On Tuesday at the London wetland Centre, Keith and I came across these Hawaiian Geese in the wildfowl collection just looking for an opportunity to escape their pen. They have obviously made a habit of this as there are signs on the gates asking people to make sure they do not get out.
Some pictures of Migrant Hawker Dragonflies at London Wetland Centre of Tuesday
One of the hottest days of the Summer saw Keith and I at the Wetland Centre in West London in the hope of finding some migrant birds. As it was there seemed to have been little evidence of migration with just an early morning report of a Whinchat, which I don’t think was relocated during the day. There was plenty to see however with numerous dragonflies and plenty of butterflies, even if the latter was restricted to 2 species. We also saw a Little Ringed Plover and a Common Lizard.
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
Gadwall [sp] (Mareca strepera)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca)
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
Little Ringed Plover [sp] (Charadrius dubius)
Common Snipe [sp] (Gallinago gallinago)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Lesser Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)
Rock Dove [sp] (Columba livia)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Great Spotted Woodpecker [sp] (Dendrocopos major)
Rose-ringed Parakeet [sp] (Psittacula krameri)
Western Jackdaw [sp] (Coloeus monedula)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
Sand Martin [sp] (Riparia riparia)
Eurasian Reed Warbler [sp] (Acrocephalus scirpaceus)
Eurasian Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Common Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
European Greenfinch [sp] (Chloris chloris)
European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)
Dragonflies
Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta)
Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis)
Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)
Butterflies
Small White (Artogeia rapae)
Speckled Wood [sp] (Pararge aegeria)
Common Lizard
This butterfly is found in gardens and woodlands throughout the summer.
I love observing the rain on leaves and plants, so really love this picture of a rose after a rain shower or maybe it had just been watered.
Yesterday I published some pictures of Common Darter and mentioned a similar species, the Ruddy Darter, so I thought today I would publish some pictures of that species for comparison.
The Common Darter is one of our commonest Dragonflies and can be easily seen as it has the habit on warm days of resting on fences and on pathways, where it can take up the heat.
It has a mixture of Red and Yellow on the abdomen and this distinguishes it from the similar Ruddy Darter which has a darker red body with no yellow. It is found across most of the UK and flies between June and September, although it has been recorded in all months except January to April.
A bronze sculpture of St George defeating the dragon in Hyde Park. It commemorates members of the Cavalry regiments killed in WW1.
The Small Tortoiseshell is one of the UK’s commonest garden butterflies. It may hibernate over winter and so is one of the species that can be seen on warm days throughout the year.
It is found across a wide geographic area stretching from Western Europe to China and Japan. There are even a few records from New York but this may have been deliberately released there.
One stunning bird. Resident of the USA.
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