Kensington Gardens, London
After being well prepared by my birding friend Sandra, I set off for Kensington Gardens to look for Tawny Owls and Little Owls. The weather was, once again, superb with sunshine and little or no wind.
- With the help of Colin and another birder I soon found the Tawny Owl. It was adjacent to the nest tree and showing well on the main trunk, some 3 metres from the top. This was the only time I have ever seen a Tawny Owl out in the open and it was, by far, the best view I have ever had. It was a good chance to appreciate just how big this bird really is.
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| Tawny Owl Kensington Gardens Courtesy of Ralph Hancock |
I then went looking for the Little Owls, following Sandra's directions. When I got there, I found Colin and another birder at the tree in question. They told me the Little Owl (female) had been there but had taken exception to their presence and moved back into the cavity and out of sight. The other birder turned out to be Ralph Hancock, whose blog had given me the detailed notes I had printed out to supplement Sandra's directions.
From then on we went around as a trio with Ralph knocking us out with his intimate knowledge of the site. He managed to hand feed a Blue Tit, a Great Tit and a Coal Tit as well as fill us in with regard to the bird life in the park including some interesting history. For instance there have been 196 species recorded on this site - an amazing figure for a city centre park. Another surprise was to discover that one of the rarest birds since 2000 is the House Sparrow; for reasons unknown they left around 2000 and did not return.
- After observing the Scaup on the Long Water, we went back to look for the Little Owl again and this time it was showing, to the right of the trunk and showing well. Job done ! Quite soon, however, it again sensed our presence and retreated back into the cavity.
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| Little Owl Kensington Gardens Courtesy of Ralph Hancock |
- Ring-necked Parakeets were everywhere - a year tick for me - but they are, obviously, not the local birders favourite with their loud call and "in your face" manner. They are, however, the people's favourite; with their exotic colours and friendly disposition they make ideal photographic objects.
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| Ring-necked Parakeet Library picture |
Ralph seems to me to be the equivalent of Ploddingbirder in Kent, or the SelseyBirder in West Sussex, in his meticulous overview of the local habitat. The birding fraternity owes so much to these people. Long may they carry on with their invaluable work.
What a terrific day; 2 types of Owl in the capital city, a new, dedicated, birder and a year tick to boot!
Addition to BUBO 2015 UK Bird List:
Ring-necked Parakeet (177)
Today's species list:
Blue Tit
Blackbird
Carrion Crow
Cetti's Warbler
Coal Tit
Common Gull
Coot
Cormorant
Feral Pigeon
Great Crested Grebe
Great Tit
Grey Heron
Greylag Goose
Jackdaw
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Little Owl
long-tailed Tit
Magpie
Mallard
Mandarin Duck
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Ring-necked Parakeet
Robin
Scaup
Shoveler
Starling
Tawny Owl
Tufted Duck
Woodpigeon
(30)
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