Wednesday 31 October 2012


A day of strong wind and whirling gulls. These Black-Headed Gulls were after worms exposed by the digger working on the drains on the Parade Ground. They were completely unfazed by this huge contrivance, and jumped nimbly out of the way of the blade as it bore down on them.


Roy Sanderson reports that one of the gulls whose ring I photographed yesterday, ET 34537, is 13 years old. It was ringed on 15 December 1999 in Kensington Gardens. It was seen again in the park in March 2001, January 2002, January 2003, January 2004 , February 2005 and February 2006. It had not been reported since then.

The Grey Wagtail had returned to the top of the waterfall in the Dell, and I make no apology for showing another picture of this beautiful bird, its colours set off by the autumn leaves.


One of the Ring-Necked Parakeets has developed a taste for digestive biscuits. She grasps this heavy snack  in her strong foot, with its zygodactyl arrangement of two 'fingers' and two 'thumbs' giving an excellent grip. This is the bird that Roy Sanderson ringed earlier this year, and had his finger bitten to the bone in the process.


I went up the Edgware Road and came to the tower of the Metropole Hilton Hotel just as the Peregrines landed on it. Here is one of them on the usual ledge near the top of the 300 ft tower. You would need a lens the size of a main drain to take a good picture of this lofty station.

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