Victoria Park Lakes and a few birds

Victoria Park Lake People #3
pencil and coloured pencils in Derwent Safari sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Last Wednesday it was blue skies and warm (i.e. above freezing) so I went for a long afternoon walk and repeated the walk I did on 8th January - as recorded in The coldest snap for 20 years

I had my new alpaca 'fingerless gloves with mitts extension' on and have discovered that I can get my smallest Muji pencil case into the zip pocket of my Rohan fleece. So with my Derwent sketchbook tucked up the sleeve of my jacket I went for a bag-free walk. Well that's not counting the camera bag!

I discovered a sign in the eastern park of Victoria Park which says what I've been calling a pond is actually a lake according to the Victoria Park Anglers Alliance (VPAA) - which is a biodiversity oriented voluntary community group. What's nice is they've got quite a decent website which tells me (and you) a it more about each lake.

The East Lake bit of the website indicates where it is and has some photo albums which explain the work they've done to rehabilitate the lake.

The lake is stocked with Tench, Rudd, Roach, Crucian Carp & Perch- mostly small fish with the aim of getting more bites (in contrast to the West lake).

The West Lake has quite a history and this album has historical photographs of the lake dating back to the Victorian era when there was a pagoda. I wonder if they built it around about the same time that Kew acquired its pagoda? I think the Pavilion Cafe must be where the West Lake boat house used to be.

I had my cappuccino at the Pavilion Cafe half way through the walk and sketched more of the Lake Side People - and a dog!

Birding

I'm really getting into this birding thing. I've now taken to photographing everything that moves especially if I've not seen it before and don't know what it is! Besides mute swans, greylag geese, mallards, coots and moorhens I got:

• a male ( and female I think) shoveler (my photo)
• a black headed gull in winter plumage (my photo)
• a male and female pochard (my photo) and
  
• a male and female tufted duck (my photo)

Plus the really good news is that I was right first time and there are moor hens in my "Moor Hen Pond" at the Ecology Park - so no need to change the map - phew!

You can see photos from the walk in:

• Birds in London set
• Ecology Park Pond set
  

Guess who's started drawing birds? I'm very tempted to start a series of drawings of coots.