Pelicans In London
It has been very sunny recently I so fancied heading out into central London to experience something new. A quick search for recommendations suggested something that I’d not even thought possible, and I’ve lived in London for a number of years. A quick trip out on the Tube had us at Westminster station, and this is only a short walk from St. James’s Park
St. James’s Park
St. James’s Park is one of the lesser-known of the big central London parks. It is next to Green Park and only a short walk to Hyde Park. With two other large parks in such close proximity, it tends not to get as busy. It is bigger than Green Park but no-where near as big as Hyde Park.
Unlike Green Park it does have a lake and it is this lake that is helping us enjoy one of the many free things to do in London. The lake is unimaginatively called ‘St. James’s Park Lake’ (not as cool a name as ‘The Serpentine’!) and not far from Duck Island Cottage on the east side of the park we find the special guests.
Pelicans
I couldn’t believe it when I read about it – there are Pelicans in London. After the short walk from Westminster tube station we entered the park and were soon able to see them. I counted 3 Pelicans chilling out on some rocks in the lake. It turns out that the Pelicans started as a gift from the Russian Ambassador back in 1664 and this has been continued since then. The current inhabitants are Louis, Vaclav and Gargi and you can watch them be fed between 2.30pm-3pm every day. We didn’t make it for feeding time but I’m sure we’ll be back.
Birds A-Plenty
I also saw a Heron quite close up. Being a lake and a park meant that there were plenty of other birds around such as ducks and pigeons however seeing a Heron close up was quite a treat! The other special moment was when some parent ducks took their duckling out for a walk in front of the crowd – perhaps they thought it was a zoo for humans with so many people in one place!
Video
I recorded some video of the Pelicans and the other birds I saw. I hope you enjoy it!
My son who teaches in London told me that one of the pelicans was catching and eating pigeons which upset some of the park lovers.
Hi Anne,
It probably would upset some people! I didn’t see any Pelicans eating pigeons while I was there – might have put me off my lunch!
Thanks,
The Reverend