Wildlife in London

"I had a faire opportunity of talking to his Majestie... & thence walked with him thro St. James's Parke to the Garden, where I both saw and heard a very familiar discourse between... [the King] & Mrs. Nellie"

 ~ Diary of John Evelyn, 4th March, 1671 

London is not all stone buildings and cobbled streets.  There are nice parks you can escape to all over the city.  We spent two afternoons in Queen's Park reading and knitting and enjoying all the greenery.  We also spent part of an afternoon picnicking and strolling through St. James Park, enjoying all the waterfowl its canal attracts.  St. James' Park is the oldest Royal park in London and it sits surrounded by the palaces of Westminster, St James, and Buckingham.  And you know what they say about location... :)  These birds have chosen some prime real estate as their home!

Ducks!

Geese! and Willows!

Some late hatchlings.

Our first sighting of Ruddy Shelducks.

A Coot.

For the first time, we saw a Coot's very beautiful webbed foot

 We spotted this Great Blue Heron.  And of course, one cannot escape the pigeons...

Two Red-Breasted geese and one Greylag goose causing a ruckus.

By far, our favourite sighting was the pelicans! The first pelicans came to the park in 1664, gifted by the Russian ambassador.  They get fed fish every day by the park's officials from 2:30 - 3:00.

Eastern White Pelicans.

So there you have it.  Plenty of nature to be found if you are looking for it.  I wonder if anyone has ever done such a thing as touring London via its parks?  And if you are wanting more exotic wildlife there is always London Zoo... Maybe next visit! This brings my first-ever series to a conclusion.  Hope you enjoyed it!