Chloe Wigeon and American Wigeon

A pair of Chloe Wigeons, Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

Another water bird we saw at Regents Park in London was the Chloe Wigeon (Above). It is one of three species of wigeons, which are considered dabbling ducks, not diving ducks (such as the Tufted Duck in my 12/19 post.) Unlike other Wigeons, the genders are similar (though the male is often slightly brighter) and pairs are monogamous. This bird has a metallic greenish or blueish [depending how the light hits it (below)] head, and a gray bill with a black tip. Its breast is barred black and white and its sides are orangish brown. It has white cheeks and a white forehead and also white on its wings.
This duck is found in South America, on freshwater lakes, marshes, lagoons and slow flowing rivers. It breeds on the Falkland Islands, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. It migrates to southeastern Brazil for the winters. I am assuming that this pair we saw in Regents Park are either escapees from a private zoo or are permanent residents that the Park owns and cares for.

The same pair of Chloe Wigeons, but as the light hits it from a slightly different angle, the feathers on its head appears blueish; Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.



A male American Wigeon in flight, Phoenix, AZ; 12/29/09.

The Chloe Wigeons from South America are very similar to the American Wigeons (Male, Above), which are common throughout Canada and the upper north west of the U.S. in summers and migrates down to the southern half of the U.S. and into Mexico during the winters.  I saw my fist American Wigeons a year ago while staying in Phoenix, AZ. There was quite a large flock (Below) of these birds hanging around a local park.

A flock of American Wigeons take to the safety of a lake in a Phoenix park, AZ; 12/25/09.

Female American Wigeon, Phoenix, AZ; 12/29/10.

Ross's Goose

Ross's Goose at Regents Park, London, Uk; 4/10/10.

We saw some pure white geese in Regents Park, which I at first dismissed as some domestic breed, but then at a closer look, I thought they could be a Snow Goose. When I zoomed in on my photos and looked at the beak of this bird, I realized it was a Ross's Goose (Above). The Ross's is smaller than a Snow Goose, has a rounder head, and its bill is smaller (in proportion) and doesn't have the Snow Goose trademark "grin." Its bill has a bluish hue at the base and the border where the bill meets the face is straight (Below).

A close up of the Ross's Goose bill showing the bluish hue at its base, Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

There is an interesting background of how the Ross's Goose acquired its name. The goose is named after Bernard Ross, who was the chief trader for the Hudson Bay Company in northwest Canada during the 1860's. In that position he was able to lend help to Robert Kennicott in his explorations of the area. In 1861, he sent a specimen of this small white goose taken at the Great Slave Lake, Canada, to Mr. Cassin for identification. Mr. John Cassin -- at that time the Curator of Birds at the Academy of Natural Sciences - honored Mr. Ross by naming this goose after him.

This species breeds in northern Canada and winters in the southern United States (primarily central California). Smaller numbers can also be found from Colorado to central Mexico and on the Texas coast. Scattered populations also exist along the East Coast. I never expected to see a Ross's Goose in London. But records show that it is a rare vagrant to Western Europe and individuals or small groups have turned up in Holland and Britain which have seemed to be of natural origin. It is known that the Ross's Goose is commonly kept in wildfowl collections, and so the true frequency of Ross's Geese being naturally wild in Britain is hard to calculate.

A couple of Ross's geese sunning themselves at Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

Red-breasted Goose & Egyptian Goose



The beautifully marked Red-breasted Goose, St. James Park, London, UK; 4/8/10.


The Red-breasted Goose (Above) is a beautiful goose that we saw both at St. James Park and at Regents Park (Below). While researching this bird, it seems that it is endangered ( http://www.branta-ruficollis.com/ ). The Red-breasted Goose breeds in Arctic Europe, often close to nests of large birds of prey. This helps to protect this small goose from land predators such as fox. It winters in south eastern Europe. It is a rare visitor to western European areas, including Great Britain. There has been a few sightings of these birds that do straggle into western Europe during the winter particularly into England and the Netherlands, but in these areas there is also the possibility that a sighted bird is an escapee from a wildfowl collection. We are assuming that the Red-breasted Geese we saw in London were of this category.


