I went to Stratford twice today – early this morning for a hospital appointment, and then again after lunch, when I had a sudden rush of blood to the head and decided to go shopping for jeans and jumpers. The less said about either of these adventures the better, but at least the morning visit got me a (slightly damp) walk along the riverside, and a few nice birds.
It’s not unusual to see Moorhens in Stratford, but they’re almost always hanging around the islands or reed beds in the river. It is unusual to see one out on the bank like this, and what’s more, mixing quite robustly with a small flock of feral Pigeons that were scouring the ground for morsels of food. I was even more surprised when it allowed me to walk past at close quarters, because in my experience Moorhens are generally quite fearful of humans. This one though, appeared to have almost too much courage, and I hope its nerves of steel don’t wind up leading it into danger.
