An overcast day, far from ideal conditions but it did produce a personal 'first sighting'. Well actually it was a first 'hearing' then sighting. I was by the lake in Regent's Park (where else?) and above all the hooting of geese, squawking of coots and gulls, and yabbering of ducks I heard an ear-splitting squawk! Yes a squawk… as in parrot. I looked, and sure enough there was my first ever sighting of the now naturalized ring-necked parakeet! 
It was across the water on the island, and a long lens is what you want at such moments (and what I had). That's a crow on the right.
There were two of them, so hardly a flock but it will do for me!
Not a first as such, but I also caught a small flight of tufted ducks…
Some herons…
And for a touch of avian inelegance, an Egyptian goose coming into land on the lake.
Finally, here's a couple of shots from a longer sequence of a coot in its take-off routine… fast running on the surface of the water and eventually taking to the air…
RobinL
25 Jan 2011Words, great shots! Parakeets in England. Who would have thought!
That Egyptian goose looks like it's trying for a landing on the back of it's buddy!
Mickeyjoe-Irl
25 Jan 2011Parakeets?
Are they escaped pets, or what?
wellisteffi
25 Jan 2011Oh, you also have necked Parakeets?
For us it is also available.
http://my.opera.com/wellisteffi/blog/2010/12/25/ein-unerwartetes-fotomodell
gdare
25 Jan 2011I remember your earlier post about parakeets (or it was on Adele`s blog). I wonder are they going to spread over the rest of Europe since they are doing well in England :left:
cakkleberrylane
25 Jan 2011WOW!! Not just amazing that such birds exist in the wild in England, but what stunning shots! The first one is absolutely beautiful, the white sky and dark branches make the bird stand out so well!
This was indeed a good day for you – so many great pictures!
anonymous
25 Jan 2011Anonymous writes:
Wow, unreal that you have parrots!! When did they first start showing up over there? — Marilyn
serola
25 Jan 2011:yikes:
Originally posted by Mickeyjoe_irl:
Very likely, I think :left:
SittingFox
25 Jan 2011Ah, they've found you in Regents! I haven't seen any in central London yet, though I used to see them around Wimbledon from time to time. They're crazy to see, there's no denying it.
– yes, absolutely :eyes:
Words
25 Jan 2011Robin, they're certainly one of the odder wildlife sights these days. Actually quite common in some parts of the South.
Words
25 Jan 2011Mick, originally they were escapees but there are now large, wild colonies of them. They haven't reached the coast yet (London and the Home Counties is I think where they tend to be), but they brighten the place up!
Words
25 Jan 2011Steffi, they've adapted amazingly well to European conditions. Tough little birds! I love your photos of them in the snow :faint:
Words
25 Jan 2011Sami, originally escaped from collections, but they are now wild/naturalized. They seem to be doing very well.
Words
25 Jan 2011Adele, made my day to see them! The geese were fun too. They're very graceful in the air, but landing does seem to baffle them a bit.
Words
25 Jan 2011Marilyn, apparently they started breeding here in 1969, mainly in Kent and Greater London. It looks like they are here for keeps!
Words
25 Jan 2011Darko, I think you must be thinking of Adele's blog. This is the first time I've posted about them. They seem to be spreading so they may reach you too!
Words
25 Jan 2011Lois, thanks. I was really pleased to spot one finally. I hadn't realized they were also in Germany (see Steffi's comment above), so I guess they are colonizing everywhere!
Mickeyjoe-Irl
25 Jan 2011Originally posted by Words:
I would have thought the winters were too hard.
Words
25 Jan 2011Mick, amazingly they're resident all year round!
Words
26 Jan 2011Erwin, thanks :cheers:
Wulpen
19 Oct 2012Great Shots