London Wetlands Centre 2014

London Wetlands Centre: July 16, 2014

All Photos are Copyright Marshall Faintich

The London Wetlands Centre is a well maintained wildlife site that was opened 14 years ago, and has extensive ponds, trails, and hides. I have been wanting to go there for several years, but it is a hassle to get there from northern London, requiring multiple modes of public transportation. I was lucky that our cousin, Roman, was eager to go there as well, and we went there by car.

I saw a good number of species there, including eight life birds. At first I thought that I had hit the jackpot for life birds, but after both examining my photos and seeing birds that had been banded, and then following up with questions to some of the Centre staff, I learned that almost all of the very rare birds, and those species that either did not belong there, or should not have been there at this time of the year, were pinioned birds, and were in the Centre for exhibition. The one rare bird that was actually wild was Egyptian Goose, a species that had been relocated to Eastern England and has reproduced in the wild. Other life birds for me at the Centre were Lapwing, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Little Ringed Plover, Shag, Yellow-legged Gull, and Reed Warbler.

Egyptian Goose

Lapwing

Little Ringed Plover

I saw a pair of flying Shags (Cormorants), and this is a different species of Cormorant from those I had previously seen elsewhere.

Shags (Cormorants)

The Yellow-legged Gull was formerly listed as a race of the Herring Gull (pink legs). In addition to different leg color, it has a larger red bill spot than the Herring Gull.

Yellow-legged Gull

My favorite bird of the entire trip was the Reed Warbler. I saw this little species several times as it flew into the reeds and quickly disappeared. I was lucky to get a few photos.

Reed Warbler

I saw another warbler in a different reed area in the Centre, but wasn't able to get good photos of it. However, the entire bird can be seen as a reflection in the water. This warbler was probably a Reed Warbler as well, but its bill looks a bit curved and I can't see an eye-ring in the reflection. There are a few other English warblers that appear similar to the Reed Warbler. Any ideas as to its species identification would be appreciated.

Probable Reed Warbler

I saw several Pochards and Tufted Ducks in the ponds and on pond banks.

Pochard

Tufted Duck

I also saw several ducks that may have been Tufted Ducks. Juvenile and female Tufted Ducks should have either a small, white blaze on their face, or none at all. Similar-looking (Greater) Scaup have a prominent, white blaze, but they are not summer ducks in England. Some of the ducks I saw had a prominent, white blaze, and/or a white wing-bar stripe showing while swimming. These ducks may have been Tufted Ducks, pinioned Scaup, Scaup that decided to spend the summer there, hybrid Tufted x Scaup, or ?? All opinions on the following are appreciated.

Tufted(?) Duck