Friendly English Herons

Here are a few more things I saw while birdwatching in Kensington Gardens in London this past summer.

The horses on the carousel had names. One was called Perrin. 

Some of the pigeons were common wood pigeons, Columba palumbus -- big pigeons with bold white neck patches. 

The park's great blue herons, Ardea herodias, were uncharacteristically friendly. At home, I usually see great blue herons hunting alone in marshes, often, like this one, in litter-strewn marshes. Click to enlarge. 

But in Kensington Gardens there were several great blue herons among the hordes of swans, geese, and ducks soliciting handouts of food from passing humans. I had never seen a great blue heron do that before (although I have seen a flock of white ibis go from door to door for snacks in suburban backyards in Florida).