BIRD NEWS:356

This pair of mallards and smew look content in the green waters on this warm summery day. Some of the lakes waters seemed to be a bit too green in places though - the sunshine bringing on the algae.

A trio of magpie geese caught my attention next. Back at the lake, I rested for a cuppa - relaxing and watching general water life, wondering where all the eider ducks had gone to...

This fellow decided to watch me - and my coffee mug, as if the china item and black liquid were food it could munch if it looked hungrily towards me.

As I left the wetlands reserve and walked through Arundel, I caught sight of more birds - this time on flags!

Back home, I had a visitor that has occasionally popped in this past year - the local woodpecker.

BIRD NEWS:355

Where were all the pigeons, I wondered, observing the usual crowd with the extra visitor but minus the regular pigeons under the feeder. Not a single pigeon in sight this time!

Well, another garlic fan, I see! And finally, here we have a couple of pigeons at the feeder bowl! this next shot is of a dozing mallard.

Hot jackdaws sunbathe - flaking out and fanning out to cool down as the noonday sunshine heats their environment. My next shot is like an exercise video - 'wings out, bums up'....lol.

BIRD NEWS:354 and kingfishers

Awwww, looks like smoochie time for these ducks - African shelducks, I think. And nap time for this pair - blackbacked radjah, if I recall correctly.

The answer to the question from my last post is these blacknecked swans.

What a crowd has assembled under the feeder station, here! Nenes, mallards, jackdaws...

Some of the jackdaws were not hungry, though - just wandering about the lawns. I took some photos at the next feeder too - with yet another assortment of birds. Mallards, jackdaws, but not nenes - instead - what appears to be a pheasant or partridge - definitely a hungry large game bird at any rate.

Finally for today - HERE is some information about the kingfisher.

BIRD NEWS:353 and info

This lil fellow was not enjoying the warm sunshine as much as I was. This is how dark feathered birds such as this blackbird cope with heat. They fluff up, rest, and open their beak wide.

I wandered past the puffed up blackbird and into the woodland hide. Oftentimes I might see a moorhen or duck munching dropped food from the hanging feeders that the tits and finches have dropped. This time....it was a family of geese!

Make that 2 families of geese. One greylag goose family and one Canadian goose family, I think.

...with a moorhen.

I wandered along further - who is that hiding behind the log?

Finally, some info on the gray wagtail HERE. 

BIRD NEWS:352

I wandered along to check on the trumpeter swans after the bewick swans. Last year they had a brood that vanished about a year after birth - assumedly to populate other reserves or be set free and to encourage the parents to have more...

Alas...both parents were off nest and no fluffy cygnets were in sight. It is their turn not to have any this year - so maybe next year it will be their turn again and the Bewick swans will rest for a year. Next, I was observing the reedbeds when POP! There was a bird in the reeds... I took a few pictures in the hope of identifying it on the computer - but it did not come out large enough to do this.

Next, an info board about young Mallard ducks - and a shot of the real thing - mommy duck with young.

Finally, for today's post - some more information; this time on moorhens.

BIRD NEWS:351

The answer is YES to anyone wondering if the goose family actually entered the toilets or not - as you can see! Next there are 'blobs in the sky' - which were supposed to be a buzzard flying overhead - but too high to get a good shot on my camera.

The boat stopped near a nesting mute swan to make observations. Although very common in South England, when nesting they are are less often in view. The swan was pondering how best to take care of its eggs - having sat on them for 4 of the 5 weeks. It was a hot day!

Moving along, I went to observe how the Bewick swans were going with their nest this year. Last year it was abandoned - no cygnets. This year...

...there was something fluffy and gray sitting next to mom! Yes, this year at least one cygnet hatched and survived! Probably the first of the bunch, as mommy swan is still sitting on the rest. On my next visit, I hope to count the cygnets.

BIRD NEWS:350 and info

One final shot of the young blue-tits learning about food and feeding poles - before jumping to the next gang to use it - the starlings! Here we see the starling family getting the hang of 'how to eat suet balls' - although the two up top seem to just want to wait and be fed - for a while.

One day in early June, there was actually a break in the diminishment of seed to sparrow, suet ball to blue-tit and starling, etc - and Pidge took a rest.

HERE is some info about the yellowhammer.

Here we are - back in Arundel again. It is now the June trip, and here is the cafe-side lake. I soon moved on and hopped on the boat trip. As we left the boarding panel, a goose family were spotted walking along the boardwalk nearby...

...towards the toilet block!