It was very atmospheric walking by Pearson Park today on my way to the patch. The ducks had gathered around the fountain, which was the only spot free of ice, whilst the gulls sat happily on the ice. There has been a pair of Canada Geese that appear to roost at the park. The brown and white domestic duck, follows them everywhere. The Barmston Drain was iced up from Stepney Lane northwards.
Pearson Park lake.
The fog lifting and the iced up drain.
Pied Wagtail on the frosty ground of the bike lane.
Stock doves were quite active today, driving, singing.
There was a large flock of Greenfinches at the N Cemetery, 13 can be seen in this photo.
Great Tit doing a great impersonation of a Chiffchaff call.
The pair of Coots, two Little Grebes (1st of the year) and Mallard were gathered in an ice-free spot in the drain.
The Little Grebe with winter plumage, perhaps an immature, closely followed the adult plumaged one. They diver together.
I scanned a group of Black-headed Gulls on a roof, and found this ringed one, E4Y3, an old friend as I saw it at Pickering Park last winter. It is a 2yr old adult from The Netherlands.
The first singing Chaffinch of the year.
All morning, the gulls had been flushed and I couldn't see why. After watching the Chaffinch singing a Blue Tit called in alarm and a Crow flew purposefully in one direction. I thought the crow would mob the Sparrowhawk, but instead, if turned 180 degrees in the air as a Sparrowhawk, almost brushing garden fences and spearing throuth trees and bushes, darted past me hoping to grab a bird, absolutely magical!
2 comments:
Good shot of the Little Grebes with the Mallards and Coot. Here in Kensington Gardens we have a Little Grebe actively cooperating with a pair of Gadwalls to stir up little edible creatures. Both partners seem to benefit, and they have been sticking closely together for several days.
It looked like they were quite cramped in that little bit of open water! Interesting, I've seen Coots pairing with Mute Swans and Black-headed Gulls and Little Egrets closely following Goosanders,but in these cases it it quite one-sided!
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