Wednesday 19 November 2014

A Carrion Crow was having a bath in the Serpentine, following a ritual in which it kept getting out and shaking itself before plunging in again. Maybe this is effective in getting parasites out of its feathers.


 More crows, as well as Magpies, Mistle Thrushes, Blackbirds, Wood Pigeons and Chaffinches, were constantly visiting the rowan tree on Buck Hill, and also this Song Thrush which was enthusiastically eating the berries.


Two of the wandering Jackdaws had turned up at the Round Pond and were looking for worms in the grass.


A Wren was perched on a traffic cone which for some reason is part of the furniture of the Lido restaurant.


A welcome return: a single male Mandarin showed up at Peter Pan. They haven't been seen for some time, and may have been skulking in the bushes on the opposite side of the lake.


I was told that not many Mandarins have been seen on the Regent's Canal, which is their main breeding area.

The two young Great Crested Grebes are spending a lot of time at Peter Pan, mingling with the ducks and swans in the shallow water just offshore. It is hard to see why they like this place, which is certainly no good for fishing. This one got too close to an aggressive Coot which pecked at it.


The male Little Owl was on his usual perch in the pair's nest tree.


And the female Tawny Owl was on her usual branch in the beech tree. But you will see that she has her eyes wide open again, and was about to fly back into her nest hole to evade some Magpies that were cackling at her.


I fear I am bringing trouble to the owls, because Jays follow me around soliciting peanuts, and Magpies follow the Jays trying to steal them, and when they get to the owls' tree they mob the owl. From now on I shall be approaching the tree from the other side to try to avoid this.

2 comments:

  1. Worth a try! Also, that Jackdaw appears to be keeping an eye on you.

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    Replies
    1. Jackdaws are allowed to look at you with their bright eyes. But if you look at them they flee. You have to advance diagonally as if going somewhere else, with the camera in front of your face.

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