This morning the skies were overcast with a hint of
mistiness around the edges, just perfect for a morning walk beside Hamilton
Lake.
There is a walking track encircling the Lake but I have
never yet walked all of it. Today I
chose an area I hadn’t walked before, winding through trees and flaxes around the edge of the
Lake.
It was a busy path, with many walkers, joggers and people out exercising their dogs.
There are many water-lilies in this area and several Pukeko
were searching through them looking for food and showing why they are often called swamp-hens (they love marshy places).
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| Pukeko - Porphyrio melanotus |
I saw several different birds on my leisurely walk,
including sparrows, pigeons, cormorants, and welcome swallows. These Australian Coots were also searching
among water-lilies looking for food.
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| Australian Coot - Fulica atra |
The Lake is a permanent home to many ducks, mostly Mallards. These females were busy preening.
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| Female Mallard ducks - Anas platyhynchos |
This male, though, had finished with feeding and preening
and was busy catching up on some snoozing.
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| Male Mallard duck - Anas platyrhynchos |
Have a great day everyone J
Margaret.
You had a lovely place to walk by the lake, with various kinds of birds/water fowl. Looks like you had great weather. Ours was okay most of the day but now ( evening) it is once again raining.
ReplyDeleteWe were hoping for some rain, but not yet. Pity we can't share the weather!
DeleteThat looks a lovely walk. How far is it to do the whole walk?
ReplyDeleteOfficially it is 3.8 kilometres. I usually walk half and then turn around and return, so have never walked the whole lot in one go.
DeleteThere are so many Pukeko up here but they aren't very smart birds and tend to run in front of cars and trucks, think they're classed as a pest but I think they're pretty.
ReplyDeleteI used to like pukeko with their striking colours, but when we kept ducks they used to eat the ducklings so I stopped liking them so much.
DeleteI love your photo's, your countryside looks much the same as here in England, your birds can be very different. It's just coming into spring here, so seeing the landscape in summer brightens my day.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots of the bird life. Thanks for including these images.
ReplyDeleteHello, love the waterfowl and the pretty view of the lake and path! Beautiful photos. Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy new week!
ReplyDeleteA walk which includes birds is always my favourite.
ReplyDeleteHamilton lake is so pretty. I've spent may a happy day on it's shores, but it has been years since I was there.
ReplyDeleteI would want to visit this place often. What a great variety of birds you saw, with some nice photographs. that first one is a beauty.
ReplyDeleteNice photos of your area birds! :)
ReplyDelete