One stalwart is "my" garden robin who's really enjoying the mealworms. I went to the shop on my way home today - the cupboard was bare and will be until Tuesday of next week. Let's hope he finds an alternative!
Today I headed over to the London Wetland Centre at Barnes. It was incredibly quiet - even some of the Collection birds seem to have vanished.
Met some people I've got to know from my visits there so we met up at various points. Thanks for the cuppa Rick :D
Frogs were much in evidence again and very vocal. This one greeted me on my way from the car park.
The Mute Swan pair were still adding to their nest at the foot of Sir Peter Scott's statue.
Three eggs were evident!
Reed Warblers were everywhere today. This one was very shy but just occasionally came up so we could get a glimpse!
The other most active birds were Great Crested Grebes. Here one is being chased by another!
And finally, around in the Wildside this one (of a nesting pair!) went fishing
Going....
going.....
virtually gone!
Still hungry it swam under the bridge and caught another
and deftly turned it around before swallowing it
Decided to have another look
but nothing doing so it swam back to its partner on the nest.
A good visit despite the lack of birds and activity, but the sun was warm and the pace was relaxed........
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18 comments:
Great captures of the fisherman.
And the Reed Warbler; I'm still struggling to catch a glimpse of one, let alone a picture. Well done.
Love that first shot of the Robin too. He looks very cheeky.
never seen a reed warbler Tricia,sweet little bird.Love your pics of the robin too
Sheila
Great day and great shots Tricia. I love your grebe very much!
The robin is beautiful. How nice to have one in your garden!
Thanks Keith. I was just lucky with the Warbler. But it was tucked away so well in the reeds except for the odd moment.
Sheila - they don't like being seen. And thank you - he's been around for sometime now.
Chris - thank you - Great Crested Grebes are very elegant birds!
Mick - thanks. I think he's one of two and I'm convinced they have a nest on the go at the end of my neighbour's garden.
Great photos as always, Tricia.
I try to let my Robin have dried mealworms but the Starlings grab most in less time than it takes the kettle to boil.
Hi Tricia. The pair of Robins that visited my garden have done a disappearing act.
As everyone else as said, great pics.
Too bad it was a slow day at the Wetlands Centre. The day I went, a few years ago, all of the waterfowl were hanging out as far from the blinds and the paths as possible. Still a lovely place, though. I enjoyed your pictures - at least you got some on your visit!
Nice Reed Warbler shots Tricia, they are difficult arn't they.
John - I normally have the feeder under the mesh guardian. I removed it in the hope of getting a picture.
Dean - thanks and sorry your pair have gone. Perhaps they'll return when the young have fledged.
Gabrielle - welcome. Glad you enjoyed the pictures and that you saw some birds on your visit.
Roy - very difficult; not only to photograph but just to see!
Wonderful photos as usual. Gotta love that frog though, lol.
Lovely shots of the Reed Warbler, Tricia. Such smart looking birds.
Great action shots.
John.
well done on the Reed warbler pics, They are difficult to photo. I hope I get a migrant one on my patch this year
Lovely post again Tricia, the GCG sequence was fun and the frog was keeping a close eye on you!
Beautiful Robin photo, I have only used (I was going to say tried, but that could have been misinterpreted, YUK!) dried meal worms, being slightly put off by how to store the live ones, I believe you have to give them oatmeal, is that what you do?
I know I've said it before, but I do love grebes. They are so graceful. Some lovely pictures on your blog recently Tricia, I've loved looking at them all.
Just thought you might be interested in the Kestrel Webcam webpage that I've just set up on the Dorset Wildlife Trust website. You talked about Armchair Birdwatching recently... and this is the ultimate (in my opinion). More info over at my blog.
Please pass the Wildlife Trust link on to anyone else who you think might be interested. The more people we can get watching them the better... we might even see the first egg being laid.
Jane
That's some good Reed Warbler shots Tricia, they are never easy at the best of times.
OC - thank you. The frog was giving me rather an appealing look Lol
Graham - they're great aren't they!
John - thank you
Warren - thanks; fingers crossed you'll get one!
Jan - watching that fish get caught and swallowed was quite something.
I don't know about keeping them in oatmeal. They do come in some a sandy coloured ingredient but they robin gets through them so quickly that storage is never a problem. Therefore I don't do anything as within three days - they've gone!
Jane - thanks and glad you are enjoying the Grebes. I will do a link for the Kestrels next time I post. Great stuff you're doing there.
Roy - thank you. I was a tad pleased.
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