Herons

After last night's fireball sunset in London, I was hoping for a repeat this evening for some silhouette images, but would any birds be in the right position? Luckily, on my first attempt, I managed a pleasing image of a heron leaving its perch on a London Plane tree against the setting sun around 1700h. Not as intense as yesterday but a nice colour nonetheless. I will definitely attempt more of this type of shot in the year ahead. The herons are busy building and probably incubating with many birds active in flight.

Mandarin

Attempted some images of displaying Mandarin Ducks in Grovelands Park and Trent Country Park today. The word 'dog' often crops up on this blog and today is no exception. So many clueless dog owners are allowing their muts to unnecessarily disturb wildlife. Message: Put them on a lead, preferably tightly around the neck! Five minutes after arriving at Trent a dog jumped into the pool and 40 Mandarins exploded into the sky. It was two hours before they returned.. but only for five minutes! The local numpty was roaring at the top of his voice to his trailing wife that there was a Mandarin Dook on the pool. For a second time they shot off for a more tranquil location.

Rush Hour (Pigeon-style)

Some images taken today before work and on my lunch break...

Lunchtime Blurs

Quick lunchbreak in Regent's Park; poor light again. Lets hope it improves for the weekend.

Low Light Blurs

The light was poor today so I tried some more experimental shots, with limited success.

Have You Seen These Ducks?

Kensington Gardens on Saturday… Shoveler and Pochard approaching very close, resulting in the following head shots. Ring-necked Parakeets were gorging on London Plane seeds. A female Peregrine passed all too briefly overhead. Thanks to Noel for pointing out the roosting Tawny Owl, unfortunately in the shade. No Med Gull, just too many wildfowl-worrying dogs.