Barnes Common - back to my new favourite spot

Over the last few weekends, I have been heading back to Barnes Common. This area of south west London is fast becoming my favourite area for watching and photographing urban wildlife. Even though it's a busy route for commuters walking to and from the station, it's large enough to get lost in and away from everyone else.



There are plenty of grey squirrels to be seen and, due to the commuters, they are fairly used to human presence, allowing you to get quite close to them.



I was also lucky enough to spot a female kestrel, using the common as a hunting ground, pictured below with it's latest meal, a rather large brown rat. I have seen the kestrel here a number of times, leading me to think that it's using the common as a regular hunting ground.



As mentioned, I have found out that Barnes common is home to a rather large population of brown rats. It should be noted that they are not mangy sewer rats but are actually rather cute. Still a bit of a shock when you first spot one though.





One of the weekends I went was the weekend London was hit with the first snow of 2012. There was a lot of it around, for London standards anyway, and, whilst it was beginning to thaw, it was a nice change of background for photos.



It seems this pigeon had seen the weather forecast and had prepared for the snow by digging out its Arctic camouflage.



There were also a lot of redwings to be seen flying from holly tree to holly tree, feasting on the abundant red berries.



The rats were also seen again and they seemed to be enjoying the alternative weather we were experiencing, jumping around and playing.





On the way home, I saw this lesser black backed gull resting at the edge of the river. It got me wondering how its feet didn't get cold, as mine were and they were wrapped up in thick socks!

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.

Barnes Common and the River Thames

It's been a while since my last post, so this is a bit of a catch up...

A couple of weekends ago, I took a late afternoon walk around Barnes Common. The light was not great and there wasn't a great deal to see but I did spy a Grey Squirrel foraging in the undergrowth. There was obviously a bit of a territory argument between it and a neighbour as it was barking as I approached.



I also spotted a large group of Ring-necked Parakeets feeding on the seeds of the trees. They fed for about 15 minutes and then flew off in one large group, making their characteristic squawking racket as they went.



I walked back via Barnes pond, where a lot of Canada Geese and a few Pink-footed Geese seem to have made their winter home. The light was really starting to fade by this time, hence the noise in the photo.



I finished my walk along the River Thames, taking in Barnes Bridge at sunset and finally along to the brewery.

The River Thames in autumn

Last weekend I was full of good intentions to head to the Wetlands centre and snap some of the autumn migrants that are now regularly dropping in. I didn't, however, account for the shortening days or how fast the light goes when it begins to. As a result, on Saturday I ended up having a walk along the banks of the River Thames and, in hindsight, I'm quite glad that I didn't make it to the WWT.



The sunset on Saturday evening turned out to be spectacular. At low tide, as the sun descended slowly, I was afforded beautiful views of the river and the bird life it supports.



Groups of Mallards were to be found which, with the sunset behind them, looked beautiful.



I also saw a Great Crested Grebe in its winter plumage, hunting for its dinner.







As I continued to wander up the river back, a family of Mute Swans swam past.



I also spyed a Grey Heron fishing for dinner. I'm not sure how good this particular Heron was as, the few times it did go for a fish, it appeared to fall on the target rather than decisively striking. It posed for a nice photo though.



Once the light had gone, I began to head home. On my way back I heard a Robin in one of the trees chirping away to anyone who listened. I managed to snap this shot of it using a flash and am quite pleased with the result.

The following day I again, attempted to get myself to the Wetlands centre. This time it was public transport that stopped me getting there. With no bus in sight after 20 minutes of waiting in the cold, I decided I would walk instead. Again, it was low tide as I strolled along the river and, again, I was tempted to take photos along the river bank instead of going over to the WWT.



The Great Crested Grebe was out fishing again and, this time, I was able to get a better lit shot of it.





The fog began to draw in as the sunlight faded making for lovely atmospheric shots.



Before the fog got too bad, which it did... very quickly, a murmuration of Starlings were flying just above the bridge. It wasn't the largest murmuration ever seen but it was still fascinating to watch.

A cold, grey day at the wetlands centre

Last weekend I spent a couple of hours at the Wildfowl & Wetlands centre, secretly hoping to capture that once in a lifetime shot of the recently returned Bittern. Sadly, on that day, it was not to be.



I was also hoping to see some of the birds currently migrating over London. Again, this was not meant to be.



Still, it's always nice to wander around the centre, even on an over-cast and slightly drizzly day.

There were still plenty of wildfowl around to see and snap.



There will be other days, better light and more birds.



Still, I'm happy with the few shots I did get.