9.
a Hare, quite close up too, its black tipped
ears and long, powerful looking back legs
distinguishing it from a rabbit, perhaps
driven into the woods by bad weather.
On Connaught Waters, just over the
Jubilee Ride from Bury Wood, apart from the
usual Mallard (their numbers swelled to 130+
by some from St. Johns Pond, Buckhurst Hill),
I noted Coot, Moorhen and Black-headed gulls,
male Pochard, three male and one female
Tufted ducks and, most interestingly, six
male Mandarins and one female, and a single
male Carolina wood duck, the latter probably
an escape from a wildfowl collection. The
Pochard and a pair of Canada geese which have
been on the lake intermittently for several
years were present until 19th January 1978
when the lake froze over.
Many times I returned home from Connaught
Waters by way of Queen Elizabeth's Hunting
Lodge and here were Meadow Pipit, Skylark,
Yellowhammer and even a male Reed Bunting.
Towards Whitehall Plain on one occasion I
came across a flock of mixed finches, mostly
linnets, including what appeared to be slim,
flecked Greenfinches but which I think were
probably Siskins. Whilst walking down one of
the rides in the late afternoon I was sur-
prised to see a pair of Tawny Owls hunting.
Perhaps the cold weather was forcing them to
hunt earlier in the evening.
My final observation is on Lords Bushes,
Buckhurst Hill. This piece of woodland is
now very open since it was largely destroyed
by fire the year before last and this winter
it attracted a large flock of Redpolls which
stayed for two or three days to feed. I also
noted a Great Spotted Woodpecker and several
Nuthatches.