Friday 2 October 2015

The Shovellers come and go mysteriously. They must be migrating through here to somewhere else, perhaps the Wetland Centre in Barnes or a reservoir in the western suburbs. For a few days there has been just one on the Long Water, a drake still regrowing his breeding plumage. Here he is having a vigorous wash.


He finished it off with a furious flap, displaying his iridescent green secondary feathers.


A little flight of Mallards -- three drakes chasing a female -- came down on a pond in the Italian Garden.


The Great Crested Grebe family from the fallen poplar went under the bridge and on to the Serpentine, where their parents were busy feeding them.


To get here they had to go through the territory of the pair of grebes near the bridge, and I heard angry cries as I went up to take this picture from the parapet.

One of the teenage grebes on the Long Water had caught a fish for itself under the balustrade of the Italian Garden.


But they are not yet skilled enough to catch all their food, and are still begging from their parents.

The Egyptians at the Lido have lost four of their brood since yesterday, probably to Herring Gulls. Just one is left, the blond one. It will be lucky to survive.


One of the Grey Herons likes to perch in the top of a small willow tree near the Triangle car park. This would be no use as a fishing strategy, and it's a long way from a thicket where there might be rats, so evidently it is looking out for humans with bags that might contain food.


After yesterday's display of affection, the Little Owls were in separate trees. This is the female on last year's nest tree ...


... and here is the male on this year's tree.


But they were calling to each other in a companionable way from time to time.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Ralph

    Shovelers are definitely arriving - in the past three days the wintering flock in Regent's Park has doubled to its normal size of ca. 20 birds. With them today was a pair of Wigeon - unusual here (although the same or another pair was present for a couple of days in mid-September).

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    1. Thanks for the information. We had a growing flock, and then suddenly they all went away except this one.

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