The Little Owl in the oak tree near the Albert Memorial is used to being photographed, and just stared curiously out of his hole.
A young Mute Swan on the Serpentine attacked the sole surviving Egyptian Goose chick. One is used to swans being aggressive, but this seemed uncalled for. Its parents took it on to the land to get out of the way of the angry bird.
The Black Swan had decided to spend Valentine's day with with girlfriend number one.
The nesting Egyptian Goose near the Round Pond whom Virginia photographed yesterday was not doing anything when we passed, but stared at us out of her tree.
Virginia must have waited for a long time for her fine picture, and got it at just the right moment. Patience and speed are the keys to good wildlife photographs, along with plain luck.
There are several odd-looking Mallards on the lake, and Jorgen drew my attention to this drake, which today was resting in the willow tree near the bridge. It has brown feathers on the sides of its green head, no white neck ring, and a patchy yellow and brown bill. I thought it might be an immature drake, but I'm far from sure of that.
A pair of Rose-Ringed Parakeets were exploring a possible nest site in a crack in a tree next to the Albert Memorial owls' tree.
A Treecreeper was superbly camouflaged on a tree near Peter Pan.
Sometimes when you approach them too closely, instead of fleeing they freeze, and become almost invisible.
Many Robins came out to be fed. This one was waiting impatiently for the photography to stop and the feeding to begin.
So was a Coal Tit in the leaf yard.
There are rather a lot of Coal Tits on this blog, but I can't resist photographing these charming tiny birds.
There can never be too many pictures of Coal Tits!
ReplyDeleteThat's distressing behaviour on the Swan's part. I've seen a video of a Swan attacking out of the blue a baby Canada Goose (which was fortunately saved by a very determined adult). I know they do it - I just cannot find an explanation for it.
They attack just about everyone smaller than them, I suppose. They often go for adult ducks and geese, But one feels that babies ought to be off limits.
DeleteThis afternoon we saw the Little Owl perched out near the nest hole in the tree near the leaf store, until a dog walker came along and he went back inside. We also briefly saw a Firecrest just inside the leaf store fence, along with Goldcrest, Treecreeper and Nuthatch.
ReplyDeletePhil Aylen wrote:
ReplyDelete'This afternoon we saw the Little Owl perched out near the nest hole in the tree near the leaf store, until a dog walker came along and he went back inside. We also briefly saw a Firecrest just inside the leaf store fence, along with Goldcrest, Treecreeper and Nuthatch.'
But for some reason the comment never turned up on the blog, and could only be seen in my Gmail inbox.
Amazing to see a Firecrest. We had one sighting, disputed by some, late last year. Hope it shows up again. If it was travelling with a flock of Long-Tailed Tits it would be hard to find again.
I commented from my phone, so maybe that did something with the comment.
DeleteWe were lucky enough to locate and photograph the Firecrest in Tower Hamlets Cemetery last weekend, so we weren't expecting to be lucky enough to see another one today.
I was photographing the various tits coming down to feed from somebody's hand when my girlfriend excitedly called me over for the Firecrest. I only saw it briefly because it was very mobile and I didn't manage to get a photo, but it came right out into the sunshine for a moment. I assume it was a male because the crest was fanned open, which I've never seen before. It was in the south-west corner of the yard, just a short distance from the feeders.
We waited about 45 minutes to see if it would return, with no luck, but there was a Goldcrest and a Treecreeper that both stayed around while we were there. Hopefully the Firecrest will return - it seems like it might be a good winter for them, judging by the other reports I've read.
Also, it didn't appear to be associating closely with any other birds that were around. The Long-tailed Tits were at the other side towards the Peter Pan statue at the time.
DeleteThanks for the extra information. Will keep a close watch on the place. It will probably favour the yew bush at the top of the slope.
DeleteThese comments came through fine. I don't think it was your phone, just a random glitch.
Thank you very much for your time today Ralph. I had a great day. It was a pleasure to meet you and to hear about the park and it's history, both natural and cultural. I will be posting a blog soon and will link you in it.
ReplyDeleteThanks again.
Marc.
Always a pleasure to show people round the park. Look forward to seeing the blog post.
DeleteInteresting as usual. So are there 2 or 3 pairs of little owls in the park? Is it easy to find the oak tree near the memorial?
ReplyDeleteAlso any news on the Tawny owls? I hope to go to the park on Friday.
Walk north from the Albert Memorial on the path towards the Physical Energy statue. When you get to the bicycle path (now closed for the addition of obstacles), turn left along it. Walk 50 yards to the crossing of the next footpath. On the near left corner of the crossing is an oak tree. Look to your left for the nearest plane tree -- there is only one here. Between these two trees is another oak tree. This has the Little Owls' hole in it. To see it, stand near the plane tree and look for a thick branch coming out of the right of the oak about 30 feet up, with a big round hole in it.
DeleteNo further news on the Tawny Owls. As soon as there's anything it will be on the blog, of course.
Thank you for the reply, hopefully I will find it and good luck with the Tawnys.
DeleteNot only does your little owl sit nicely for photos, it even has the courtesy to open its eyes for your lens. What's your secret Ralph?
ReplyDeleteThere must have been a hundred Egyptian geese on the lawns north side of the Serpentine today (Monday). A mass movement?
I speak to it kindly.
Delete2015 was the first year the Egyptians went over 100. I counted 103 in December. That's from just two twelve years ago, though those two have never managed to raise young, and the increase is due to later arrivals.