Red-breasted Goose, Regents Park, London, UK; 4/8/10.

Another goose that had interesting markings that we saw in several places in London was the Egyptian Goose (Below), which is abundant in Africa. Their name is derived because they were raised in Egypt as domestics for food. They are found mostly in the Nile Valley and south of the Sahara. It has also been introduced in Europe, particularly in Great Britain, Netherlands and Germany where they have self-sustaining wild populations. The British population dates back to the 18th century, though only formally added to the British bird list in 1971. There have been regular sightings of a wild flock of Egyptians in Norfolk, England, (and even a lone vagrant that has been visiting a lake in Pennsylvania, U.S. for the past three years. This one was hanging around a flock of Graylags. Their staple diet consists of grass and herbs, but during the dry season, when their natural food becomes less attractive, they often visit cultivated areas and can cause considerable damage to crops. Egyptian Geese are very aggressive, especially during breeding season. They are intolerant of other birds including individuals of their own kind and are among the most vicious of all waterfowl. In Great Britain they are considered to be a pest.

Egyptian Goose and chick, St. James Park, London, UK; 4/4/10.



Egyptian Geese at Hampton Court, London, UK; 4/6/10.





Bar-headed Goose

This is the start of the British Goose weekend. I'll start with the Bar-headed Goose (Below) which we saw in St. James Park. The Audubon Society tabs the Bar-headed Goose as a "Super Bird" because it is known as the world's highest altitude migrant. Each spring they migrate over Mt. Everest from their winter feeding grounds in the lowlands of India over the Himalayan range on their way to their nesting grounds in Tibet. http://www.audubonmagazine.org/birds/birds0011.html

The "Super" Bar-headed Goose, St. James Park, London, UK; 4/8/10.

Because of its beauty and exotic qualities, the Bar-headed Goose is often kept in captivity and breeds readily in captivity. Sightings in Britain are frequent, and are considered to be of escapees - however, the species has bred on several occasions in recent years and around five pairs were recorded in 2002 (info obtained from http://www.worldlingo.com/ and the Rare Birds Breeding Panel). Experts feel that the species may be gradually becoming more established in the UK. It is a very sociable bird and doesn't seem to cause problems for native birds. However, worldwide the wild population is believed to be declining due to loss of habitat and over-hunting.

Tufted Duck

A Tufted Duck at Hampton Court, London, UK; 4/6/10

We saw lots of Tufted Ducks (Above and Below) in several places while visiting London last spring. Tufted Ducks are a medium-sized diving duck with long black crest and dull black back, tail, head neck and breast (with a slight purple sheen in the light). In contrast its underparts and sides are bright white.Their eyes are yellow and legs and feet are gray. TheTufted Duck breeds across Eurasia from Iceland and the British Isles and east across Russia and Siberia.  Breeding has not been reported in North America, but they are casual visitors on northern eastern coasts of the U.S. and Canada (several reports in Newfoundland) and in the west chiefly along coasts in Alaska, California. Most often seen near urban areas which suggest these birds found in North America are considered to be escaped captives birds.


Another Tufted Duck, St. James Park, London, UK; 4/8/10.



Common Shelduck and Ruddy Shelduck

A male Common Shelduck in Regents park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

A very unique looking duck found at London's Regents Park was the Shelduck (Above). Both sexes are very much the same with white bodies and dark green necks and heads with some chestnut colorings on the wingtips, underside of the tail, and sides of the breast. The female's (Below) bill is not as bright red and doesn't possess the large swollen knob at its base. In some of my research, I found that some experts feel that this bird is a cross between a goose and duck. Female shelducks are prone to quack much like the more familiar Mallard, while males offer honks or whistles like a goose.

