I spotted this nice tropical duck in the St James's Park somewhere around Christmas. It is called Fulvous whistling duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) and is normally seen in Africa, South America or India and I guess it felt a bit cold in the chilly England winter.
To make sure it is not its cousin the Lesser whistling duck take note of the black strip on the back of its neck and the light creamy feather above the tail (the Lesser one has them in reddish chestnut colour)
Fulvous whistling duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) at St James's Park, England from the front
Fulvous whistling duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) at St James's Park, England frontal view
Fulvous whistling duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) at St James's Park, England. From the back, note black strip on the neck
Fulvous whistling duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) at St James's Park, England. From side, note light creamy feathers above tail.
Fulvous whistling duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) at St James's Park, England
Fulvous whistling duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) at St James's Park, England
Fulvous whistling duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) at St James's Park, England
Fulvous whistling duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) at St James's Park, England
Fulvous whistling duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) at St James's Park, England with a Coot for size comparasion
The Swiss army knife is one of the most important pieces of gear I carry with myself when I travel in the wild. However, while the main blade and the wood saw are vital I rarely need the rest of the tools and when I have to find replacement, for example after flying, I usually buy whatever pocket knife I can find as long as it has a wood saw.
Eurasian (common) treecreeper (Certhia familiaris familiaris) at Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria. I made this clip from pretty great distance and poor light and again the Panasonic TZ80 held its ground.
This is one pretty interesting and somewhat difficult to shoot bird. It is found mostly in mountainous areas, where is difficult to approach them and even if we are lucky to have one of then close there often are a lot of branches, twigs and leafs which make it difficult to focus and follow with the camera. It doesn't help either that this birdie doesn't stop moving and often disappears from view. Anyway I managed to have a good look take a few photos at one of these.
Eurasian (common) treecreeper (Certhia familiaris familiaris). Note the large nail on the back toe, which along with the shorter bill are the two main signs to differentiate this species from the very similar Short-toed treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla)
Great Tit (Parus major major) at Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria. The camera (Panasonic TZ80) did surprisingly good job handheld on low light and with maxed 30x zoom.
These birds are one of the more common species across Europe and are often seen in villages and towns during the winter months when they go out of the forest in search for food. They eat about everything soft enough for their thin bills, but prefer insects.
Great Tit (Parus major major) at Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria
Great Tit (Parus major major) at Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria
These birds can be seen in almost all parks in London. They look a bit out of place in this place of the Earth, but anyway they are here so we can enjoy the sight of them in the short winter days.
Video clips from a walk in the St James's Park in London. Nowadays its mostly known for its proximity to the Buckingham Palace and the abundance of waterfowl from many species some of which rare.
Statsraad Lehmkuh, a 102-year-old Norwegian barque was docked at Lerwick, Shetland. I didn't know the name of the ship or anything about her, but it was clear that it is not just another boat. And also Lerwick was invaded by Norwegian cadets, so I assumed that this should be some kind of training vessel and after short research as it happens my guess was correct.
