“Clare? Clare?! Are you listening to me?” “I’m not talking to you, Richard!” – Contributed by blogger Dunelight
More beautiful otters below. First Battersea Park. The park is larger than it looks and provides a boating lake, children’s play areas, a plant shop, bicycle hire, cafeteria and children’s zoo. More ⇒.
Battersea Bridge on the Thames
Battersea Park Children’s Zoo
There is an entrance fee for the zoo. More information and a broad range of facilities for children can be found here ⇒. Below are a few fun photographs but there is a lot more to see.
The park has modern technology. Here is its e-mu.
Mara (Patagonian Cavy)
Meerkats
Young children can take a tunnel into the bubble and see the meerkats close up.
And, right next door are the otters.
Its feeding time and the otters wait by the magic door.
And, each have their own portion.
Time for a little lie down after all that walking about.
August 13, 2017 | Categories: Animals, fun, london, Photography, places to photograph in london, Places to Visit, uk, West London | Tags: boating pool, emu, mara, meerkats, otters, Pagoda, zoo | 12 Comments
Mudchute London City Farm ⇒. “Set in 32 acres of countryside in the heart of East London, the Mudchute is a community charity, with a working farm, stables, a children’s nursery and a wide range of education activities. We are open every day, free of charge”. There are also miniature ponies, goats, lamas, alpacas, donkeys, ducks, geese, sheep, a pets corner, a small aviary, a nature trail, a shop/café and a restored WWII ack-ack gun.
The area originally acquired its name from being a dumping ground for the mud/silt being dredged from the Millwall Docks during the 1800’s. History ⇒.
I started from the Pier Street entrance/exit and only had enough time to photograph some of it.
The farm is very child friendly. Whilst there I saw some little ones, with spades taller than themselves, cheerfully moving earth from one place to another.
The top of the fence is open but it keeps out the foxes and the farm’s cat who, of course, thinks he owns the place.
The farm is just a little south of the greatly regenerated London Docklands.
“Well hello, good evening and welcome”
Some breeds of ewes have horns. I think that these are a mix of Jacob sheep and White Face Woodland sheep.
At first they were very interested in visitors, but it didn’t last long. Loss of interest was quickly followed by a lot of very loud baaing. I finally realised that nibbles, bought from the shop, were expected .
“Nibbles ?”
“Baaaa. This one ain’t got no nibbles, Baaa”. “Baaa, you tell ‘im Agnes”. “Yeaaah baaa, can’t come around ‘ere with no nibbles, the cheek of it, baaa”.
“I’ve had my nibbles and I’ve got a rhythm stick”
Fearing the firing squad, I departed.
These are either llamas or alpacas. I’ll avoid the obvious joke of not wanting to stick my neck out on that.
“Just having lunch at the moment”.
“Oh yummy the gourmet table”.
“Carrot, what carrot !”.
From the other side of the farm looking south. There is an exit/entrance near here to Mudchute Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station.
I hope enjoyed your visit.
In East London there is also Hackney City Farm ⇒ and Spitalfields City Farm ⇒.
March 26, 2017 | Categories: Animals, East London, Free, places to photograph in london, Places to Visit, Travel, uk | Tags: city farm, ducks, educational, farm, Geese, goats, horses, lamas, sheep | 13 Comments
Brighten your day. Confuse a Happiness Engineer. Ask for a Happy Meal with extra fries and the solution to Fermet’s Last Theorem.
“He thinks he’s the Lock Ness Monster. What can you do”.
Amaze squirrels with your impressions of a nut.
Sing along with Sachmo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5TwT69i1lU
. . . and the squirrels. And, enjoy your day.
March 5, 2017 | Categories: Animals, Brighten the Day, Flowers, fun, Photography, Wildlife | Tags: ducklings, fuschias, louis armstrong, rose, sachmo, squirrels | 10 Comments
I would like to wish you all a very Happy Holidays and good fortune for the new year.
As is traditional at this time of year, I expect I will be abducted by aliens, away for a while and have no memory of what occurred.
P.S. For a little more colour, you might try A Very Many Xmas’s to All⇐ or the Brighten the Day Gallery ⇐.
P.P.S. As a last thought; please enjoy your festive fair responsibly and avoid leaving any empty bottles lying about. 😀
December 24, 2016 | Categories: Animals, Brighten the Day, fun, Wildlife | Tags: squirrel, Xmas | 5 Comments
A very interesting post by IdealisticRebel. Please refer all likes and comments to that blog. Thank You. 🙂
idealisticrebel
Humpback whales around the globe are mysteriously rescuing animals from orcas
Scientists are baffled at this seemingly altruistic behavior, which seems to be a concerted global effort to foil killer whale hunts.
