Richmond Park - Deer and something a little odd

Last weekend, I had a wander around Richmond Park to see what was going on and what, apart from deer, I could see.  As it turned out, not a lot.

My aim was to ignore the deer and try to concentrate on the bird life.  Unfortunately the light wasn't great and the first thing I saw was a huge group of Fallow Deer.  It seemed a little silly to not take a few photos while the opportunity presented itself.

Then, as I continued around the park, I very nearly tripped over a rather large Red Deer.  Fortunately, now well out of the rut, it was quite calm and relaxed and allowed me to regain a safe distance.

The next thing I saw was rather odd.  It was an Egyptian Goose, perching up a tree.  I, for one, have never seen this before.  Granted the tree was quite big and had been pruned of all minor branches but I still found it a bit strange.  There were also two other geese up a different tree near by and there seemed to be some kind of territorial or dominance issue between them, perhaps confused by the mild weather.

Then it was more Fallow Deer, this time amongst the trees.  They were quite happy grazing on the last of the fallen acorns, getting ready for when the cold weather finally arrives.

Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust - Portraits

A couple of weekends ago, at a loose end, I paid another visit to the London Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust in Barnes.  My visit was full of hope that I would see the illusive Bittern but, again, no, it was not playing along.

That said, the Wetlands centre always has something to offer including, this visit, a rather devious Grey Squirrel, desperately trying to gain access to the peanuts caged in the bird feeders.  Long story short, it failed.  Credit where it's due though, it had a good go. 

 

As there wasn't a lot of wild birds to be seen, I decided to head over to the resident geese in the area towards the World Wetlands to try my hand at close ups and portraits, with mixed results. This is a selection of my best shots.

Then, suddenly, a meteor started to fall from the sky!  Luckily, for all around, this Eider duck spotted it and warned everyone else.