A female Common Shelduck, Regents Park, UK; 4/10/10.

Common Shelducks are common in British Isles, northern France, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Eurasia; mainly breeding in temperate and wintering in subtropical regions; in winter, it can also be found in North Africa.

A rare Ruddy Shelduck in Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

Another species of Shelduck we observed in Regents Park was the Ruddy Shelduck. It took me some time to identify this guy since it wasn't labelled as a common bird found in the park. Ruddy Shelducks, with their almost orange-coloured bodies fading to almost white on their heads, look completely different from all other European wildfowl. Although I didn't witness this, I read that while in flight they have a startlingly black and white wing pattern. Ruddy Shelducks breed and spend winters beside coastal lakes and deltas and also on inland lakes, rivers and marshes on high-altitude plateaus. The main population of the area, which breeds in the extreme south-east of Europe and Turkey, migrate south during September - then return to nest in the Spring. They have also been recorded in England, Ireland Scotland and Wales with over a 100 records since 1950 but breeding has only occurred in England with 1 or 2 pairs breeding in some years. However, there has been several recordings of the Ruddy Shelduck in and around the London area in 2010.

Fulvous Whistling or Tree Duck and Black-bellied Tree Duck

A Fulvulous Tree or Whistling Duck, St. James Park, UK; 4/8/10.

I love the name of the Fulvous Tree Duck, which according to several sites are also called Fulvous Whistling Ducks. The Fulvous (which means tawny) Ducks are natives of tropical or semi-tropical countries. Two species are found in the United States, the bird photographed (above) and the Black-bellied Tree-duck (Below). The range of the fulvous species extends from the southern border of the United States, and in Arizona, Nevada and California, along the Gulf Coast (Florida, Lousiana, and Texas) and southward through Mexico, and reappears in the southern portion of Brazil and in the Argentine Republic. It has also been reported as a visitor to the states of North Carolina and Missouri. These ducks are also common in India and Africa, as well as parts of western Europe. As you can see, this species has a most unusual world distribution and, remarkably, without variety in appearance.

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Aviary at the Sonoran Desert Museum, Tuscon, AZ; 12/27/09.

While we were in Tucson, visiting the Sonoran Desert Museum, we saw some Black-bellied Whistling Ducks in the Aviary, which only house birds of the Arizona Desert.  Like the Fulvous Whistling duck, it has a very high upright stance which lends it a sense of elegance, if not arrogance. The Black-bellies range into the U.S. extends a little farther than the Fulvous Whistling Ducks. They can be found in the same areas as the Fulvous, but also can be found throughout Florida.

Rosy-billed Pochard

Rosybill Pochard, Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10

Another duck of the Pochard family is the Rosybill (Above), that we saw in one of the many ponds at Regents Park in London. The male gender of this diving duck has a very distictive bill that curls up like a shield between its eyes, although it is described more as a fleshy knob. The female is more of a drab brown all over and does not sport the bright red bill. Its bill is grayish and without the "fleshy knob." Though classified as a diving duck, this pochard feeds more like a dabbling duck. Rosybills are native to Southern Brazil south into Argentina and Chile. They breed well in captivity and are on exhibit in many zoos around the world. The one we saw at Regents Park is more than likely a permanent resident there and probably not wild.

Red-crested Pochard

Red-crested Pochard; St. James Park, London, UK; 4/8/10.

Red-crested Pochards (Above) are considered exotic in North America, but in Europe they are wild with their breeding habitat being lowland marshes and lakes in southern Europe and southern and central Asia. They are somewhat migratory, and northern birds winter further south and into north Africa.  But in the UK there is confusion due to the fact that there have been many escapees and deliberate releases over the years, as well as natural visitors from the European continent. However, it is most likely that they are escapees that are now breeding wild and have built up a wild population.

Red-crested Pochard with its crest puffed up; St. James Park, London, UK; 4/8/10.