Humpback whale to the rescue? (Photo: Wiki Commons)
Humans might not be the only creatures that care about the welfare of other animals. Scientists are beginning to recognize a pattern in humpback whale behavior around the world, a seemingly intentional effort to rescue animals that are being hunted by killer whales.
Marine ecologist Robert Pitman observed a particularly dramatic example of this behavior back in 2009, while observing a pod of killer whales hunting a Weddell seal trapped on an ice floe off Antarctica. The orcas were able to successfully knock the seal off the ice, and just as they were closing in for the kill, a magnificent humpback whale suddenly rose up out of the…
View original post 654 more words
August 1, 2016 | Categories: Animals, natural history, Science, Wildlife | Tags: humpback, nature, orcas, whales | Leave a comment
Canada Goose and Goslings
“Announcing the Goslette triblings”. – More here ⇓ and Here⇐.
“Oh dad”. “Honestly, he’s so embarrassing”.
“Where’s Agnes”.
“I’m off”.
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“I say, lets all go see the fountain.”.
Clissold park also has a Fallow Deer enclosure, goats, an aviary and is quite close to the new wetlands nature reserve at Woodberry. More of these things later. In the meantime:-
White Duck Family
Charlie is the original “odd duck”.
He leads his aquatic family from the bank side, quacking all the way.
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It looks and sounds very much like a trainer calling instructions to a rowing crew
“Don’t do that when I’m talking to you”. “Really, no manners whatsonever”.
And, off they go again.
Female Tufted Duck
“Quackers”. Well one can’t have a post about ducks without it.
Redhead Duck
“One should be more sedate”.
“And keep up appearances”.
“Oh the stress”.
“Stress ! You should see my bill for neck maintenance”.
“On the other hand”
“I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooh
I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time
doop doo doo, dup be doob be doo doo”.
More about Clissold Park and more goslings and ducks here⇐.
May 8, 2016 | Categories: Animals, Free, fun, london, North London, Photography, places to photograph in london, Places to Visit, Travel, uk, Wildlife | Tags: canada geese, goslings, lake, park, swan, white duck | 7 Comments
Tower Hamlets Cemetery was opened in 1841 and its last use was in 1966. It is now a lightly managed woodland, a nature reserve and has an ecology center. It is the only woodland for miles and comes complete with many cheeping birds, squirrels and the occasional fox. About Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park ⇒.
The park is located just south of Mile End underground station (on exiting the station turn right then second right onto Southern Grove and the park gates further down on the left).
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The above are artificial (fooled me).
These are just outside the southern railings.
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More from Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park in spring with squirrels ⇐.
April 17, 2016 | Categories: Animals, East London, Flora, Flowers, Photography, places to photograph in london, Places to Visit, Travel, uk, Wildlife | Tags: cemetery, fox, graveyard, poppy, woodland | 2 Comments
7 pics. Loki was rescued by Coda Falconry and took part in the Falconry Display during King Harold’s Day at Waltham Abbey. Although presently still juvenile, Loki will eventually live for around sixty years, is highly intelligent, full of cheek and seems to like the attention of being a substitute falcon.
Cheek is why Loki is on a long tether (creance). Loki likes doughnuts, other people’s doughnuts and not too fussy how they are obtained. Ravens do have a dark reputation, but he is in fact a handsome fellow. It’s just that they tend to hang around battlefields (well a birds got to eat) and otherwise nick any bauble that takes their fancy.
Loki likes strutting his stuff,
.. and hopping. He does a lot of hopping,
.. and casing the joint for opportunities.
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This is Loki’s official portrait which shows his beautiful plumage (reminds me of the Norwegian Blue).
October 27, 2015 | Categories: Animals, Photography, Wildlife | Tags: birds, coda falconry, falcons, loki, raven | 6 Comments
A great set of misty views. The last one being a particularly absorbing mix of subtle colours and reflection. Good work by Lady Fi 🙂 Please apply any comments and likes to the original post via view original at the end:-)
Lady Fi
A chilly morning dawned
Bringing out the colours of the leaves
And the swans.
They appeared out of the mist
Like feathered ships.
The sun bursting through the trees
Placed stripes of light on the swan’s neck.
Closer and closer the swan sailed
Beautiful in the lilac dawn.
For more swan songs, please go to: Our World.
View original post
October 23, 2015 | Categories: Animals, Photography, Wildlife | Tags: color, colour, lake, misty, swan | 2 Comments
17 pics. A Harris Hawk waits pensively for the launch signal. That beak means business. You can click twice for a better view.
“Ain’t I awesome”.
The trainer sends a morsel into the air using an elastic catapult. A little to the right of the hawk is a distant seagull and just below is the morsel. The hawk now has folded wings for the dive.
And the flyby with trophy.
