Tuesday 12th.January 2010

As expected , a day's hedgelaying up on the Greensand Ridge did not produce any wildlife sightings , so the second part of yesterday's trip to Kelsey Park went as follows :

I had just managed to get a third shot of the Long Tailed Tit , just before it got the call , and left to join the rest of the flock , when I got the feeling that I was being watched . I slowly turned around , and found these two , sitting on a bench , around a tree , seemingly having a laugh at me trying to get photographs in that light . Unperturbed , I carried on , looking amongst the ducks and geese for something different . Turning a corner , there was something different , a female Pochard . At first she headed off , but slowly she came back and posed nicely . Looking further out in the lake , I found her mate , having forty winks , well that's what it looked like , but if you look carefully , he's not snoozing at all , just pretending . Mind you , that wasn't surprising , as a little further along the bank, WW3 had just broken out amongst the Mandarins . It was probably all over the few females present , compared to the number of males . Consequently , there was a lot of whistling , together with a lot of snorting , together with a lot of pecking going on . This was just one part of the action , as every male was displaying , head right forward and down , then up as high as possible , with all the coloured neck feathers fanned out behind . The fracas went on for some time , but I left them to it , to see what else was around . More noise was added by a flock of about 10 Parakeets , high in a tall London Plane tree . I couldn't be sure of the exact species , as there have been 3 species recorded in the park , if I remember correctly . The commotion attracted another on looker , and a flash of white rump announced it's arrival . A Jay flew in to see what was going on , but did not settle at all , constantly moving . It seemed like I had a split second to take a shot between perches , but I managed to get the shot . If you look , it's right foot is just lifted , ready to move again . Strangely , once again , I felt watched , once again . I was right , I think the sculptor was of tenderer years this time . I was almost back at the gate now , but saw some movement amongst the leaf litter around a stand of Holly trees . I got closer , and with binoculars , could make out several Redwings , fossicking . I managed to get close enough to try for a few shots , but the light , even worst here with the Hollies and larger trees , meant that all turned out blurred . Suddenly , from nowhere , this Robin pops up and poses on a snowy log . The inbuilt flash goes off and there it is , complete with the flash in it's eye . He moved on , but I just stayed where I was , which paid off , as a Redwing came out from under the Holly , and started fossicking for fallen berries , just 3/4 metres away . Once again , the flash fired off , but the Redwing wasn't that bothered . Eventually , it returned under the Holly , to join the rest of the small flock . As I left the park , a family of Mute Swans were feeding on bread , thrown in by a small bridge . I left with a list of 26 , that was counting a couple of iffy species , but still an unexpected , enjoyable visit , on a horrible day .