Park life

[Mark]

Since becoming self-employed I've made a point of going for a lunchtime walk. Leamington has several really nice parks, so that's generally where I tend to head. I only have a small pocket camera so will do the best I can with that - often at maximum zoom.

Here are a few pics from April and early May.

I adore little fluffy moorhen chicks, so these chaps are some of my favourites - just wish they'd get a bit closer:



Canada Geese - lots of these in Leam. If you look in the background you can see some little'uns:



And they're properly lovely:



Especially when they huddle together to keep warm:



Here they are a little later and good to go:



I'll try to take more pics of this lot - they're adorable.

Today I also saw this little chap. I know some people are down on grey squirrels in this country, but I love the little buggers:



And I also saw this fantastic fellow. I've seen more herons (or the same heron numerous times) in the time I've been self-employed than I have in the last 30 years. Having the liberty to just go for a walk whenever the fuck you like is an under-rated perk of doing your own thing.

[merman]

Great pictures.

[Mark]

Cheers.

They grow up so fast (the goslings yesterday):



Here's a new one. I'd caught very rare glimpses of nuthatches in the park before, but with more time to stop and wait I've started seeing them more often - beautiful little things, and fun to watch as they scamper up tree trunks looking for food. Today as I was approaching a tree I'd seen them around a few times in the past I heard loads of chirping - sounded like a nest of chicks. At first I focussed on a nest box that had been placed in the tree, but then saw an adult arrive and disappear into a hole in the tree off to one side. When it left I saw a little head appear in the hole briefly, so it seems there are indeed chicks in there. After a little waiting I managed to get my first pic of one of the parents on a feeding trip.

[Mark]

Quick update - this is from a few weeks ago though - they still look quite scruffy and young here . (They're proper grown-up geese now with fully black necks - just a tad smaller than their parents) :

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Bonus pic: here are 3 juvenile moorhens that I saw with an adult yesterday. I usually only see adults, or occasionally chicks, but for the past couple of days I've seen these 3 grazing with a parent - I believe these are this year's chicks grown up enough to lose their fluff, but not gain proper plumage. Superficially they're a bit dull and brown, but I rather like these little chaps. They make the most pathetic peeping noises to get food from the adult...

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