{"id":5615,"date":"2021-04-09T16:24:11","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T15:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/?p=5615"},"modified":"2021-04-11T11:44:41","modified_gmt":"2021-04-11T10:44:41","slug":"discovering-birdlife-in-bushy-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/discovering-birdlife-in-bushy-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Gallery: discovering birdlife in Bushy Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

London\u2019s eight Royal Parks comprise areas of land that was originally owned by the monarchy and used by them for recreation, mostly hunting. Today the parks are all freely open to the public and are one of the delights of London.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bushy Park is one of them, less famous perhaps than its city centre cousins such as Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens, but with lots to offer those who visit. It was once the deer-hunting ground of Henry VIII; of course, nowadays its herds of red and fallow deer are protected and are one of its main attractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as we discovered on a recent outing, there is plenty of birdlife too. Most of the following birds we encountered on a walk through the Woodland Garden; but on the open grassland near the deer we found a noisy pair of Green Woodpeckers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two
Green Woodpeckers<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Lots of ducks were out enjoying the spring sunshine on the stream running through the Woodland Garden, including a pair of my favourite Mandarin Ducks. This beautiful duck was introduced from the Far East, and escaped, or was deliberately released, from captivity in the UK during the 20th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Colourful
Mr and Mrs Mandarin Duck<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Colourful
Don’t I look handsome!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There were Coots and Moorhens …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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\"Small
Coot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Brown
Moorhen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 and of course Mallards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Green
Mallard<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Canada Geese are pretty common on all London\u2019s waterways. They were introduced from North America and have successfully spread to cover most of the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Large
Canada Goose<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

And Egyptian Geese are becoming more prevalent too. Like the Mandarin Ducks, they were introduced as an ornamental wildfowl species; they later escaped into the wild, where they are now successfully breeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Large
Egyptian Goose<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The combination of tan and green in their wing and tail feathers is especially striking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Close
Egyptian Goose feathers<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Another relatively recent addition to our bird life are the flocks of Ring-necked Parakeets. These probably descend from some escaped pets during the mid to late 20th<\/sup> century; however, more exotic theories have emerged including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n