“Nothing to see here, move along now. Ahh, with fava beans and a nice bottle of Chianti”.
A victory lap.
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“I’m firm but fair and you will applaud”. And they did.
The owl, the trainer said, had a short attention span and was easily distracted. He also said they were “thick”.
“He said what”.
.
“Right, I’ll have your scraggles off”.
“I am, in fact, wise and dignified and I’ll murgle anyone who says otherwise”.
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Meanwhile, several gulls were scriking and showing off by making feint dives at the hawks. But, they carefully kept their distance. The hawks disdained any interest. After all, one does not converse with one’s food.
This little miss is a North American Kestrel weighing in at a mere 4 ounces. She was so fast on the wing, that the only photographs I have, are where she used to be. Even the gulls were bemused and kept their distance.
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Falcons, we are informed, will only fly free and return if they are happy with their conditions. They also live twice as long as in the wild. So, everybody’s happy. Yay . 🙂
There are more falcons including an amazing peregrine here.
Tweet and thanks for the visit.
September 25, 2015 | Categories: Animals, East London, Photography, Places to Photograph Near London, Places to Visit, Travel, uk, Wildlife | Tags: birds, Castle, falconry, harris hawk, hawk, kestrel, owl | 20 Comments
Click here for the amazing Hatfield House and Elizabeth I.
Are you looking at me Jimmy.
Na mate, I’m looking for Chanticleer.
Call for Chanticleer.
Hey Jock have yous seen Chanticleer.
Gulp, gulp, chew, not I honest, it must have been the fox.
There is a cyber bear for anyone who gets the connection with the Amy involved in large explosion hypothesis.
51.760453
-0.209228
August 20, 2015 | Categories: Animals, Photography, Wildlife | Tags: big chicken, chanticleer, chaucer, chickens, cock, cock crow, hatfield house | 4 Comments
UK GOVERNMENT IS PERMITTING THE THE USE OF NEONICOTINOIDS, despite them being banned in Europe. These chemicals kill bees and other pollinators. A link to the PETITION/info is below. Please pass it on. Avaaz successfully stopped there use in Europe. Please help them stop there use in the UK.
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees_keep_the_ban_national/?tNIApeb
July 29, 2015 | Categories: Animals, Information, Wildlife | Tags: avaaz, bees, Butterflies, european union, neonicotinoids, petition, uk, uk government | 7 Comments
A little whimsy to brighten the day.
Vera, Chuck and Dave.
When I get older losing my hair, many years from now
Will you still be sending me a valentine
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?
If I’d been out till quarter to three, would you lock the door?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I’m sixty-four? .
May 27, 2015 | Categories: Animals, fun, Photography, Wildlife | Tags: ducklings, humour, Pelican, St James's Park, When I'm 64 | 3 Comments
Thanks to a friendly park keeper at St James Park, I was able to photograph twin Graylag Geese. Born from one egg, that would otherwise have been a double yolk, they rarely survive and these two have another special feature. Ethologist Konrad Lorenz did his first major studies into the behavioural phenomenon of imprinting using Graylag Geese and, according to the park keeper, these two have imprinted on one another and are inseparable.
They are so rare that you are unlikely to see anything like this until next April 1st. Yes, I am disgraceful and ingenious abuse is welcome and probably deserved. Here’s wishing you all a fun day. 🙂
April 1, 2015 | Categories: Animals, fun, Photography, Wildlife | Tags: fun, Geese, graylag, graylag geese, photography, rare, twins | 18 Comments
At the Eastern End of St James’s Park
This time I took some food. I put down the carrier bag to take out my camera and ~
“Right, I’ll do the old squirrel up the leg routine”.
“You do the blag”
“I’ll do the snatch. I’m so cute the rozzers will never suspect”
“Oh my, Oh my, Oh my. I’m rich I tell you, rich”
“Well now that’s all sorted out, a nice little sit down on this handy leggy thing”
“Cor blimey governor, it ain’t ‘alf a good bit of cashew this.”
“A nice piece of walnut for me. I say, any chance of liqueur”.
“Look it’s the great Squirreldini”
“Blasted squirrels. Any of us could do that if we wanted too”
“What, with these feet”
We don’t have much and life can be hard, but:-
Sittin’ in the morning sun
I’ll be sittin’ when the evening comes
Watching the ships roll in
Then I watch them roll away again, yeah
I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watchin’ the tide roll away, ooh
I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time
Otis Redding Listen on Youtube
There are more squirrels at Squirrels in the Park and Squirrels Up My Leg
51.507351
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January 6, 2015 | Categories: Animals, Central London, fun, Photography, uk, Wildlife | Tags: humour, squirrel up leg, squirrels, St James Park | 18 Comments
I’ve always considered myself to be quite animal friendly, and animals quite friendly to me. Nevertheless, at the south east corner of St James’s Park Lake, I was quite surprised by this.
