Millbrook Lake Cornwall - Cookie's Bird Watching

Thought I'd post a few pics of a visit I made with Mr Cookie, today(03/04/08) to Millbrook Lake - just over on the Cornish side of the River Tamar opposite Plymouth. Didn't know what to expect to see but was very pleasantly surprised what a short stroll brought us, on this glorious April sunny day.






Canada Geese











A Single Egyptian Goose - rarely seen away from Norfolk and East Anglia. This stray single did have a slight limp but otherwise seemed unhurt.

more to come...

 

Canada Goose in flight - courtesy of Mr Cookie



Bit of a confrontation going on here - Swan not at all happy with Goose's presence.



Angry swan



Cheeky Jackdaw



Pair of Shelduck



Mallard pair



Moorhen



Coot

 

Massive rats on the banks - see duck head for scale!!!!



Shelduck


Was a lovely afternoon - highs of 17 degrees. Tide was high so no waders seen. Have to look for Spoonbills another day!!! *sigh*

 

Wow cookie, Great pics, Love the angry swan, and the rats are huge, (shiver) I would of ran a mile..
Have you worked out why the Egyptian Goose is there?

 

Thanks Dee. I enjoy trying to photograph birds and animals but they mostly have to be done on full telephoto as they keep so far away!

Not sure how this Egyptian Goose got to be here on his/her ownsome, Dee. Definitely seemed a bit lame so whether some sort of mishap got him separated from a gang headed East - not sure. We were wondering if we should have informed the RSPB??? I think he will be ok though - I walked up to him to make sure he could walk ok and he also stretched out his wings ok - so I don't think he will be in any danger.


We also saw a pair of Little Grebes on the lake, but they were too far away and kept diving all the time, to photograph. Looked fab through the binoculars though!

 

Great shots C M the angry swan picture is a classic, well done

 

Thanks guys Hoping to perhaps get out again today if the weather stays nice and snap some more wildlife from a different spot.

I love the spring!

 

I guess with single photos you never quite get the whole story.

I singled out one of the jackdaw photos originally, but the camera has this fancy gizmo which takes multiple rapid sequential shots.... and this was what really was going on...



First you grab the bread....



Flip it round so it is pointing in the right direction.



Into the beak it goes...



Swallow!



Get landed on by your noisy neighbour!


Such is life as a bird!
(and sometimes as a human too!)

 

Wonderful pics, Cookie!

That angry swan one is beautiful!

The Egyptian Goose is very interesting, have never seen one of those before.

I just love Coots - have you ever noticed their lovely banded toes?

 

Lovely, lovely photos Cookie.

I would never be able to capture birds in flight ... I just about get away with a butterfly or two occasionally, so I'll stick to scenery and flowers.

Like Sis above, I agree the angry swan is beautiful and incredibly captured. I also love Mr Cookie's Canada Goose in flight.

Thank you for sharing them with us.

 

Beautiful,Beautiful pics. Cookie...........
You are not JUST a pretty face then

 

Hey Thanks everyone!

Kedi said...

Kedi! I am a big fan of coots and moorhens. I must admit I have not been close enough up to a coot on land to see his feet!.. However, I loved the big green feet on the moorhens yesterday! I love moorhen chicks too - little balls of fluff that scoot along behind the adult like little black fluffy tumbleweeds with mini red beaks! Too early for any of these youngsters I think. Do you have any unusual birds near to you in Germany?

LOL - thanks! Mr Cookie alias James did well to catch the goose in flight, especially with its beak wide open honking! A manly action picture! This multiple rapid succession shot button is very good for this sort of thing. 5 pics a second apart usually catches something on the move.

Roders - thank you chuck! And congrats on your fantastic photo "Lull before the storm" - apologies for posting a photo of Miss Gulch on the votes thread but it did look like we weren't in Kansas anymore!

 

Anybody old enough to remember Arthur Ransome's 'Coot Club'? I mean apart from me. One of my favourite childhood books. I still remember William the Pug. I named my last collie after him. Pug/collie? :confused:

 

No, I can't think of any Cookie.

We do get storks nesting in our area, and being not far from the sea, seagulls. Then of course, the herons, they emptied our pond of fish several times so we admitted defeat and didn't get any more.