I had not visited my two local parks for some time, so I decided to rectify that today and took a walk through Ravensbury Park and then Morden Hall Park. There were one or two surprises and a 'first' sighting, which always helps!
This was my first attempt at photographing an invertebrate (other than the occasional butterfly). I assume this is a Blue Damselfly (or is it Azure?). In any case, there were dozens of them flitting around and this one had the decency to allow me to photograph it.
The only Robin of the day!
Here's another Damselfly
This one seems darker than the first one that I saw, but maybe that's down to the light?
Mute Swan in Abstract Mode!
At home with the Moorhen family...
Here comes the other adult
A small snack is brought to the nest
Somebody then decided to have a little adventure...
Off we go...
Oops! What do I do now?
I wish I'd stayed at home!
Scrambling back to the safety of the nest
Almost there!
And we're back!
Phew!
What have you been up to?
Erm...
Soggy fluffball!
These were the first Mallards that I encountered. The 'River Mallards', particularly the group at the London Road end of the park, were conspicuous by their absence.
Two 'Teenage' Coots
Across the road and in to Morden Hall Park, where I would typically expect to see a few Grey Wagtails flitting about at the water's edge. However, the movement that I spotted was something even more interesting...
A Female Blackcap (a first for me, as I have only seen and heard Males before now)
She took a sip of water and foraged for insects
And then the Male arrived...
A quick splash in the water
Crow drying off in the morning sunshine
I took this photo because the Duckling on the right is rather an odd colour. Looking at the beak of the middle one, are they Shovelers or is that just an unfortunate angle?
Fine example of recycling by this Coot
A watchful Stock Dove, high up in the trees
A beakful of Beetles
Another handsome looking young Coot
This female Mallard had eleven ducklings to watch
At this point, Mum was eyeing up a group of Canada Geese that had come rather too close for her liking
This Heron was more interested in something overhead than it was in me
Unicum arbustum haud alit duos erithacos
(One bush does not shelter two Robins)
Zenodotus (3rd Century B.C.)
Just one Robin? Outrageous! Great pics, lovely Moorhen family and great to see the Blackcaps. The damselflies are both male Banded Demoiselles.
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Thanks Aiki. I will be putting in an official complaint about the lack of Robins! Thanks for the damselfly ID. The Blackcaps were a real bonus, especially their location.
Lovely shots and a great variety of creatures. You've done a good job capturing the Banded Demoiselles. They can be quite flighty.
Great to see the Blackcaps coming to drink and bathe. Amazing shot of Heron's eyes.
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Fantastic set and photos MC, well done on the Blackcaps, they are beautiful birds and hope you heard the male singing :) love the captions too !
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Regards, Hazel
The male was more intent on bathing, which is just as well. Had he been up in a tree, singing, I doubt I would have seen him.
Hope you have given Robin star billing on BU thread MC!! Lol
Great load of fabulous pics, a real treat to share all the birds you saw in these two parks ... have to agree with TJ about the last Heron capture, an amazing expression & such clarity!!
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Great selection of birds there MC and like Bob, I haven't seen a blackcap for ages either - last summer I saw quite a few but not this time. Lovely to see it at the water's edge!
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Thanks all. The Heron was about 20 feet away. I have photographed it several times before in the same location and unlike the other Herons in the area, it is unconcerned by human presence. I was not expecting to see the Blackcaps at all and I was expecting a Grey Wagtail when I initially saw movement at the water's edge. The male didn't stay around for long, but seeing both of them made the morning well worth it. I was hoping to see the Kestrels in Morden Hall Park, but there was no sign of them.