My blog is mostly about wildlife, particularly birds, walking, days out, all growing things and anything else that comes to mind.
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Thursday 11 June 2009

It rained yesterday...

Wednesday - and heavy rain woke me in the early morning. I sank back down under the duvet!

After a depressing morning, the rain stopped by about 2.00 p.m. so undeterred and in dire need of some exercise and fresh air, I headed off to Bushy Park.

Had a walk around the large pond; the cygnets were dozing after their soaking in the morning.

A Tufty was being lazy and resting on the Boating pond

Near one of the streams, a female Mandarin was contemplating life

and in the Woodland Gardens this one (of five) male Mandarins was already losing his feathers and going into eclipse!

One of the last remaining rhododendron blooms for this Spring

The squirrels were out in force and this one was very much "well if I don't look at the camera, it won't see me"

Further along this one was scurrying along a fallen branch

and yet another Mandarin looking very bald and sorry for himself!

When you enter the woodland gardens, you walk underneath a large area of Gunnera. Most of it reached high above me and looking up, the sunlight is seen through the large leaves

A new leaf is opening out

Whilst some have only just emerged as buds

The Woodland Gardens are fenced off to prevent damage from deer eating the plants. Unfortunately, this Red Deer hind must have not been attending the briefing as to where, and where not, deer are allowed to go.

It seemed as though it was snowing with some of the trees covered in these "cotton like" seeds

and several had landed on the water where they floated

This was the tree that produced the seeds
(If anyone can ID it, I would be grateful :D)

A very young Moorhen, sat on a Lily leaf whilst looking to be fed

Alarm calls from a few birds alerted me.... the cause being this fox deep in the undergrowth

Back out into the main park, these Mallard ducklings were snoozing on the opposite side of the bank

A Grey Heron hiding behind the grasses

Several notices are posted around the popular dog-walking areas, asking for dogs to be kept on leads for the moment. The Hinds and Does are giving birth to their young and currently are nervous as the bracken isn't always high enough to hide the little ones.

I came across a small herd of Red Deer females and they had young ones with them. Mostly hidden in the bracken, but I did manage the occasional glimpse.

This one seemed bigger and was much different in colour


Four fawns were playing deep in the bracken and crossing the stream. As this one paused I managed to get a shot of it whilst it investigated the grass on the stream edge.

A Grey Heron flew past me and landed high up in the tree - just above a coot's nest!

As I walked back to the car, I met a friend so we stopped for a chat and a cuppa. A large flock of Starlings were wheeling about so eventually I went over to investigate.

This represents about 1/3rd of them!


And today? Thursday. I had to go back to Painshill to see if I could find the second Great Crested Grebe. Whilst I had a good walk, I could still only find the one solitary bird. Today it was in exactly the same spot as usual but not calling much at all.

I think we both have to accept that it's partner has gone. Hopefully, just flown away to find somewhere else to live!

The damsels and dragons weren't too evident today albeit the sun was shining. Perhaps I was too late in the day. However, I did spot this female Banded Demoiselle.


So off to the supermarket, where I was going before I got side tracked into nipping into Painshill and investigating Grebes!

18 comments:

mick said...

All beautiful but the young moorhen on the leaf with the adult in the water is exceptional!

holdingmoments said...

Great pictures Tricia to accompany your visit to Bushy Park.
That Mandarin looks rather sorry for himself; certainly not looking his best at the moment.
Cheeky looking squirrel, and lovely shot of the fox.
Heron; yup, like it through the reeds, and the fawn, aaaaaa.
Good post. :)

Midmarsh John said...

Lovely set of photos. What a lot there is to see at Bushy Park.
The Mandarins remind me Victorian gentlemen with their bushy sideboards.
I think I've gone off Herons since I saw on Springwatch the range of small mammals and birds they eat as well as fish.

Tricia Ryder said...

Hi Mick - thank you. The baby moorhens are rather appealing if not that pretty!! :D

Keith - thank you; glad you enjoyed the post. There was an amazing variety of wildlife on that occasion!

John - Thank you too. Know what you mean about the Mandarins and Victorian gentlemen :D

Herons do seem to eat anything they can get their beaks on...so to speak!

FAB said...

Thanks Tricia for providing an update on the 'local' wildlife. Great to see the young fawns.

Tim Rucci said...

Wow, what a walk you had today! If I could see that many different animals in one walk in the park, I wouldn't know how to act. Bushy Park must be an amazing place. And you have captured it so well in your images-Congratulations!

NatureStop said...

Lovely set of photos and really enjoyed the deer pics.

Tricia Ryder said...

Frank - was lovely to watch the Fawns - when they came out in the open that was :D

Tim - thank you. I'm lucky to have this particular park so close by!

NatureStop - thanks; it's a pity the camera can never really convey the atmosphere though.

Jayne said...

As usual your pictures are very clear and professional and it looks like a very satifying day was had!!!
Jayne

ShySongbird said...

Great photos again Tricia, you always seem to see such a variety of wildlife, I obviously go to the wrong places :(

Can't help with the seeds I'm afraid, I thought at first they were some sort of insect webs.

The poor old Mallards do look in a sorry state at the moment. The first Squirrel photo was very cute.

oldcrow61 said...

Wonderful photos. You see so much on your walks. I really like the squirrel showing his lovely white belly. So cute.

Richard said...

Visit my blog and pick up a much deserved award.

Chris said...

Hi Tricia,
wow, That is what I call a nice birding-mammaling day ;-) So many species you saw and so many great pictures. So ducks are already getting into the eclipse phase!! Here they are just getting the chicks. I saw some mallard abd tufty babies today which were less than 4 days I think.. SO small and so cute.. What a difference between our countries!!! Funny to see that through the web!

Anonymous said...

Love the Fawn image in the water Tricia, very special.

Miranda Bell said...

Hi Tricia - a few moments to browse a few blogs before heading to bed - what fabulous photos you've taken in this posting - love the little fawn in the stream - must have been magical seeing this...

I can sympathise with you on the weather front - it's been SO wet this week and only today at 26 degrees did I manage to get our grass cut! Have a good weekend Miranda x

Tricia Ryder said...

Firstly my apologies for the rather late responses to your comments.

Jayne - thank you and yes, not a bad day.

Jan - I think I'm just lucky to have to much right on my doorstep.

OC - thank you. I think it's because it's a relatively small area so can cover quite a bit of ground in a relatively short day.

Richard - my thanks to you for the reward. I'll send you an email.

Chris - It's mostly the Mandarins that I've noticed. Although a couple of black-headed gulls are already losing the head colouring.

Roy - I like the Fawn picture too - a rare opportunity to see this.

Miranda - thank you and yes - a magical moment.

It's now Sunday and the sun is shining and it's warm - so a great improvement here - hope it's the same with you.

Matt Latham said...

Tricia, your posts are always so interesting and varied and the images are great - the Mandarin drake has seen better days!

Tricia Ryder said...

Matt - thank you for your kind comments and I'm glad you enjoy the variation in the posts! I know I enjoy seeing such a variety.

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