A bit of the tropics in suburban south London

It's amazing how different my mood is on a day with clear blue skies compared to overcast days. This morning it felt like anything was possible.

These parakeets are fast becoming as common as feral pigeons. In fact the one in the middle has a bit of the look of a pigeon about it. But they still brighten up the trees while they are bare.

At lunch time I narrowly missed a chance to get close to my long term nemesis/obsession, the kingfisher, when a cyclist went past and scared it away from its riverside perch. I was so close but hadn't spotted it yet. I followed the streak of azure blue with my eyes and saw it sat on the concrete at the side of the river further on but couldn't get a decent photo of it and when I tried to get closer it flew away and I lost it. It's like a very long and drawn out game of hide and seek where usually the kingfisher wins. People have different motivations and different prizes they seek in their lives. One of my biggest ambitions is to get a really good photo of a kingfisher but they are smarter than me and I can never seem to get close enough for long enough.