Friday, April 30, 2010
Sitting on park bench, eyeing feral pigeons with bad intent. I had the optics focused in the distance, again watching a distant buteo morph into an immature Herring Gull for the umpteenth time that day when something seemed to be flying near them that was neither buteo nor larid. A little further focusing and I was seeing something unfamiliar, but somehow I knew what it was. What they were. Because there were four of them, and they were Swifts. They are back. The bestest of the best birds. So lets reprise the joyous sound of the song that I sang last year - I'm sure you know the words...
All together now!
Oooooooh, the fucking swifts are back,
The fucking swifts are back,
Ee-ii-addy-oh,
The fucking swifts are back!
Oi!
Oh, the fucking swifts are back,
The fucking swifts are back,
Ee-ii-addy-oh,
The fucking swifts are back!
United! United! United! United!
I like Swifts.
A Moorhen doing walking on water.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Yesterday was dull. Dull dull dull. Hardly worth mentioning. But I will because I heard a Song Thrush. And it was singing in Hurlingham Park. It's a year tick for the patch bringing the total to 54. It will sing again, and it's status here (as far as I am concerned) is of possible breeder, unconfirmed.
So here is the obligatory photo of a completely different bird.
A Moorhen doing floating.
Friday, August 21, 2009
On the Wandle the other day, there was a juvenile Moorhen. Most of you will probably sigh, and exclaim ‘so what?’.
But hang about – this is actually a little strange. Moorhens did try to breed earlier in the year by hanging on to the walls of the Wandle, but suffered from high tide-ism. Juvenile birds are so rare here (especially water birds) that they stand out a bloody mile, so I would have noticed a juvenile or two knocking about in the water.
Also, usually a Moorhen juvenile will normally hang around the territory and help out with the second brood.
A little strange yes, but hardly an earth shattering observation. And hardly the greatest post ever. But as I am suffering from issues with most of the technology that surrounds me, it's about all I've got today!
A Moorhen doing juvenile, strangely.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
...there are a pair of Moorhens that have nested higher up the river wall than last year - and I am very hopeful that they can produce at least one brood of Heron food in about 20 days...
There is a red dot in the middle of the picture. That is a Moorhen.
Honest.
