A day on the Thames

Had a wait and return job to Egham today,just a mile or so from the Thames so i decided to take the bins & camera and head down to the capitals river in leafy Berkshire.Firstly,the people in Berkshire are not as friendly as those in Essex,fact.You say hello to someone while walking in the tranquil Essex countryside and unless they are deaf they usually say hello back.You say hello to someone in leafy tranquil Berkshire and they look at you like you are from another planet.....And when did Windsor become full of drunks,Crackheads and feral youths?? Thought good old liz lived there with her corgis in tow,today it seemed full of drunks swigging Special Brew standing on the banks of the thames looking threatening.

Then we had around 50 chinese tourists,feeding the ducks while the ducks looked on with some despair,probably wondering if they were heading onto the menu at the Windsor bamboo house Restaurant for tonight,pancakes et al.Then to top it off,a pair of Mandarin Ducks burst onto the scene causing howels of delight from the Chinese,i bet they thought they were on the banks of the Yangtze for a brief moment,bless!!!

Had a couple of Grey Wagtail on the bank,along with plenty of Cormorants,Swans,Canada geese,Great Crested grebes etc etc  
I went to Staines Reservoir after in what was a pointless trip as all the birds were way off the walkway and i didn't have my scope so i buggered off after a while for lunch,i could however make out 2 little grebe,gulls,cormorants,tufted ducks and pochards,everything else was dots dots dots.
I went back to the Thames after lunch,a bit nearer to Egham this time,not much happening,had Great Crested Grebes,4 Egyptian geese,swans,canadas and a couple of raptors in the guise of Red Kite and Common Buzzard,both of which were distant,hence poor photos

I got back to Upminster around 4.30pm,just enough time for a quick walk around Broadfield Farm,too late to take any photos but i did manage 4 Lesser Redpolls in a bush,Green Woodpecker,Jays,tits and a few finches,well worth a quick visit and i will be back for a mamooth dawn to dusk session tomorrow!!!