Nothing much to report from Bushy Park apart from;
Gadwall: at least 50 on Heron Pond.
Common Buzzard: a bird flew high in the direction of Richmond Pk at 12.20pm.
Chiffchaff: one was on the Longford River close to Dukes Head Passage.
I had to check on a couple of areas of the Longford River near Heathrow this morning which gave me the chance to have my lunch break at Staines Reservoir. It wasn’t exactly overflowing with waterfowl but there were a couple of species that I sometimes don’t make the effort to see every year.
Goldeneye: 35 were present, some were in the air but flew back to King George VI.
Smew: a pair were on the south basin but distant
Black-necked Grebe: also a pair on the south basin.
When I used to visit this site back in the early seventies the planes appeared much further away. Now it looks as if the runway is right by the reservoir, which it isn’t yet. A flock of Lapwings were on the bank and weren’t concerned by a couple of Foxes that were walking around the embankment. They were spooked however by a high flying Sparrowhawk. It gave me the chance to count them 111 (not all in the photo).
The trouble with looking at birds on the South Basin is the light can be awful.
I called into Regent’s Pk on the way home. Habitat work had been going on Heron Island today causing most of the waterfowl and Herons that use to find another loafing area. This meant that they were to distant for photos but the light was just about good enough for a couple of photos before heading off home.
Three pairs of Stock Doves were displaying over the lake.
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