Egyptian Geese

Only a few patches of snow in the shadier parts of Kensington Gardens at lunchtime, where the early spring flowers (including a couple of precocious anemones) were looking rather sorry for themselves. A pair of Egyptian Geese were grazing under a tree, far from the Round Pond. These spectacular, prettily marked birds are becoming an increasingly common sight - a beneficiary, perhaps, of the Modern Warm Period (such as it is). I often see one from the train, perched in a poplar tree between Streatham and Balham - an incongruous sight, but these waterfowl nest (like Shelduck) in holes in trees. They have a look of Ancient Egypt about them; indeed they're very similar to the geese in Egyptian wall paintings (as below, the right hand pair).