Sunday 9th.May 2010

Today carried on where yesterday finished , grey overcast skies , more drizzle and if anything , colder . I thought that the only interest would be found at Kelsey Park in Beckenham , which is the site of what I believe to be the second largest heronry in Kent , after Northwood Hill . The other reason for that site was that there is some shelter there , and the drizzle should ensure few visitors , which it did . The island which the Herons use was very noisy , busy , and in warm weather , probably very smelly , given the number of nests in a quite small area . This was my first view , and just in this shot 10/12 adults and juveniles could be seen . Some nests still had adults seemingly sitting , some completely empty , and some had juveniles , waiting for the next meal to be brought in . Those two looked still very dependant , but other juveniles were attempting to get to grips with the art of catching one's own meal , badly , as I watched this one , all it brought out of the water was sticks . Everything didn't go to plan with all families . This family originally had two juveniles , one sleeping in the nest , but the other must have fallen out , and it's remains were hanging amongst the branches below . It was hard to count the juveniles as some were flying , but I would estimate that at least 15/20 were seen during the visit . Surprisingly , very few juveniles of other species were seen , just 3 Mallard ducklings and two Coot chicks , with another female sitting on her nest . The number of 'white ducks' seems to have increased compared to my last visit , and have found out since that visit that there are white Mallards , I wouldn't like to put a name to them .
The Grey Squirrels almost 'mug' the visitors for food , and the visitors seem to know that they love peanuts in their shells , as the outer shells are all over the place . Only other interest were 3 male Mandarins , two seemingly jumping up at overhanging branches to knock probably insects off the leaves , then taking them from the surface , and the third one was just chilling out on a chilly day . The light conditions , and shooting through vegetation , didn't do justice to his colours , but this shot does show what looks like a bushy ginger moustache and those orange sails .