A pair of Red-crested Pochards; St. James Park, London, UK; 4/8/10.

The red bill and red eyes are very identifying features of the male, whereas the female (Above and below) lacks both and looks very much like the North American Ruddy Duck.

What I thought was a female red-crested Pochard is actually a female Smew (Above) - as pointed out by Juan (see comments below), St. James Park, London, UK; 4/8/10. Thank you Juan.

Common Pochard

Common Pochard, St. James Park, London, 4/8/10.

While exploring St. James Park in London last April, we saw many ducks that I initially thought were Canvasbacks (Below), but later learned that they are Common Pochards (Above), fairly common in Europe, and related to Northern America's Canvasbacks and Redheads. As you can see in the photos how similar they are to eachother.

A Canvasback; Phoenix, Arizona; 12/29/09.

The Common Pochrd's breeding habitat is marshes and lakes that are a yard or more deep. Pochards breed in much of temperate and northern Europe into Asia. They are migratory, and winter in the southern and west of Europe.These are very social birds and form large flocks in winter, often mixed with other diving ducks, such as Tufted Ducks (future post 12/19), which they are known to hybridise with.

Bahama Pintail or White-cheeked Pintail

I spotted this beautiful Bahama Pintail dabbling around a pond in Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

One of the very colorful ducks we saw at both Regents Park and St. James Park was the Bahama Pintail (Above), also known as the White-cheeked Pintail. It is a dabbling duck that is found in waterways throughout its range from the Caribbean to South America and the Galápagos Islands. The Bahama Pintail is a truly beautiful duck with a fawn colored breast with scalloping adorning plumage of black and rufous. Its striking bill of hot pink and periwinkle set off by those snowy white cheeks makes this duck very unique. Like most southern ducks, this one is not dimorphic (I learned a new word - courtesy of  http://10000birds.com/white-cheeked-pintails.htm ) which means both genders have the same appearance.

This Bahama Pintail, we spotted at St. James Park, London, UK; 4/8/10.

Birding in London Parks: Hampton Court, Regents Park, & St. James Park



The Hampton Court grounds were a great place to find waterbirds and non-waterbirds alike, London, UK; 4/5/10.

View of the Hampton Court Grounds from inside the palace, London, UK; 4/5/10.


Last spring while Val and I took a weeklong trip to London, I made point of visiting London Parks that had ponds in hopes of seeing some European waterbirds that might not be common in North America. The best areas that I found in my limitations of time and place were: 1.) the gounds surrounding Hampton Court (Above), 2.) Regents Park (Below top), and 3.) St. James Park (Below bottom).  We were only able to spend a couple of hours in each place.

BIRDS IDENTIFIED

Hampton Court Waterbirds: Egyptian Goose, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan; Non waterbirds: Great Tit, Jackdaw, Ring-necked Parakeet, Eurasian Robin



Regents Park had the most variety of habitat for birds of all species to gather. These Tufted Ducks and  were not intimidated by the huge raptor staue greeting them, London, UK; 4/10/10.



A fountain in Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

A Bridge over a stream in Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

Regents Park Waterbirds: Bahama Pintail, Black Swans, Buffleheads, Chloe Wigeon, Shelduck, Grey Heron, Red-breasted Goose, Ross's Goose, Rosybill Pochard, Ruddy Shelduck; Non waterbirds: Eurasian Blackbird, European Robin

St. James Park Waterbirds: Bahama Pintail, Bar-headed Goose, Black Swan, Eurasian Coot, Fulvous Tree Duck, Pochard, Red-breasted Goose, Common Moorhen, Red-crested Pochard, Tufted Duck, Ruddy Duck; Non Waterbirds: British Magpie, Jackdaw

St. James Park with its ponds is another great place for birding, London, UK; 4/8/10.

In the next few posts I will feature the waterbirds that I was able to identify in these three parks.

