick insects, tarantulas and snakes. A visit to East Park is for the whole family, and especially in the summer when there are rowing boats and a splash slide. More info in the Hull City Council and the Hull Valley Wildlife Group websites.

Today it was cold, 5-7 oC, but no wind - it can be really chilly in the winter here if there is the least breeze - so we had a long walk around the park, walking up the tree lined promenade, watching squirrels burying acorns (and ignoring our conkers) and stopping by the model boat lake, and the walking around the large lake, the Zoo, across the bridge and back round the north side of the lake.

These are some of my favourite photos from East Park, all taken with a Powershot G6:

Two Coots

Geese pair with goslings (13/05/07)

Mute Swans and cygnets

Bold Crow

Tufted duck drake (22/03/06)

Pochard drake (22/03/06)

Black-headed gulls like to rest on the wall next to the lake

Lesser white-fronted goose (10/12/05)

Birds of the day:


1. Canada Geese
2. Greylags
3. 2 Mute swans with red rings (Y329, Y330)
4. Coots
5. Moorhens
6. Pied Wagtails
7. Great Tit
8. Crows
9. Magpie
10. Dunnock
11. Blackbird
12. Mallards
13. Common Pochard
14. Great Crested Grebe
15. Tufted Duck
16. wader with broad white trailing edge, pigeon size or slightly smaller (redshank?)
17. Black-Headed Gulls
18. Starlings