I picked up my visitor at lunchtime on Friday and we had a lazy afternoon.
Saturday morning and the usual birds were about in the garden. It was actually sunny and four of the ten Ring-necked Parakeets gathered in the usual meeting place - high up in the Eucalyptus tree where some sort of discussion seems to be taking place:
Whilst some preferred to be on their own,
...this group in the apple tree studiously ignored each other
Whilst they were chatting or ignoring, 18 Goldfinches were tucking into breakfast accompanied by, amongst others, Greenfinches, Great Tits, Chaffinches, Starlings, "my" robin, a magpie and, missing for a while, a Dunnock joined the party.
After my visitor had had lie-in on Saturday morning, we had various things to do - some bits of food shopping for me and he had some work to do at home. Having got that out of the way, we decided to enjoy the sun and go for a brisk walk around Bushey Park - it was cold! Probably one of the first really cold winter days we've had.
The usual birdie culprits were about. Loads of Black-headed gulls out on the Boating Lake, together with large numbers of Canada Geese, Mallards, Coots etc.
Further along, a Grey Heron landed and started looking for a snack.
I believe "Dennis Healy" is the name of the bird...
We passed a small herd of Fallow Deer - looking very pretty as usual - even the males!
A shortish walk but enough to blow the cobwebs away and to enjoy some wildlife before returning home.
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6 comments:
I really envy you your lovely Ringnecks, I wonder if they will ever spread this far?
Jan - It wouldn't surprise me if they did - they are increasing in numbers and spreading their territory although this is mostly in the South East - for the moment....!
great set of sightings with some nice photos. I may be going to Bushy park this weekend for the first time. Any tips for the best wildlife spots?
Hi Neil and thanks for the comments.
There are only 2 car parks in Bushey Park and the main one is near to the Diana Fountain which, in turn, is the Hampton Court end of the road through the Park.
If you park there, head off away from the entrance and you'll find the main ponds for water fowl. The deer in this post were by the water as well!
Have a look around the Diana Fountain Pond (this is in the middle of a roundabout) - you'll probably find Pied Wagtails and often Cormorants.
Also the woodland gardens are good. There's normally Mandarins (amongst others) and a single Cape Teal is often about.
Feel free to use the email address on this site if I can help further.
A set of wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing them Tricia.
Aw - thanks Dean
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