Eurasian Magpie and Magpie Lore

A Eurasian Magpie at Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.
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A Eurasian Magpie strutting its stuff in Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

After seeing many Magpies in Colorado, I was surprised to see several of them in London last Spring. But I should have known this would be the case, as Magpies (Above) like Jackdaws are abundantly referred to in British Literature dating all the way back to Shakespeare's days. Magpies were especially thought to be a mysterious bird and were regarded with superstition. So this is the perfect bird to blog about on Halloween.
The term “pie” is French and comes from the Latin word “pica”, meaning black-and-white, or pied. The modern name of Magpie became established from about 1600 in England and is derived from “Magot Pie”, which first appeared in Shakespeare’s MACBETH , Act IV, scene iii.

"Augurs and understood relations, have
By magot-pies and choughs and rooks brought forth
The secret’st man of blood."
In this scene MacBeth was shocked to see the ghost of Banquo whom he had just ordered to be murdered, and he calls the witches who predicted this 'magot pies.'

And again, in HENRY VI. Part III (Act V, scene vi):
"Chattering pies in dismal discords sung." King Henry names Magpies as being present at the birth of his murderer Gloucester.

There are numerous rhymes relating to the Magpie:
"One is sorrow, two mirth,
Three a wedding, four a birth.
Five heaven, six hell,
Seven the de’il's ain sell."

In Devonshire, in order to avert the ill-luck from seeing a magpie, the peasant spits over his right shoulder three times. It is a common notion in Scotland that Magpies flying near the windows of a house portend a speedy death to one of its inmates. The superstitions associated with the Magpie are not confined to the British Isles. In Sweden it is considered the witch's bird, belonging to the evil one and the other powers of night. In Denmark, when a Magpie perches on a house, it is regarded as a sign that strangers are coming.

I saw two Magpies in London, so that must mean I am mirthful.

Jackdaw



A Jackdaw hanging around the Hampton Court grounds, London, UK; 4/5/10.

Another black bird that is commonly referred to in Shakespeare's writings is the Jackdaw, which is one of the smallest member of the Crow family. It is a black bird with grey nape and distinctive white irises. It is omnivorous and eats a wide variety of plant material and invertebrates, and scavanges on food waste from urban areas. The Jackdaw has benefited from clearing of forested areas and is found in farmland and urban areas, as well as open wooded areas and coastal cliffs throughout Europe, western Asia and North Africa.

A Jackdaw, Hampton Court grounds, London, England, UK; 4/5/10.



Eurasian Blackbird

Female Eurasian Blackbird, Regents Park, London, UK; 4/10/10.

The Eurasian Blackbird is common and widespread in woods and gardens over all of Europe and much of Asia south of the Arctic Circle. Populations are resident except for northern birds which move south in winter. There are now records of breeding Eurasian Blackbirds in Iceland. The Blackbird has been introduced to many parts of the world outside its native range and in Australia and New Zealand it is considered a pest and has an effect on natural ecosystems. Here in the U.S. there have been sightings in the Northeastern regions, but these are considered accidental, as the birds may have been blown off course by storms.

The male is completely black except for its bright yellow beak and eyering (Below), while the female (Above) has brown plumage and beak and does not sport the yellow eyering. Since I didn't have a good photo of the male, I pulled the photo below from Google Images.


A male Eurasian Blackbird; Photo credit to Robert Scanlon, 2005.



Ring-necked Parakeet

Another surprising find while exploring the grounds of the Hampton Court Palace, was the Ring-necked Parakeet (Below). Upon seeing a pair of them perched in a tree in the garden, I assumed that they were domesticated birds that were released on the grounds for tourists. However I learned that they were indeed wild. These bright green birds with a black ring around its neck and a bright red bill were easy to spot in the trees. The European populations of the Ring-necked Parakeet became established during the mid to late 20th Century from introduced and escaped birds. In Britain: the largest population is based around south London, and by 2005 consisted of many thousands of birds. The winter of 2006 saw three separate roosts of circa 6000 birds around London^. It has been suggested that these feral parakeerts could endanger populations of native British birds, and that the Rose-ringed Parakeet could even be culled as a result.


