Wednesday 27th. February 2013

Another cold , drizzly morning , although not as bad as yesterday , so I headed off for a look around Kelsey Park in Beckenham . On arrival , I searched for the Blue-crowned Parakeets , but once again I failed to find them , there were of course plenty of the Rose Ringed variety all over the park . Always a chance of something out of the ordinary on a visit there , but today it wasn't to be . Lots of noisy

Black-headed Gulls , with more than the single found last visit in Summer plumage . The most numerous species after them were the Tufted Ducks , with a count of over 50 in the area of the

waterfall , and probably 75/100 in total around the lake , sorry for mentioning that Warren . Out on the island , at least 10/15 nests are now occupied in the heronry , with new nesting materials being

delivered all the time . This particular bird looked really fed up when I first saw it , but a few minutes

later , it was settled down in the nest , possibly already on eggs . Whilst near the waterfall , I noticed a Little Grebe searching for food , close to the bank to my left , and after a few dives , it came up with

quite a sizable fish , which it tried for ages to consume , but to be honest , I'm not sure if it managed

it . The next time I saw it , it swam quite close across in front of me , heading for an overhanging conifer , and started diving again , and again coming up with a fish , a smaller specimen this time ,

and after thrashing it about on the surface for a while , managed to get this one down . It was deja vu in the stream below the waterfall , with the , or another Cormorant on the same log , but this time

sporting it's white breeding patch . It was also in this area where I found the only non BHGull of the day , when I came across a Lesser Black-backed specimen , which flew off immediately . Fewer Mandarins were seen today , but one particular male with attitude was running things on the other side of the stream , and was prepared to stand his ground to all comers , including the Geese and

Muscovy Ducks , and me for that matter . The only other interest found was plenty of flower buds on

the Yews , which should mean plenty of berries for next Winter , and a flock of 10 or so Redpoll that landed , calling nasally , in the tall trees near the play area as I made my way out of the park . On my way home , I had a quick look at some ponds that have just been de-silted , and it looks like a good job . In the same area , a Long Tailed Tit scolded me continuously . As I made my way back to the

car , the reason became apparent , when a second bird arrived with nesting materials , and dived into a nearby Yew . The day finished with a surprise , some sunshine , but it still remained cold .
Work day up on the Common tomorrow , checking on the Buzzard on the way . I passed it twice this week in miserable conditions , but it was still sat out on a fence post each time .