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.

Barnes Common - A different location and 2 nice discoveries

This weekend I decided I'd try somewhere new to take some photos. I was aware of where Barnes common is, I'd walked past it, been in taxis and buses which went past it, but never actually had a walk through it. So that's what I did. In the process, I made a couple of nice little discoveries.

Discovery 1: the stream that runs through Barnes common is the same stream that runs under Priest's Bridge (when I think about it, where it's located and the direction it runs, it's kinda obvious). I'd crossed this stream at Priest's Bridge many times before, as I was walking to Barnes station, and have been intrigued by this clear running stream, where it went and what delights it had to offer.



I started to explore the stream and saw a few damselflies busy going from one plant to the next. As I got closer to the group of plants they seemed to like, a female Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx Virgo) landed right next to me, giving me a beautiful shot.



Unfortunately, at this point, the damselflies were about as much as I could see on the stream, so I moved on.

As I moved away from the stream I began to notice all of the wild flowers there were in the semi-cut grass. Barnes common seems to be fairly managed whilst being given the freedom to grow slightly wild, allowing lots of beautiful flowers and grasses to call it home.



As I continued my walk I, somehow, managed to spot 2 mating Squash Bugs (Coreus Marginatus) on a dock leaf.



As I continued with my walk I heard a Wren flying about, chirping, but couldn't quite see where it was. I then heard a young wren's call in a nearby tree, so I went to see if I could spot them. That's where I made discovery no. 2.

Discovery 2: 3 beautiful baby Wren's, perched in the tree, doing their best to hide until Mum/Dad came back.





In the second photo, there are 3 babies. The middle one is slightly hidden, looking up, hence why you can't see its face like you can with the outer 2.

I finished my walk via Barnes pond. My aim was to see if there were any other damselflies and also to see if the heron I'd seen hanging out there so regularly wanted to have a photo taken. It would appear not, on both counts.

However, there were a few Mallards to be seen and a group of ducklings as well. Not a bad pay off I suppose.





I also spotted a caterpillar, which I believe is a Buff Ermine Moth (Spilosoma Luteum) basking in the sun on the fence around the pond.



And the final photo from my walk, a nice shot of an Egyptian Goose having a little swim.