No 173: Ring-necked Parakeet

We made it safely down to London this morning, and after a bite of lunch, we spent the afternoon bird watching in Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, remembering how much we saw last time. I was expecting to see these colourful birds - very common in London and other areas, but seldom seen at home. I know they are not always popular with their noisy calls, but they are pretty spectacular to see, winging through the trees. I had a bit of a dilemma because I also got a couple of shots of a tawny owl, as yet unblipped. I know we have those quite close to home but I am rubbish at spotting them, and the shots I got were poor, so I decided to go with the Parakeet. We saw lots of other birds too, including Egyptian Geese in numbers, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and lots more. The smaller birds will come and eat out of your hand, so if we have time to go back, perhaps I'll take some food with me. It was a very enjoyable afternoon with wonderful light, and always good to add to my Bird Blip tally.