Sunday 22nd. April 2012

What with the weather and an old neighbour's funeral , I haven't got out much recently , and on the odd occasion that I did , I saw almost nothing of interest . With another bright but cold morning today , I decided on an early visit to Kelsey Park in Beckenham , mainly to see how the Nuthatches and Grey Herons were getting on . Arriving early , I almost had the park to myself , but I knew that things would change quickly as dog walkers , families and keep-fitters started to arrive , so I made the most of the situation . Almost the first bird I came across was a Willow-chiff , obviously unsure

of it's own identity , as it was calling in a mixture of both Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff calls . A pair of Mallards were by the small bridge , and as I approached , the drake gave a couple of short

calls to alert the duck , and they both watched me go by , without either lifting it's head . On The Beck , before it reaches the lake , 8 drake Mandarins were found , but not a sign of a single female during the whole visit . If not in the park itself , there are plenty of mature trees in woodland nearby ,

and I'm sure that they would have some holes that would be ideal for this tree nesting species . Just past the bridge over the first waterfall , a pair of Coots seemed to be acting out the Barocca advert from the TV , both standing on the same fallen branch in the water , but it soon became obvious that

the male had already had his tablet ad the female was tried as a witch at the same time . As I passed the heronry , it was obvious that many of the juveniles had already fledged the nest , with much less noise coming from the few that remained . The fledged juveniles then started turning up around the

lake , this one parked on top of a Yew , making sure that it had all the essentials of life , and another

two parked down at the end of the lake . I was hoping that the adult might arrive with food for them , but it never happened . Whilst at that end , I had flybys of both Grey and Pied Wagtail and on a

soggy area of grass , two Song Thrushes were finding plenty of worms for their breakfast . At the same time , overhead a female Blackcap was feeding , but she never gave a photo shot opportunity , nor did any of the males that were singing around the lake . It must have been a heavy night for this

Muscovy Duck , as he finished up sleeping on one of the park benches . I just missed the male

bringing it , but this female Coot didn't look at all impressed as her mate added a piece of polystyrene
burger box to the nest . A bit further down The Beck , I did see a juvenile Coot , it'll have to be wary with all the Grey Herons about . A single Swallow passed through as I watched and listened to a

male Dunnock , and from the main feeding area , a Little Grebe was looking very dapper in it's

breeding plumage , and close by , the 'Pied' Coot looks even stranger as it starts to get it's adult

feathers , looks like a Bobby Charlton wrap-over hairstyle to me . I think that the male

Greylag Goose was meant to be guarding his partner whilst she was sitting , but he must have had a hard night too . By the time I got back near the car , the park was well and truly starting to fill up , so it was time for me to be off . With the weather still holding , I decided on a quick visit to the Greensand Ridge , but will write that up tomorrow , when it is meant to be raining all day , which is exactly what it is doing as I write this .