London Exotics

I went hunting in the centre of London for ring (or rose) necked parakeets and then realised I didn’t really need to hunt as they seemed to be everywhere! They originally come from Africa and Southern Asia but were kept as pets in the UK. However many escaped and they are living in the wild and thriving in London. I believe they can be seen in some areas of Glasgow too. They have a distinct squawking call. Here at London Wetland Centre they were making use of nest holes in the visitor centre building.

Also at the wetland centre we saw some very cute short clawed asian otters. These were in their own compound complete with pond, waterfalls and streams. They were quite used to people looking through and over a glass barrier at them.

The male was called Todd and the lighter necked female one was named Honey. I think this next photograph is of Todd.

(The above photos are courtesy of David Thurlbeck as thanks to having a sore shoulder I didn’t have my big lens in London with me. )

Hardly wild then, but I did see an otter in the wild in the River Tyne at Haddington last week. Previously when I have been wandering around the river with my big lens I’ve been asked if I’ve been photographing otters. But I had never even seen one on the river, let alone captured it on camera. Of course when I did get my first sighting of one I only had my medium lens with me. Nevertheless, here is the evidence … the Haddington otters really do exist!

Now that I’ve seen the parakeets in London I’ll need to try and see where they hang out in Glasgow. It seems they do well in big cities. I’m more of a country lover myself.