Croydon Ducks - Garden Birds

Last Update: 7th June 2009

This page has photos of various garden birds, including starlings, herons, crows, ringnecked parakeets, a sparrow hawk,
and a young moorhen.

Two Ringnecked Parakeets, that arrived for less than one minute on a cold March 2008 afternoon. Not a native bird,
but apparently there is a large and noisy population in London.

The Ringnecked Parakeets returned briefly in Autumn 2008, but again for only a couple of minutes once they realised they could not
access the feeder for food.

27th August 2008, a young Moorhen, not yet adult colours. Arrived in the morning and stayed until dusk, mostly out of the water,
standing on shallow shelves, feeding on fish pond sticks. Preferred to swim across the pond rather than fly. Very long non-webbed
toes, white and blue rump plumage.

Ditto.

A budgie or Parakeet that arrived for a few days one summer, very tame, and hungry.

One of the crow parents feeding the three fledglings, taking food from the cat bowl. Their nest has been in the next garden for several years.

One of the magpies ignoring the fox.

Visiting heron, on the wide angle CCTV camera earlier this year, I've never actually seen a heron take fish from the pond
or noticed any fish missing. But I do try and frighten them off when I'm able, usually instead of taking photos of them.

Same heron from the CCTV camera over the island.

Ditto.

This heron walked all the way around the pond.

The heron thinking about the fish.

The heron looking into the pond.

The heron visiting in Autumn 2008, mostly herons get mobbed by the local crows and don't manage to land near the pond.

This heron visited for several days in March 2009, but never got near the water. Just landing on the fence was sufficient to frighten the
duck off her nest.

Wood pigeons.

I think this is the sparrow hawk waiting to swoop down into my garden.

The sparrow hawk standing on a starling that it caught, I frightened it away and the starling flew off.

Ditto.

The sparrow hawk with another starling, the sparrow hawk flew off with this one.

The sparrow hawk looking at the bird feeder.

And trying to get at the bird feeder.

The sparrow hawk catching another starling.

Starlings in the bread feeder, which stops the pigeons getting at the bread directly, although the starlings often drop it onto the
lawn so they get some anyway.

There can be up to 50 starlings here, and they eat about one loaf a day, two or three loaves in the breeding season.

Fledgling starlings still fluffy brown waiting to be fed by adults. They take a few months to turn spotted black.

Another fledgling starling on eating a cherry.

More fledgling starlings bathing in the pond. A crow caught one shortly afterwards when it too wet to fly away to safety.

Wider view of the starling bread feeder, water dish and peanut cake bar feeder. The starlings are rationed to one 1kg peanut tube over
three days, but in the breeding season can finish a kilo in a single day if I forget to bring it inside, but at £5 each I try not to forget.

June 2009, lots of starling fledglings bathing in the pond, waiting for their mothers to feed them.