Wednesday 1 April 2015

Wild Bird Wednesday 141 - Ruffey Lake Park

Eurasian Coot
Ruffey Lake Park is one of our regular bike ride / walk / photographic destinations.  And this weekend was not exception - on a non-birding front, it was a real delight to find that a small 'tea-caravan' was operating near the spot where we turn around and head back towards the start.

Who can resist a decent cup of tea?  Especially from a real teapot and in fine china!

Sorry, got a bit off topic there - back to the birds this being WBW and all that!

This week I thought I'd do something a little different and put up a selection of birds from one trip, rather tan just concentrate on a single bird.  Gives me a chance to leave the taxonomy books on the shelf for a week!

So, these are some of the birds I saw on my walk in the autumn sunshine.
Eurasian Coot

Female Chestnut Teal
Purple Swamphen

Little Black Cormorant 
Little Black Cormorant
Australasian Grebe
And now, once more it's turn.  Click on the blue button to join in.  Cheers SM

36 comments:

  1. what great shots of an array of birds!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Stewart, cute collection of birdds from your walk.. I love the pretty Teal and the cute Grebe. Thanks for hosting, have a happy week!

    ReplyDelete
  3. All lovely series of birds hosts adn some beautiful reflections.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a great assortment of birds, Stewart!! Great photos as always! Hope your week is going well! Enjoy!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovley to see all the different birds ,nette

    ReplyDelete
  6. That was a nice change of pace, and this time every one of your birds has fairly close relatives in our local wetlands!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wonderful shots Stewart!
    I like the swirling water and you got some really nice reflections as well. Lovely post!

    ReplyDelete
  8. ha...critters we have in Florida. We DO share some critters :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wonderful photos! Love the swamphen and the reflection shot of the cormorant especially. All are great!

    I would ADORE finding a tea shack in a park with real porcelain teapots brewing real tea. Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great bunch of water loving birds. have a happy week .

    ReplyDelete
  11. It is always funny to be reminded that in your neck of the woods, autumn is starting. And here it is spring. Great shots all. So crisp.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I could have taken the same walk with you only thousands of miles away ... we have birds here that are the same as some of your, but minorly different. We have an American Coot (you proabably saw them when you were in Arizona) that are the same except a red splotch at the top of the white splotch over the beak. We have a Teal that is much the same only slightly less colorful and our Pied Bill Grebe has the same little wind up toy look as yours only ours is not as colorful. Isn't it wonderful to have a place to go where you can see so many different birds on the same walk. Wonderful selection, Stewart. You are either the luckiest birder I know or you are just smart enough to know where to go. Wonderful as always ...

    Andrea @ From the Sol

    ReplyDelete
  13. Well I think we get to see the same Coot, but not the others, which are all wonderful birds. My link up is a bit different this week, but I hope it is still okay to link up.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful wild birds and amazing shots!
    Greetings

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wonderful shots of all these birds! I love the reflection!

    ReplyDelete
  16. That top photo of the coot...the circle of water rings reminds me of the 'hunting' technique of a wilson's phalarope

    Fantastic photos Stewart

    ReplyDelete
  17. Nice shots! Love the reflections.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Nice selection Stewart and at least one that I see every day.

    Nothing better than a proper cup of tea.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Stellar shots there, Stewart! Very nice!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Perfects shots of a variety of birds!! Very nice, Stewart!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. These shots are perfectly lit! I see the autumn sun is nice and gentle down there in Victoria, where it's still been blisteringly hot here in Queensland.

    The Purple Swamphen shows its colours off so perfectly in that light, as does the Cormorant's eye. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  22. What a great series of shots!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Looks like a great spot for regular walks. Enjoyed the photos. Maybe a typo on the grebe "name" :-)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Beautiful shots, Stewart!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Nice selection of birds, great reflections, too. That Little Black Cormorant is just too cute!

    ReplyDelete
  26. My husband would "kill" for tea from a real teapot and served in china cups! Sounds a great backdrop to a birding destination. I love your birds and *sigh* that I'm not seeing such wonderful waterbirds at this time. Have a great day. Jo

    ReplyDelete
  27. Lovely set of images and bird shares. You actually shared some of what i saw for the first time a month ago. They are all such beautiful choices. Thank you also for your very kind thoughts~

    ReplyDelete
  28. Stewart, the reflection of the Cormorant is OUTSTANDING!!!!...:)JP

    ReplyDelete
  29. Stunning images of these bird species, Stewart.
    Photo 2 and 3 are my favorite, perfectly photographed, my compliments.
    Best regards, Irma

    ReplyDelete
  30. Wonderful bird shots Stewart..The Grebe is very cute..Nice to see unusual(to me) birds..I used to be a tea drinker but a friend got me hooked on coffee..I've tried to go back several times..No success

    ReplyDelete
  31. What a great selection of birds!
    I love Grebes.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Wonderful collection of birds esp. The swamp hen.

    ReplyDelete
  33. We have swamp hens and cormorants hanging around up here as well. Great pictures and some nice reflections to.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Fantastic series of photos .. .. Happy Easter

    ReplyDelete
  35. The red eyes of the Coot, Chestnut Teal, and Swamphen, are mesmerizing. The black feathers really set them off too. Comorants are in trouble here because they are eating too many small salmon. The grebe is cute too, I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of seeing one in person.

    ReplyDelete