There are all sorts of fascinating collective nouns for birds. A 'murmuration of starlings' is one, an 'exultation of larks' is another. But today it's all about the coot. In fact it's about a 'covert of coots' to use the established phrase. 'Cacophony' or 'chapel' would do just as well to my way of thinking (the former for the sound, the later for their monkish dress), but 'covert' it is. Covert, but not undercover. Covert of Coots
Grouped together like that, they seem so placid. But the slightest thing can set them off... especially when the 'slightest thing' is a passer-by with a bag of bread! Then woe betide anything that gets in their way!
The lone swan apart, the larger water fowl were congregating on firmer ground.
And they were occasionally picking fights... two Canada geese:
Finally, a very brief clip of a badger from the garden last night.
Despite the gloom I headed over to Regent's Park at lunchtime. The light was awful, and the paths muddy. To be fair, it wasn't raining and nor was it especially cold. I entered the park and was looking around some of the favoured rat haunts (without success) when a flock of greylags flew overhead.
The sight of the geese encouraged me to head over to the lake (as though I need encouragement!). Anyway, I'm glad I did. It was not good weather for photography and I played around with camera settings while photographing more 'muddy ducks', finally settling for an ISO of either 800 or 1000 and a wide aperture. Even so, I struggled to get a shutter speed worthy of the name. I'd only taken a handful of test shots when I caught a glimpse in the distance of a bird descending to the water. I was fairly sure what it was, and it was the first time I'd seen one in the park.
This is what I'd seen.
Now I'm familiar with the cormorants over at London Bridge where the river provides good feeding, but I suspect there is precious little to sustain a cormorant in these small lakes. It didn't catch anything while I was watching, despite repeated dives.
Watching the cormorant provided an interesting contrast with another of the diving birds. The cormorant always re-emerges within a relatively short distance of the dive point. This makes it reasonably easy to follow them with the camera, even when they spend a good deal of time below the surface. You can plant yourself in a good spot and fire away. Great crested grebes, on the other hand seem to have a quite different technique. I watched this one as it paddled and dived.
And then had to search for it. It emerged about 30 yards downstream. It did this consistently, but helpfully heading in the direction I needed to go.
No new fox photos tonight, although the trail cam has revealed that once again we have a limping fox. It was only on camera briefly, but it appears to have injured a hind leg. As ever, it seemed perfectly mobile despite the injury. I'd like to see it close up, but I suspect that as with nearly all such injuries it will heal by itself soon enough.
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 40D and EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM.
In yesterday's blog I mentioned that I'd seen numerous geese around the lake in the park. Today it rained and I didn't make it there, so before too much time passes I thought I'd post a couple of shots. These are greylags, which are almost as numerous as the squirrels. They do a fine job of keeping the grass manicured and are oblivious to the crowds of people who walk, jog, and cycle past them all day.
But the main focus today is the young male fox. He seems to be the most consistent visitor at the moment (and certainly the only fox coming by at a time I'm likely to be watching). He's growing in confidence (a bit), and I was even able to adjust my position a little tonight without scaring him away.
The forecast for tomorrow is moderate so I may go and see the coots again. The other project on the horizon is replacing the video card in my PC. It's suffered from the 'nvlddmkm stopped working' problem for the best part of a year, but has deteriorated noticeably in recent weeks. None of the supposed fixes works and so I'm biting the bullet and am going to replace the card, probably in the next couple of weeks. Everything will be securely backed up before I start Camera note: the geese shots taken with the Canon 40D and EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM. The fox was photographed with the EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens.
I've only got one shot to illustrate the title of this blog, but the reason for it is that now is the time for the annual visit of the Geminids, an annual meteor shower that can produce upward of 100 shooting stars an hour. They are visible on 13 and 14 December and on a clear night can be spectacular. Unfortunately there is intermittent cloud cover where we are tonight, but I did manage to see a small handful. Better yet, I caught one of them on camera. The main constellation in the centre of the shot is Orion. The meteor is caught on the right of the frame.
As for the rest of the day, it was back to Regent's Park. It's still cold (more severe weather is forecast for late in the week), but the water fowl now have a choice of ice or water. These Canada geese were standing on the edge of the ice.
The icy conditions must be hard on birds (after all they can't wear double layers of socks). I felt sorry for this little coot.
The herons are rather more stoic about the cold, and seem prepared to sit it out.
But some birds seem to thrive at this time of year, among them once of our most iconic winter birds, the robin.
No rats today (I looked for them), but the squirrels are still active (I'm beginning to think that they simply refuse to hibernate in London). I caught this one scampering across one of the many paths. And yes, there was even a brief flicker of sunshine when I took these.
Camera note: all daytime shots taken with the EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM. The Geminid was taken with the EF 24-105 F4L IS USM with a 15" exposure at f/4.0 and ISO 1250.
The "big freeze" (yes, I know everyone in Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, the USA will fall about laughing at that!) continues, but it really has caught us out over here. My train this morning had no heating, but at least it ran on time. Now if they could combine timeliness with warmth we might actually be getting somewhere, but such things seem beyond us. Anyway, it's cold!
Cold enough for geese to take the easy route across the lake.
Cold enough even for a squirrel to take a short cut from one bank to the other.
The ducks weren't silly though. They took to the air.
And the herons stalked along the water's edge.
Down in the undergrowth, a rat just did what rats do...
Though this one seems to be contemplating the tree with a hint of envy for its bushy-tailed friends.
Not that the bushy-tailed friends are bothered...
I did see a fox in the garden tonight, but only through the window. I can hear them outside, short chattering calls. But it's too cold to linger. I'll check the trail cam tomorrow to see who I've missed. Camera note: all shots taken with the EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM.
My Opera
Covert of Coots
