A short visit to my parents in the UK yielded a long awaited lifer for me, in form of a Common Firecrest. This fabulous looking bird is now an increasingly common species in the UK, possibly due to climate change. I picked this one up by its song, which differs slightly to the more common Goldcrest, and finally tracked it down, even managing to get a few photos while at it! It is call the Firecrest because of its bright orange crest, which can erect upwards much like a flaming matchstick! I've wanted to see one for a long while, so it was nice to finally connect with one despite limited time I had. This is my 1955th species, so 45 more to go until I reach 2000th species.
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| Common Firecrest - properly flaming! |
A 2 hours walk at Kensington Garden also yielded my first Little Owl in London, of which I still find unbelievable that you can find them with relative ease in the middle of one of the busiest city on the planet! I picked it up thanks to a not so happy Great Tit, which was obviously unhappy about something, not ten seconds later the Little Owl flew out and perched up for a good look. It was generally quite unbothered by our presence, certainly very used to all these people walking around.
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| Little Owl - near Serpentine Gallery |
Some other birds that used to be uncommon or rare are now a regular sight. Little Egrets and Great Egrets can now be seen very easily in suitable habitats. Even Eurasian Spoonbills are now quite easy to find in various wetlands.
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| Little Egret |
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| Great Egret |
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| Eurasian Spoonbill |
Same goes with Western Marsh Harriers, their numbers have exploded! They are now pleasantly common around wetland areas, often you can see a few flying low above the reed beds.
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| Western Marsh Harrier |
And a few other common British birds while out on casual walks.
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker - juvenile |
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| Common Chiffchaff |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Eurasian Oystercatcher |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Canada Goose |
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