Tuesday 20 October 2015

This Black-Headed Gull on the Serpentine is a visitor from Lithuania. Its ring number is HA11.951. Of course I have reported this to Euring, the European bird ringing association.


More Common Gulls are returning. There are at least a dozen in the park now, and they can be seen on both lakes and the Round Pond. Here is one knocking another off a buoy on the Round Pond.


Also at the Round Pond, it was impossible to see how many of the young Egyptian Geese had survived the night, as they were huddled under their mother. You can see two in this picture.


Update: Virginia Grey found all six today.

The Black Swan is still on the Serpentine near the Dell restaurant. When the little girl held out a dead leaf the swan, thinking it was being offered food, took a snap at it. You can see that it is a park bird -- though so far there is no sign that one of the other London parks has lost it, as they would have sent someone to catch it and bring it back.


One of the young Great Crested Grebes on the Long Water was bathing, flapping furiously.


So was a Carrion Crow on the edge of the Serpentine.


A pair of Shovellers were revolving around each other at the bridge, shovelling in each other's wake.


Both Little Owls were visible today. The female was high up in this year's nest tree, rather difficult to see among the leaves ...


... and the male was in his favourite place in this year's nest tree. He was dozing but woke up when a squirrel annoyed him by coming up his branch.


Update: David Element was there during the incident, and sent this splendid photograph. The owl is fluffing up his feathers to look as big as possible. It seems to have had the desired effect on the squirrel.

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