Tuesday 16 June 2015

The Moorhens in the reed rafts at the east end of the Serpentine, which have chicks, were aproached too closely by a Coot. One of them jumped off the fence on to it ...


... and a furious fight ensued, which lasted several minutes.


Eventually the Coot had had enough, and fled.

Two male Song Thrushes were also disputing territory near the bridge. One of them has at least one fledgeling, seen here about to eat a large worm.


But there was only a brief flurry between the two adults, and then they settled down to a singing duel in adjacent trees.

Two Jackdaws were also on the bridge, prospecting for insects in the moss.


At the other end of the bridge, workmen were busy jet washing the moss off. I thought the bridge looked better with a bit of moss and lichen on it, and the birds would agree.

A female Black-Tailed Skimmer dragonfly perched on the railing at the end of the bridge.


The peculiar orange object in the background is a roll of webbing.

The young fish in the lake are a little more than an inch long -- just the right size to feed baby Great Crested Grebes, and I dare say we shall see more nests soon in addition to the two on the Serpentine. At Peter Pan, a Heron had caught a small fish, hardly worth bothering with for a big hungry bird.


One of the Hobbies could be seen in a plane tree near the Physical Energy statue.


Underneath, a Carrion Crow was sunbathing.


When people see a bird in this curious attitude, they tend to think it's sick or injured, but it is all part of a bird's routine for getting rid of parasites.

The male Little Owl reappeared in the chestnut tree where they nested last year, just down the hill from this year's nest tree.

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