A lovely, still slightly sunny, and only moderately cold afternoon as I arrived, but the light and brightness went after about 3:30, leaving the underlying greyness.
There were Mallard in the small stream downstream of the bridge on the other side of the feeding area, possibly with some hybridisation - the body plumage is way off typical!
The same drake is now on the left, pointing right, and a completely different hybrid is centre top, with totally different plumage, and a female to the right.
The new hybrid flaps vigorously, perhaps to show off to the female, his irridescence picking up the sun!
Here is yet a third hybrid drake, with a brown "unsleeked" head.
Plenty of Black-headed Gulls, Coots, some Moorhens, Mute Swans, Mallard and various hybrid ducks, one Muscovy Duck but unusually no Greylag Geese (that I saw) were at the feeding area. Further along a Little Grebe whiffled across the North End of the Ocean, where there were a pair of Great Crested Grebe, with newly developing crests.
There were some Herring Gulls of different ages mixed in with the Black-headed Gulls, Coots and Tufted Ducks across the Ocean. These are first winter or (more likely I think from the light colours of the wings and back, and the relative lack of black on the beak) second winter birds.
And here is an adult on a fairly distant yellow buoy against the sun.
This is first winter Black-headed Gull, on the bright yellow buoy. Brown primaries and coverts have persisted since fledging, orange beaks and legs, and a dark bar near the end of the tail.
A Great Tit sang from the willows at the start of the channel path. Further along two Canada Geese were in the channel, with a moorhen very close by. The goose on the right is probably a first year bird with the duller colours on the head. The patterns on the flanks may be different as well.
Two or three Herring Gulls were in amongst the Black-headed Gulls on Larkfield Lake. Some of the Black-headed Gulls (at least the three in this photo) were "washing their wings" it appeared. I've not noticed this behaviour before.
and then they dipped their heads in:
I got some record shots of Tufted Ducks here as well.
including one looking as though it was still in moult - a Juvenile bird perhaps?
A Song Thrush scuttled across the Marsh, together with several Blackbirds. As I turned back I flushed a pair of Mallard from the Marsh stream.
The Long-tailed Tits, and one Blue Tit were in the Alders as I skirted the North end of the Ocean on my return journey. Blackbirds were also regularly flushed, giving their alarm calls as the flew off.
A Cormorant flew over. There was one Great Crested Grebe by the feeding area, diving for weed I think.
There were Mallard in the small stream downstream of the bridge on the other side of the feeding area, possibly with some hybridisation - the body plumage is way off typical!
The same drake is now on the left, pointing right, and a completely different hybrid is centre top, with totally different plumage, and a female to the right.
The new hybrid flaps vigorously, perhaps to show off to the female, his irridescence picking up the sun!
Here is yet a third hybrid drake, with a brown "unsleeked" head.
Plenty of Black-headed Gulls, Coots, some Moorhens, Mute Swans, Mallard and various hybrid ducks, one Muscovy Duck but unusually no Greylag Geese (that I saw) were at the feeding area. Further along a Little Grebe whiffled across the North End of the Ocean, where there were a pair of Great Crested Grebe, with newly developing crests.
There were some Herring Gulls of different ages mixed in with the Black-headed Gulls, Coots and Tufted Ducks across the Ocean. These are first winter or (more likely I think from the light colours of the wings and back, and the relative lack of black on the beak) second winter birds.
And here is an adult on a fairly distant yellow buoy against the sun.
This is first winter Black-headed Gull, on the bright yellow buoy. Brown primaries and coverts have persisted since fledging, orange beaks and legs, and a dark bar near the end of the tail.
A Great Tit sang from the willows at the start of the channel path. Further along two Canada Geese were in the channel, with a moorhen very close by. The goose on the right is probably a first year bird with the duller colours on the head. The patterns on the flanks may be different as well.
Two or three Herring Gulls were in amongst the Black-headed Gulls on Larkfield Lake. Some of the Black-headed Gulls (at least the three in this photo) were "washing their wings" it appeared. I've not noticed this behaviour before.
and then they dipped their heads in:
I got some record shots of Tufted Ducks here as well.
including one looking as though it was still in moult - a Juvenile bird perhaps?
A Song Thrush scuttled across the Marsh, together with several Blackbirds. As I turned back I flushed a pair of Mallard from the Marsh stream.
The Long-tailed Tits, and one Blue Tit were in the Alders as I skirted the North end of the Ocean on my return journey. Blackbirds were also regularly flushed, giving their alarm calls as the flew off.
A Cormorant flew over. There was one Great Crested Grebe by the feeding area, diving for weed I think.
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