Owls at Rainham and returning Fulmar in Kent

Having seen my first U.K. Little Owl last week I decided to try and up my owl tally and go on the hunt for some Shorties. I did a bit of searching online first and settled on RSPB Rainham as the most likely spot. That choice proved to be a success as not only did I see three (at least) Shorties but one of the resident Barn Owl was also viewable as it snoozed at the entrance to its box. Nice surprise!
Other highlights of the day were Peregrine, Kestrel, Buzzard and Marsh Harrier, Snipe and Pintail (nfy), Dartford and Cetti's Warbler, Redwing, Fieldfare and a flyover Rook!

A Brief visit to Kent with Rachelle saw us do a small bit of birding along the coast, picking up Redshank, Golden,Grey and Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Dunlin, Curlew, GBB Gull, Oystercatcher and as the title of this post suggests Fulmar. Neither of realised that Fulmar returned to the cliffs this early in the year so we were delighted to see them, not least because they are one of Rachelles favourite birds.

 

Fulmar - Kent

Fulmar pair - Kent

Snipe

Marsh Harrier

Pintail

Short-eared Owl

Shoveler

Carrion Crow (leucistic)

Redwing

Barn Owl

 

 

A walk in the park(s)

 

I recently had the good fortune to meet up with Ralph Hancock who runs an excellent daily blog covering the birds and wildlife of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. Ralph kindly agreed to meet up with me and show me around some of the better birding spots of the area. Many species of bird here actually recognise Ralph and frequently come to his hand to be fed nuts or seeds. I was lucky enough to have a few birds also come to my hand! These included Blue, Great and Coal Tit and Robin! A truly wonderful experience.
Some of the days other highlights included my first U.K. Little Owl, discovering a previously unknown Little Owl in residence and some curious behaviour from a juv. Mute Swan towards an Egyptian Goose chick. Ralph was extremely knowledgeable about the area and it was very interesting to learn about some of the gardens history. I am very grateful to him for his time and expertise and suggest you cast an eye over his blog for some excellent photos and to get a feel for this surprisingly diverse wildlife haven located in such an urban area.


While in the city I also visited James' Park. There, admittedly, most of the wildfowl are 'plastic' but that said they do make for nice shots and some birds are just plain cheeky!

I have also had a wander around more locally, through Bushy Parks 'Woodland Garden'. Here are a few pics from my travels plus a few others from the garden. Enjoy.

Pintail - James' Park

Pochard - James' Park

White Pelican - James' Park

White Pelican - James' Park

White-headed Duck - James' Park

Goldfinch - Garden Feeder

Siskin - Bushy Park

Little Owl - Kensington Gardens

Little Owl - Kensington Gardens

Jay - Ken. Gardens

Jay - K.G.

Treecreeper - K.G.

Magpie - K.G.

Little Owl - K.G. (new bird)

Carrion Crow - K.G.

Gadwall - Hyde Park

juv. Mute Swan harassing Egyptian Gosling - Hyde Park

unscathed Egyptian Gosling - H.P.

Little Owl - K.G.

Blue Tit  - Kensington Gardens

 

Feral Pigeon 'selfie' - James' Park

 

 

Two 'Lifers' and a UK/Ire tick and it's only January!

Since my move to the UK I've been trying to get around to the local green areas/Parks and Reserves as much as possible. Despite being relatively close to the city, with its traffic and airports, the wildlife has been surprisingly abundant and diverse!

One of my first outings of the year produced a Lifer for me, a wild Smew over-wintering at Bedfont Lakes.

The Bedfont Lakes area consists of several different habitats from parkland and woodland to meadow and the waterways of the lakes themselves.

The other local parks are Bushy Park, and a little further away, Richmond Park. Both have waterways, woodland and scrub. Richmond produced a great year tick in the form of a Dartford Warbler, only ever seen (by me) in Spain before this.

A couple of visits to the Wildfowl/Wetland Centre at Barnes in London have previously produced Siskin, Pintail, Greylag and Snipe but a trip during the recent frosty weather turned out to be an astounding trip.

Having heard news of Bittern being seen there myself and Rachelle headed out in earnest early one morning. No sooner had we arrived (at the Wildside Hide) than we picked out a Bittern, distant, sunning itself at the edge of the reeds. I was very excited, Bittern has long been a bird that has escaped my eye and I was delighted to see one. Waiting in this hide, in the hope of getting a slightly better look and hopefully a picture of  the Bittern, we were treated to stunning views of a Cetti's warbler out in the open as well as a Water Rail making it's way around on the frozen lake edge. As happens on lucky occasions the Bittern obliged us with fly-bys as it briefly relocated in an attempt to find food around the thawing reeds.

Smew - Bedfont Lakes (*Lifer)

(Lesser) Redpoll - Bedfont Lakes Nature Reserve

Jay - Feltham (Garden)

Firecrest - Bedfont NR

Mandarin (m) - Richmond Park

Mandarin (f) - Richmond Park

Fallow Deer (Light&Dark forms) - Richmond Park

Horseshoe Fungus - Richmond Park

Treecreeper - Richmond Park

Dartford Warbler - Richmond Park (*UK/Ire tick)

Cormorant - Kempton Nature Reserve

Water Rail - London WWT

Cetti's Warbler - London WWT

Bittern - London WWT (*Lifer)