October 8, 2006
Bad form
Oops - it's the peak of migration and I haven't managed a single birding trip in the last two weeks! This has much to do with moving into a new apartment - it's cheaper, nicer, closer to work and the rail link to Paris than the previous one, but best of all it boasts a small balcony and a mini-bar! Given its more urban location, I suspect the 'garden' list won't be so interesting, although things got off to a promising start with a very vocal Black Woodpecker (Pic noir) and Short-toed Treecreeper (Grimpereau des jardins) as the first two species on the list!
I returned to the UK this weekend for my Dad's birthday, and given the number of people I arranged to see, I didn't even bother bringing my bins! In spite of this, and the lousy weather in London on Saturday, I decided to walk around the lake in Kensington Gardens. Perhaps the most unusual sighting was an adult Yellow-legged Gull (Goeland leucophee).
Black-headed Gulls (Mouette rieuse) and Tufted Ducks (Fuligule morillon) were the dominant waterfowl.
In fact there was little variety among the duck species observed, an adult male Ruddy Duck (Erismature rousse) perhaps being the most interesting. A couple of Grey Herons (Heron cendre) seemed pretty tolerant of passers by.
After a particularly heavy downpour, I spotted this young Stock Dove (Pigeon colombin) on the lawn. I haven't seen this species in central London parks before - could it have been a grounded migrant? I was able to get quite close to it - not sure that it was in the best of health, although it was still able to fly without any apparent difficulty.
Any further urban birding was curtailed by another downpour and the death of my camera battery.
Posted by rjhall at October 8, 2006 8:15 PM