Friday 22 April 2016

These are the first House Martins I've seen on the Serpentine this year, although someone else spotted a couple a few days ago.


There were also a few Swifts.

A Grey Wagtail perched on a post near the Lido with a beak full of insects to feed its young. The nest may be in a hole in the stonework of one of the piers of the bridge.


How do they manage to catch more insects while holding so many? They must clamp the incects down with their tongue, but even so it's a remarkable feat.

As often on cloudy weekdays when there are few people in the park, half a dozen Pied Wagtails were running around the south edge of the Serpentine and the nearby grass.


This Nuthatch in the leaf yard came down to take food from my hand.


There was also a Blackcap singing from the top of a tree.


The Little Owl in the oak tree is so well camouflaged on his lower perch that I nearly missed him. He stared at me severely.


But the Little Owl in the lime tree was fast asleep.


The Great Crested Grebes across the water from Pater Pan have definitely settled into their new nest, which I think was a Coots' nest originally. They have pulled off some of the twigs to make it lower and easier to climb on to.


A Coot was hauling a large stick to a nest foolishly placed in the open on the edge of the Serpentine. But it will probably soon forget about this doomed venture.


The Black Swan was with his girlfriend under the platform of the Dell Restaurant, shooing a Mute Swan out of their way.


The two male Tufted Ducks who are obsessed with a female Mallard at the Vista were chasing each other away from her. But when a Mallard drake came too near, they foirgot their quarrel and chased it away.

8 comments:

  1. I feel like Spring has begun when the first Swifts and Swallows have arrived, especially the Swifts.
    The severe look on the Little Owl's face almost looks like it's having a conversation with you!

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    1. That owl is fairly tolerant of being photographed now, and may even find it mildly interesting.

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    2. The face of 'it's you again!'

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  2. Grey wagtails' extraordinary capacity for juggling insects in their beaks always impresses me.

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    1. Don't suppose anyone has managed to film one in the act of grabbing an insect while holding a dozen.

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  3. Coots will be coots, it seems. They can't help it. But they are so fun to watch!

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    1. With a slight feeling of regret at all that wasted effort.

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  4. What's in the water? Perfectly wild tufties getting jealous of a female of a different duck subfamily, no less. Wonder if she will seek out a gang of mallard drakes when her time is right. Jim n.L.

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