I discovered why squirrels are so good at climbing trees. Those little claws are sharp.
When he or she looked up and realised that this tree had a face, there was a quick scamper off behind a real tree.
Then, would you ~
it.
There was another one.
At first I thought this must be the same squirrel, but a close examination of the whiskers shows a variation and there is slightly darker patch at the left shoulder. I think they must have been siblings and the little scamps were playing “Anything you can do, I can do better”.
Even the geese were surprised.
Wha’ the ~.
Still, they were only having fun in their own squirrely way. Good on them, they make me laugh and I feel quite privileged to have had squirrels up my leg.
There are more squirrels at the Great Nut Heist.
51.507351
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December 16, 2014 | Categories: Animals, Central London, fun, Photography, uk, Wildlife | Tags: funny, humour, photography, squirrel up leg, squirrels, St James Park, young squirrels | 21 Comments
Just outside Kensington Palace and a little to the north, there is an intersection in the path where the squirrels like to play. These cheeky chaps seem particularly interested in people with shopping. They also like to play hide and seek with photographers. The other games are; now I’m in focus and now I’m not and I’ll move just at the moment you press the shutter button. They’re very good at it. I took about 20 snaps, these are the only 4 worth showing. Can’t complain though, they were only having fun and very endearing.
“I say, have you got any linguine and do you know the way to San José.”
Just outside Kensington Palace where you can see this house.
Now you see me, and now ~
“Flash ah ah , the savior of the universe”.
“Alright you got me. Now about my fee”.
I hope you enjoyed that. They always make me laugh.
You might also like Squirrels up my Leg ⇐.
December 11, 2014 | Categories: Animals, Central London, fun, Photography, Travel, Wildlife | Tags: humour, Kensington Gardens, Kensington Palace, photography, squirrels | 18 Comments
I went to Bushy Park in search of green parrots, but found deer instead . There are a number of flocks of green parrot around London, thought to have escaped and managed to adapt to our UK winter. I hadn’t thought about it, photographing green parrots amongst a summer of verdant green leaf wasn’t going to be possible. I heard them and occasionally saw a quick flash of green wing but that was all.
I was delighted to find deer instead. I knew they were in Richmond Park and Hampton Court Deer park but pleasantly surprised to find them here. Photographed in early August they still had velvet on their antlers.
Fallow Deer
The Black Prince, and I think he knows it. Black deer are quite rare but do live amongst the herd.
The above were happily grazing amongst the fallow deer, although they are probably reds. It’s mid-summer, live and let live.
Red Deer
Red deer are the largest of deer-kind with the exception of moose and elk. Found at southern end of Bushy Park, they were not so much a herd as a squad.
They have the unnerving and unerring ability to raise their heads at exactly the same time. Much like a bristling of antennas. One can almost hear “Have you got permission to be here and have got any ID.
” I say it is tea time you know”
Time to leave
Deer are generally not dangerous but one must be careful in spring when there are young about and in autumn when they are rutting. They will also attack and sometimes kill dogs. Some deer herds (those around London) carry Lyme Disease which is spread by ticks. It is quite difficult to pick up but such places are not suitable for lounging in the grass or for bare legs in tall grass.
October 7, 2014 | Categories: Animals, Photography, Travel, uk, West London, Wildlife | Tags: black deer, bushy park, fallow deer, red deer, wildlife | 6 Comments
Characters (18 pics)
I’m a star. – Those on the other end of the lead were watching the river and had no idea what their dog was doing. She was drawing a little crowd of her own. The words “what a character” were often heard. She wins my first prize for “Character of the Festival”.
A close second comes :-
Please click on an image to expand and view a slideshow:-
The Crews
Please click on an image to expand and view slide show:-
And, then click on
The Tall Ships ►►
And, thank you for your visit.
September 30, 2014 | Categories: Animals, East London, fun, Greenwich Park, Photography, Travel, uk | Tags: characters, crews, Greenwich, london, tall ships, thames | 10 Comments
At the upper level park.
Your mission, should you wish to accept it, is nuts.
First we catch the nut.
Then we check to see if it’s suitable for burying or best eaten now.
Then we bury the ones that will keep.
Then we have some fun. Shhimple !
This is one’s just hanging.
But, in a different light. Them paparazzi will demonize anybody, disgraceful. 😛
Squirrels can usually be found at the south east corner of upper Greenwich Park.
August 15, 2014 | Categories: Animals, East London, fun, Photography, uk, Wildlife | Tags: Greenwich, greenwich park, london, red eye, squirrels, wildlife | 6 Comments
Freed From Time 