Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Tawny Owls, Kensington Gardens

Dedicated patch worker Des McKenzie discovered a brood of three Tawny Owls in Kensington Gardens in central London on Monday. On Tuesday morning one owlet had fallen out of the tree and was rescued by the Royal Parks department and was later returned to the site after dark, to avoid disturbance from the many dogs in the area. After my two day trip back home to Scotland with two overnight coach journeys at the weekend, I slept in and missed the excitement. However, I managed down early this morning before work and located the owlets which were being severely harassed by up to 100 Carrion Crows and over 30 Ring-necked Parakeets at times. Meanwhile I was being harassed by up to 12 unleashed dogs accompanied by professional (I use that term very loosely) dog walkers who had no control over them as they lept up at the tripod and me with their dirty paws. The adult owl which had ignored me up until now was getting bored with the mobbing and even took time to look down at the commotion below. Still, this was a rather minor inconvenience compared with say, getting stoned by the local neds at Brent Reservoir in North London. Oh, the joys of big city birding... Many thanks to Des for the gen and directions.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fantastic shots as usual Fraser. I can certainly empathise with your dog-walker and flocks of dogs encounter. It's a daily occurance at Kensington Gardens unfortunately. Nevertheless, you've come up trumps as per usual ... keep snapping. Des McKenzie.

Kay McMeekin said...

What great pictures. I check your blog regularly. Thanks so much for sharing!

Fraser Simpson said...

Thanks Des and Kay for your kind comments! Fraser.

Unknown said...

I've never ever seen a real owl in my life :(

Fraser Simpson said...

Hi Ningning, the owls are fairly easy to see at the moment, just a few minutes walk from Lancaster Gate tube station, near The Serpentine in Hyde Park.

Anonymous said...

Those Owls look so cute! My friend has been speaking about your blog for a while now and I can see why she likes it so much. Your photographs are fantastic!

Sarah

Fraser Simpson said...

Hi Sarah, thanks for your kind comments and for visiting, Fraser,