Thursday, August 21, 2008

Theme thursday...

...wings


Trafalgar Square used to be full of pigeons. And hence full of wings and feathers and little scraggy pigeon feet.

The square was also full of people feeding pigeons. And people taking photos of people feeding pigeons. And people covered with pigeons. And people selling food for feeding pigeons. And therefore full of pigeon shit.

Our previous Mayor of London put a stop to all that featheryshitty nonsense and the Square is now cleaner and altogether more enjoyable.

However London is still full of pigeons, they hang out anywhere they can, and they are quick to clean up any edible messes left behind, as here at a cafe in St. James' Park

swoop1


St. James' Park is also awash with gulls
splash

ducks and geese
swoosh

swans



and pelicans





(and of course with people feeding pigeons (and gulls and ducks and swans and pelicans). And people taking photos of people feeding pigeons (and gulls and ducks and swans and pelicans). And people covered with pigeons (and sometimes with gulls. Not with ducks, swans or pelicans. At least not that i've seen) (but sometimes with squirrels). And people selling food for feeding pigeons (and gulls and ducks and swans and pelicans). And therefore full of pigeon shit (& etc. etc.)


But its altogether different in a green and leafy park.

14 comments:

Queenie said...

Defiantly better in a leafy park. I don't care how lucky people say it is, its not cool when you get pigeon shit on your head!!!

I've never seen a pelican in the UK, are they common here?

Coffee Messiah said...

Wings are everywhere, there's just no escaping them. ; )

Squirrel said...

It's very difficult to pique~nique at Nyack Parks dues to gulls getting in your face rudely demanding food.

Still I love birds and even their scraggy feet. I could never keep one in a cage though. Wings are for flight.

Lynne said...

What a difference a little green makes in one's mindset, heh? I would like to see someone covered in pelicans ... or swans ...

tut-tut said...

Love the grey ones; like souls being released.

mouse (aka kimy) said...

i know people don't like them and they are such a mess, but I'm very, very happy to have visited trafalgar square when there were pigeon covered people and waves of pigeons taking flight....

love these pics - you were able to capture so much movement!!

Betty said...

Great photos!
Don't you just love those pelicans?
They look as though they're having a really intellectual conversation.

PS I've had cowshit on my head. After that, birdshit is a little less awful ;D

goatman said...

They should bring in some hawks to introduce a bit of natural selection.
Most of the seven homing pigeons I took through last winter were gotten by hawks or owls in the spring here in the countryside. Every once in awhile one survivor pigeon will show up from hiding and surprise me.
I guess its a matter of quantity.

Shammickite said...

I have pics of my boys covered in Trafalgar Square pigeons from years ago.... and some of me too when I was a young teenager on my first exciting trip to the big City of London. Didn't see any pelicans though. Pelican sh*t must be pretty foul.... all those fish they eat, y'know.

Reya Mellicker said...

Oh! You're blogging again.

YAY!!!!

Love the pics. I've been finding pidgeon feathers everywhere. I think they shed at this time of year. That or there have been some serious pidgeon battles ongoing in DC. Or both?

IntangibleArts said...

Nice one.
But nae marabou storks aboot?

taco said...

pigeon pie

Barbara said...

I especially like the picture of the pelicans. It's as though they posed for you.

lettuce said...

Queenie i've only ever seen them here in zoos/wildlife parks, and in St. James' Park.... so would guess they're not indigenous

s'true coffee messiah

well oddly enough, squirrel, in london parks its sometimes the squirrels who rudely demand food....
the little scraggy feet are v. often sadly deformed and damaged from traffic and lime on window sills :-(

its a funny thought lynne. tho i'm sure the reality wouldn't be funny at all!

tut-tut it was after doing this post that i too thought about wings and souls

lamalu i was shat on once by a seagull in Jersey. That was truly disgusting

kim it was certainly atmospheric and actually i wasn't too pleased when i heard of the anti-pigeon campaign, but i think it really is much nicer there now

betty. Cowshit. On your head. i think we're missing some information here....
(i think they were discussing lunch)

goatman, there are some hawks in london, they're thriving in some of the tallest rooftop gardens. Homing pigeons seem just extraordinary. It must be sad to lose them.

it must indeed be foul, shammie. and i think thats enough thinking about bird shit for now. :os

reya! yay!
do they shed? i've no idea. we get cat-attack feathers in our garden sometimes

marabou stork? now they'd clear up trafalgar square, i believe they'll eat anything

taco - yum

barbara, they are particularly posey birds
;-)