Sunday 22 May 2016

The Mute Swans on the Long Water have six cygnets, and were taking them out for their first expedition.


But there was no sign of the Canada gosling that was with them.

Blondie the Egyptian Goose, who is now two years old, has had her first family -- there are seven of them.


Unfortunately she is all too prone to those lapses of attention that affect Egyptians. When her mate attacked another bird that had got too close to the family, she went over and joined in, leaving her young unprotected.


The Bar-Headed Goose was on the Serpentine for the second day running. It had been preening, and flapped its very large wings, needed for a bird that breaks altitude records.


The white Mallard was next to it, and copied it.


The Mandarin couple still have one duckling, and were at the bridge with it. The young bird is still not large enough to be out of danger from gulls.


The Great Crested Grebes at the island also only have one chick, as far as I could see. This is probably a good thing, as the supply of small fish is very limited, and its parents will have to work hard to find enough food for even one.


And there is only one chick in the Grey Herons' nest, if you can call this great gawky infant a chick.


The Black Swan is back with his girlfriend, after several days' solitude. They were near Bluebird Boats, and came over to be given digestive biscuits.


The number of House Martins at the Kuwaiti embassy remains steady at a little over 20. I think there are eight nests in the holes in the cornice. This plaster flower, in the middle of the row, seems to have two nests on opposite sides, to judge by the number of birds going in and out.


A Song Thrush was singing near the bridge.


The male Little Owl was at the top of his chestnut tree, in an awkward place for a photograph.

8 comments:

  1. Alas, poor gosling? A picture of family bliss thoroughly undermined. :-(

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  2. The Bar-Headed Goose is the Lockheed U-2 of birds! The poor Mallard cannot compete. Maybe in cuteness he might give the goose a run for his money, though.

    Sad news about the gosling :-( I hope that he may still appear safe and unharmed. On the other hand, I am hearted to see that pretty stripey little baby still alive today.

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    1. Will look out for the gosling tomorrow, but am not hopeful. The park is a dangerous place for baby birds. They do much better on the canals, where there is plenty of cover on the banks and gulls are few.

      There is a small population of feral Bar-Headed Geese in Britain, but the one here is a park bird. It is experienced in wheedling food out of people entranced by its beauty.

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    2. Nature can be harsh. The barn owlets I have been watching went from 6 to 4. The two smallest were 'consumed' by other family members. Luckily I did not see it happen live. But the other four now stand a greater chance of survival I guess. http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/42/Barn_Owls/

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  3. Morning Ralph. I can now enjoy your blog every day with new mobile. Having great fun taking photos of two baby blue tits in that tree outside my window! Will show you photos next time I see you. Erica

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    1. Looking forward to seeing the pictures. I heard some young tits today, I think Great Tits, but couldn't see them.

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  4. Ralph, I love your blogs. I met you yesterday by the female Mandarin with one chick and you said to let you know my blog details and you would take a look. It is twistedclassicsnaturephotography.blogspot.com. I am a relatively new birder, just started getting interested a couple of years ago and I am now fully hooked. I started the blog a few weeks ago and would welcome any comments you may have as to how to make it more interesting. Best wishes, Joan

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    1. Thanks. I looked at your blog and it is excellent. Always more interesting to see what birds do than just to tick species. Have left a comment on the mystery bird, which is a Mandarin drake going into eclipse.

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