Monday, March 19, 2012
Like many other observers, I've been hearing a blackcap singing at home for a couple of weeks. Hearing him at the front today I looked out to see him in the japonica, and a female across the road fly-catching from a sunlit branch. She then flew over to join the male.
It's too early for summer blackcaps, so these must be wintering birds. But are they a true pair? Will they stay and breed? The parakeet was feeding on buds on the edge of Dorney Common this evening.
Framed by the hide window on the wetlands, an Egyptian goose imitates a goosander.
Very fetching from the back.
There were four of them, and they made a nice splash of colour on one of the islands. 
Suddenly there was a violent honking and two Canada geese (which had been sitting up on the north bank perfectly happily for some time) came flying down and landed among them.
With all four Egyptian geese in the water, the Canada geese paddled about a bit at the end of the island, then took to the water themselves and sailed serenely off into the sunset. The Egyptian geese meanwhile all waddled back onto the island and carried on preening. So what was all that about?!// posted by Christine @ 12:13 PM 
