A Hot Afternoon in Bushy Park

Wow! This weekend was a real scorcher in terms of weather. In fact it was so hot, I decided to take an afternoon in Bushy Park, armed with nothing more than a camera, a bike and 5 quid (for use at the over-expensive cafe in the car park- £1.80 for a Cornetto Classico- that is just out of order!). Due to the crowdedness (is that even a word?!) of the main lake, I decided to spend most of my time in the Woodland Gardens are of the Park where I was hoping to catch up with some baby birds.

On my walk through the park to the Gardens, I watched a very obliging Grey Heron as he made his way through the long grass down to the canal.

The first young birds I encountered were this young family of Mallards. The youngsters don't look too far off leaving mum- I bet she can't wait for the day they get off her back!

As I waited in a clearing for anything to appear, I heard sweaking from the tree above my head. Sure enough, a Treecreeper was busy picking bugs and insects from the tree bark, probably to feed its chicks somewhere in the wood...

A few minutes later, a family of Long tailed tits dropped in, and being Long tailed tits, the first thing they wanted to do was come to check me out. The young birds had the most curiosity, perching just metres from the camera. The heat was obviously getting to these little guys as the photos I took show them panting... now if that isn't cute I don't know what is!!

I was very suprised and pleased at the same time when a Garden Warbler showed itself briefly in the undergrowth. It looked like it had insects in its mouth... maybe its breeding?

A Great Spotted Woodpecker was feeding its young in a nearby tree... can you see it?

And finishing the post with a dash of colour in the form of a Banded Damoiselle...