Work today meant another trip to London, this time to a conference centre located in Regent's Park. Nice location with a good view of the Post Office Tower as well as the park, but the weather was dull (raining) when I arrived this morning. It had not much improved when I looked out at lunchtime, though these delightful pochards added some colour to the lake.
There were ducks and gulls of course, but more of a surprise were a pair of black swans, one of which was taking a lunchtime stretch. These aren't native, but there are a number of breeding pairs in the wild.
It was when I was leaving in the afternoon and heading back through York Gate to go to the station that I saw what I really looking for: herons. There were several sitting around the edge of the lake, utterly unperturbed by the constant human traffic around them. That's one of the benefits of photographing wildlife in the city: the instinctive caution of the animals has all but gone. The down-side is the risk of being mobbed by pigeons!
Post Office Tower seen from Regent's Park
Camera note: all shots taken with the EF70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM lens, which is ideal for wandering around in urban locations. Much less intrusive than the 100-400 and fine for shots when you can get reasonably close to the subject.
Vulpes vulpes
11 Feb 2009Super heron shots!
cakkleberrylane
11 Feb 2009Wonderful shots! The pochards are beautiful!
gdare
11 Feb 2009I don`t think I have ever seen black swan before. And that tower look so strange over the roofs :eyes:
Ukwildlife
11 Feb 2009good to see the herons again, I really must get back up there soon. Did you see any up in the trees? Apparently they've started nesting.
Great photos 🙂
SittingFox
11 Feb 2009Interesting collection of native and non-native wildlife! 🙂 Urban wildlife can be amazingly confiding 🙂
Flying Red Fox Blog
11 Feb 2009Beautiful photos. 😀 Is amazing how green and pleasant London's surroundings are which is fantastic.
Words
12 Feb 2009Adele, there's something slightly absurd about heading for central London to guarantee some good wildlife sightings. I walked for an hour in the Downs today and saw half a dozen rooks, a very distant buzzard, a couple of gulls and that was about it. I did catch a glimpse of the fox in the garden tonight though. Just eyes shining back at me, but no photo (again).
Words
12 Feb 2009Darko, we occasionally see black swans though they're generally escapees. The Post Office Tower (now called the BT Tower) was built in the 1960s. There used to be a revolving restaurant near the top (the widest ring), but it got bombed in 1971 (by hippy anarchists) and I don't think it ever re-opened. It's my favourite piece of 60s architecture.
Words
12 Feb 2009Lois, thanks. Yes, they are very striking to look at.
Words
12 Feb 2009Neil, one or two were up in the trees, but I didn't spot any nests (though I only had about 10 minutes as I was heading off to catch a train).
Words
12 Feb 2009Vulpes, thanks. They make it very easy.
Words
12 Feb 2009Mark, London is great when the sun's out like that. I never get much time though to really explore.
gdare
12 Feb 2009Why would someone want to bomb TV tower? :eyes:
Flying Red Fox Blog
12 Feb 2009Because terrorists are nutters gdare!, you couldnt possibly determine what goes on in their minds. Glad they didnt succeed though!
Words
12 Feb 2009Darko, it was a group called the 'Angry Brigade'. It was mainly symbolic political action, nothing like we see these days.
Flying Red Fox Blog
12 Feb 2009Ah i see, a bit like the Guyfawkes night/gunpowder plot or something like that?
Was funny when someone said to me on MSN once on why do we celebrate a failed terrorist with fireworks night. 😆
Words
12 Feb 2009Mark, those were very different times. I don't think anyone was afraid of them, several of them were acquitted and the jury asked for leniency in sentencing.
annoushkiss
20 Feb 2009Another great bird series :up: The black swan is impressive 😆
Words
20 Feb 2009Thanks Anna!