A feral Ring-necked Parakeet on the grounds of Hampton Court, London, UK; 4/5/10.



Great Tit



A Great Tit, Hampton Court, London, UK; 4/5/10.

While exploring the grounds around the Hampton Court Palace, London, UK, I was specifically looking for birds that I would not be able to see in the States, and lucked out when I saw this distinctive bird with a black head and neck and prominent white cheeks, olive upperparts and yellow underparts. The Great Tit (Above) is related to the Chickadee family and is well distributed over Europe and north Africa through all of Asia, India and Sri Lanka to Japan and south to parts of Indonesia. The Great Tit has adapted well to human changes in the environment and is a common and familiar bird in urban parks and gardens.



A Great Tit, Hampton Court, London, UK; 4/5/10.

Common Moorhen



Common Moorhen, Regents Park, London; 4/10/10

The most widely distributed member of the rail family, is the Common Moorhen (Above and Below), which inhabits marshes and ponds from Canada to Chile, from northern Europe to southern Africa, and across Asia to the Pacific. We saw the Moorhen in several places while visiting London last April. It is similar to the Coot (Blog post 10/17) as it is a ducklike bird with chickenlike bill and feet. Its bill is a striking red with a yellow tip and possesses a white stripe along its flanks which contrast to its dark body. Most of the Moorhens I observed stayed near the shore of ponds but weren't in the water, but this gave me the chance to see their yellow legs with a spot of red just above their inverse knee joints which made them look like they were wearing knee stockings.  Their funny long toes  are used for digging in the mud and to walk atop floating vegetation in marshes.


Common Moorhen, Regents Park, London; 4/10/10



Eurasian Coot and American Coot

We saw lots of Coots while in London last April: on the Hampton Court grounds, at Regents Park and St. James Park - the three areas where we saw the most birds. The Eurasian Coots are very similar to our American Coots. Coots are often mistaken as ducks, but they have more of a bill like a chicken than a duck, and do not have a duck's webbed feet. They possess lobed toes which are very long and used as a defense weapon.

Eurasian Coot, Hampton Court, London, UK; 4-5-10



Eurasian Coot, St. James Park, London; 4-8-10

As the photos suggest, the Eurasian Coot is a squat marsh bird found in slow moving fresh or coastal waters. They are all black with a white bill and frontal shield. Its eye-rings are red and legs are yellowish-gray. As I stated above, their toes are long and lobed, not webbed like other water fowl. Coots are very aggressive towards other water birds. They are common in Europe and if they appear at all in the Western Hemisphere it would be rare occurances in the islands off of Alaska or on the far Eastern coast of Canada - Newfoundland and Labrador.




American Coot, Saguaro Lake, Arizona; 12/26/08.

The American Coot (Above) is very similar to its Eurasian counterpart. Some of the differences appear in its bill and facial shield. The American Coot's upper facial shield often is red, but sometimes can be white or gray. The tip of its white bill has a dark ring.  When I visit Arizona in the Winter, Coots are anywhere there is water: large lakes, small ponds and even golf course water hazards (Below). The Coots I see in winter have gray legs, but when they are in their breeding plumage, the legs turn yellow. In summer they breed from throughout Canada to Northern Midwest and from upstate New York to the Northeastern states. In winter they will stay southward down the western and southwestren U.S.  In a rare sighting this past April, 2010, I spotted a Coot on our own lake in Rock Cut State Park near Rockford, IL (Bottom), probably on its migration northward.

American Coots on the ocotillo Golf Course, Phoenix, AZ; 12/29/09

American Coots taking flight; Phoenix, AZ; 12/29/09

A lone American Coot resting on Pierce Lake, Rock Cut State Park, Rockford, IL; 4/18/10.