A cold, breezy day with occasional light showers, I head towards Pickering Park for the Wetland Bird survey count.
This Goldfinch was picking grit from a roof.
Although the cob Mute Swan appears to be smiling in the photo, he was actually hissing at me. Its partner is sitting on eggs now on the nearby island.
Coot on nest.
There were several greylag families, this was the largest.
This Pied Wagtail repeatedly looked at its feet, like gulls do sometimes.
Brown Rat.
Mallards don't do very good on Pickering Park, apparently due to the fact that there are several enormous Pike.
Instead of going back home after the Wetland Bird survey count, I headed to Hessle Road and when over the bridge over the railway line a large Herring and Lesser Black-back colony became apparent.
Lord Line Reddbed.
Dunnock.
This pair of Herring Gulls had just mated.
The Shelduck pair is back at Albert Dock, but no ducklings yet.
As I step down from Murdoch Connection, the gulls alert me to a raptor, a Red Kite, the first this year.
And later, over Princes Avenue, I spot the silhouette of a Peregrine and manage a single photo, what a day for urban birding!
Peregrine.
2 comments:
I wonder whether the Pied Wagtail was looking at its feet because they hurt. They are very prone to foot damage because of the way they sprint around, and often lose toes. Grey Wagtails, which are bigger, are worse affected and are usually lame by the end of their lives -- I knew one which had completely lost both feet.
Hi Ralph, that's an interesting observation. I've seen lame Pied Wagtails before, it's quite sad to see them limping, as moving around on foot is how they feed. This one seemed to walk ok, and is not the first one I see looking at its feet
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