Friday, April 09, 2010
...but it will do for now.
The first couple of vismigskywatchraptorwatching thingies of the year have predictably brought about nothing. Not even an unidentified hirundine. Just lots of looking around with the internal monologue following the predictable lines.
Pigeon.
Yep, Pigeon.
Gull.
Is that a Pigeon?
Crow.
Funny looking Pigeon.
Still a Pigeon.
Gull.
Wood Pigeon.
That Pigeon has got white wings.
Oh, a Cormorant.
Pigeon.
Gull.
Whoa! Bird right behind me! Oh, fat Wood Pigeon.
You get the idea. However a brief stare at the sky this morning did bring a Jay flying across the river. An unusual bird for here, but a yearly tick and the first for this year.
57 for the year.
Feel free to view the image captured yesterday evening.
Mandarin doing caught in the late evening sun.
Monday, March 01, 2010
Following that incredible post title I'm tempted to go into a themed rap by using the lyrics to Bring The Noise by Public Enemy, but then thought better of it. For the best I think.
This week there will be the lowest day time tides on the Thames for 5 years (so I am reliably informed) you can see the times and all that by clicking in this area. This gives the very worthy people at Thames21 a chance to do a 'deep clean' on Tuesday and Wednesday and gives a patch birder the chance to moan that there are no birds around because loads of people are wandering around the foreshore. I aim to take a few snaps and stuff anyway because it's interesting..
So rather than show you a picture of any of the above. Have a picture of the bird that I dragged Mrs Thing along to see this weekend. No shit! It's a Mandarin!
A Mandarin doing everything.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Those are the words uttered by a 'member of the public' the other day when confronted with a duck in a local park. Understandably. He was flabbergasted when a duck swam past him. Rightly so.
Now the interweb is a marvelous thing and I suspect that many people of the coming weeks and months may want to know what that crazy looking duck is in a certain park, namely Walpole Park in Ealing. The searches that may end up being entered into Google (other search engines are available) could have the form like..
funny looking duck walpole park ealing
strange looking duck walpole park ealing
colourful duck walpole park ealing
what duck walpole park ealing
what duck waplole park ealin
funny duck walploe prak ealing
what's that duck in walpole park?
osterley park duck (just in case)
ealing park duck
gunnersby park duck (again, you never know)
Members of the public may then land on this blog seeking answers to the question, so I am just helping out the public. Disseminating information. That kind of thing.
So the answer to the question is - it is a Mandarin Duck and it's latin name is Aix galericulata and there are photos of it, and it's missus below. Enjoy! Send the link to your friends! Show it to the world!
Regular readers of this blog may think that this whole post is an excuse for Statcounter tomfoolery and fresh duck porn.
You'd be right.
But come on! Look at it!
Friday, February 05, 2010
Geddit?
A Mandarin was seen close to, or perhaps even in the patch recently.
Not by me.
That's the pain bit. Although as it's wings are clipped I might have put it in the dodgy tick pile myself...
But I reckon that this is as good as an excuse as any for some gratuitous duck porn as I'm likely to get...
A Mandarin doing phwoar!
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
I remember well the day that it began.
It was late summer in the late 80's. My friend Mark and I had made our way to Cley. Mark was much shorter than me, and insisted that he had once seen a Lesser Kestrel. He hadn't. We were at the beach, close to the pillbox thingy and some kindly old gentlemen pointed in the direction of a small bird. We presented the optics to the eyes and behold, a Black Redstart. And it just sort of came out of me, "wow - that is fucking beautiful". Birders Tourrette's. The old gentlemen was a little shocked and suprised, but I think he understood.
It doesn't occur all the time when seeing birds and isnt connected just with seeing rare birds. The White-crowned Sparrow not so long ago could only produce Jazz Club type utterances - "oooh - Niiiice". At the other end of the scale are warblers. Last years Blyths at Runton, a perfunctory - "oh". But occasionally it rears it's head. Red-necked Phalarope (not even in summer plumage) the year after the Redstart - "whoa - fuuuuuck!".
I know that I am not alone with this condition, the Siberian Thrush that was in norfolk recently was described by a fellow blogger as a 'spunkdrainer'. Whilst amusing to some, i understand - this is a wholly fitting term for a bird that ticks the Tourrette's box.
Why am I rattling on about all this shit? Because I found this in a park over the weekend.
Just have a butchers at this bastard!
I'm hoping that I don't find a Bee-eater in a public place, could get nasty.
