User blog:Andrewself/Westminster Jan 7th

I decided to brave the freezing conditions and have a wander around St James's Park at lunchtime. I did seriously consider whether it was worth it when I got there as the orbital path was akin to an ice rink. Still, as I'd managed to get there I decided to continue anyway as there was bound to be some yearticks to be had on my Westminster patchlist. I changed the boundaries on my Westminster patch this year so I could include the park and have settled on a 1km radius from my office in Great Smith Street.

Finally managed to nail Blackbird & Robin - must be a sign of the times when one gets Ring-necked Parakeet on one's patchlist three days before Robin! Also had a good scan of the ducks and managed to find a Ruddy Duck amongst the captive White-headed Ducks. And an aythya hybrid, probably a Tufted Duck x Pochard.

Whilst feeding my sarnies to the Black-headed Gulls, a Grey Heron stood fairly close by - about 2 metres away so I thought, let's give it a go and threw it some crumbs. Sure enough, it snaffled them up, first time I've seen a heron do that.

Back in the warmth of my office I espied a few passerines flying over, possibly Greenfinches but couldn't be sure. They'll have to wait for another day.