17kingfishers.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

I had a lovely surprise while sitting by a pond today - a female sparrowhawk came down for a drink. Amazing to see this beautiful bird so close - look at her fancy stripy trousers. Croydon, UK. #birds

submitted 21 hours ago • 0 comments

The great crested grebe chicks at South Norwood Lake are doing really well. They've grown a lot - hard to believe a couple of weeks ago they could both hide in their parents' feathers. #birds

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

Adorable ducklings at Waddon Ponds in Croydon. Unusually, a male mallard was actually helping look after them. Normally they don't stick around. #birds

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

Collared doves are beautiful birds. #birds

submitted 4 days ago • 16 comments

Sometimes lizard spotting is quite challenging. There's a lizard in each of these photos.

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

This rabbit I saw today at Chipstead Downs was so cute I just have to share it. The way it flicks its ear with its paw 😍

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

A lovely pair of common whitethroats I spotted in a hedge today at Hutchinson's Bank in Croydon. They have a distinctive song but usually I don't manage to get a proper look at them. #birds

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

Great spotted woodpecker in a local park, having a preen, stretching his neck and doing some drumming. I've heard a lot from them recently but not managed to see much so it was good to watch this. #birds

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

Tadpoles doing well in a couple of local ponds. Some are starting to grow tiny legs. They're becoming rounder, their eyes are visible & they're getting gold flecks. Hopefully a decent number will make it to adulthood 🤞🐸🐸🐸

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

More butterflies and moths: mint moth (they are absolutely tiny, that's a regular sized dandelion); male orange tip; dingy skipper; speckled wood.

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

Butterflies in a local park: speckled wood, red admiral and holly blue. They were all on the same laurel bush, which was teeming with insects - bees, hoverflies, butterflies and more.

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

It was a bit of a surprise to see a nuthatch on the bank of the River Wandle. It seemed to be gathering mud for a nest. #birds

submitted 17 days ago • 1 comment

Today I saw a beautiful pair of kestrels in Beddington Park. The female was making a lot of noise. Then she flew over to a dead tree trunk & the male flew in & they started working on creating the next generation. I'll share a video in a reply. #birds

submitted 17 days ago • 1 comment

A Canada goose showing its water resistance. #birds

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments

I think jackdaws are my favourite of the corvids I regularly see. They have such piercing ice-blue eyes & a gentle sound. This one was asking politely if I would share my lunch at WWT London. I dropped a bit of rice which it ate. #birds

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

I watched a great crested grebe catch this fish yesterday at London Wetland Centre. Looks like a filling meal. #birds

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

Today I went to WWT London in Barnes & saw lots of beautiful birds (+ otters). They have both captive & wild birds. Here's a captive yellow billed duck - you can see how it got its name. They're apparently native to sub-Saharan Africa.

submitted 23 days ago • 0 comments

Grey herons in Carshalton, south London: an elegant heron stands in a pond, while 3 male mallards squabble in the background. Meanwhile, youngsters stand on a nest at the top of a tree (sorry for the cloaca angle) #birds

submitted 25 days ago • 0 comments

This is very real. Some people really went down the rabbit hole and haven't come back.

submitted 26 days ago • 1 comment

I saw my first ducklings of the year, at Carshalton in south London. I love baby bird season. #birds

submitted 26 days ago • 0 comments

Butterflies I saw yesterday. The green hairstreak and speckled wood were the first of the year for me, comma and peacock have been around a few weeks.

submitted 27 days ago • 0 comments

Some very friendly horses I met today.

submitted 27 days ago • 1 comment

The great crested grebes at South Norwood Lake in Croydon did an excellent job of raising 3 broods of chicks last year. Here's their first brood of 2025, so far 2 chicks have been born, they're very cute. #birds

submitted 30 days ago • 1 comment

These two lesser black-backed gulls reminded me a bit of the hapless villains in an animated kids' movie. #birds

submitted 31 days ago • 0 comments

Neighbourhood cat making herself comfy on my bed. We have never given her any food or encouraged her into the house, she just loves attention & follows us around til she gets bored. Like having a cat without the bills! 😀

submitted 32 days ago • 0 comments

There's a predator hiding among the daffodils: a goldenrod crab spider! Also some pollen beetles in some of the other daffodils.

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

With the seasons changing and migratory birds arriving, it's time to say goodbye to the over wintering birds which breed elsewhere. It was good to see these lovely shoveler ducks before they depart. #birds

submitted 37 days ago • 0 comments

Lots of chiffchaffs chiffing and chaffing away at the moment. #birds

submitted 37 days ago • 0 comments

Some nuthatches I've seen recently in different local woodlands. The nuthatch in photos 2 & 3 seemed to be checking out a potential nesting site. #birds

submitted 38 days ago • 0 comments

Went to a local pond. The lack of water birds was disappointing, but I saw 2 (non-native) terrapins & a pair of pigeons. I was eating a Nature Valley bar, so the pigeons got a snack too.

submitted 38 days ago • 0 comments

I saw a tawny owl in local woods! It was very exciting. They're such special birds. Of course I didn't have my big camera, only the compact one, but the photos didn't come out too badly. #birds

submitted 38 days ago • 1 comment

Finally saw my first lizards of the year. Took me a long time to find them. There's been quite a lot of work done on the reserve recently, new fences & gates & scrub clearance - hopefully the lizards are ok, just getting used to the changed environment as they emerge from hibernation.

submitted 42 days ago • 0 comments

I had some views of a red kite & kestrel today. The kestrel spent some time preening in a tree, then on the ground feeding. #birds

submitted 42 days ago • 0 comments

I met a lovely friendly ginger floof today. They were very affectionate. #cats

submitted 43 days ago • 0 comments

Something I still struggle to remember when I need to rest. These illustrations are so lovely.

submitted 43 days ago • 0 comments

Had a visit from a coal tit while I was filling the other feeder with chipped peanuts. #birds

submitted 44 days ago • 0 comments

So much lovely tree blossom around. Unfortunately I seem to be allergic to something that's come out in the last few days. Every time I go outside it's like I have a heavy cold which gets better indoors, which is annoying as I like walking in nature 🤧 #hayfever

submitted 47 days ago • 1 comment