Hampstead Heath

On Wednesday I met Jamie Cedar and Keir at Hampstead Heath. It was mostly for a social but as always some birding was done too. It was my first time meeting Jamie and also my first time visiting the site. Upon my arrival at one of the southern entrances I was welcomed by the noisy chatter of  a flock of Siskin. A Kestrel circled above our heads at our meeting point at Parliament Hill. We did not have much of a plan for where to walk but Jamie and Keir mentioned a Tawny Owl that's visible during the day and I explained that I had never seen a daytime Tawny Owl so we headed towards that. Jamie pointed me in the direction of the rough area that it roosts and gave me the challenge of finding it myself. Of course I happily accepted the challenge but surprised myself when within about two seconds I had got my bins onto a lovely Tawny Owl! Jamie then had to leave us but Keir and I carried on walking about. Shortly after the owl I had a bit of a shock when I saw a male Mandarin Duck swim out from one of the lake edges. Keir explained that they're about all the time but I just hadn't really given it any thought. Remarkably, this Mandarin was actually an eBird tick for me - the last one I saw must have been around a decade ago! A high Peregrine glided over as Keir and I came to the end of our walk around. My full eBird list from the day can be viewed here.

Roosting Tawny Owl

Grey Heron with prey (large frog or toad)

Male Mandarin Duck