Sunday 24 July 2016

A young Chaffinch was calling for food in a tree near the Round Pond.


Its father found a grub for it.


A Treecreeper was climbing the next tree. This isn't a good picture because it was in deep shade, but it's the first time I've ever photographed a Treecreeper looking straight at me. It didn't seem to be worried, and went on looking for insects.


One of the young Grey Herons was also climbing. It had got up inside the dead willow tree near the Italian Garden and was having some difficulty in getting out. Birds, like motorcycles, don't have a reverse gear.


Charlie and Melissa the Carrion Crows were looking for grubs on Buck Hill. Charlie found one.


A Wood Pigeon was eating unripe elderberries in the leaf yard.


There was a good view of both the Little owlets from the nest near the Albert Memorial.



In the Italian Garden pond, one of the Moorhen chicks was already playing the Moorhen game of balancing on the top edge of the netting. It is just beginning to grow some feathers on its little wings, but you can still see their structure. Birds have two fingers, fused together, to carry their primary flight feathers, and a thumb which carries the alula, a little flat bunch of feathers at the leading edge of the wing which acts as a slot to smooth airflow when flying slowly.


One of the family of nine Greylag goslings on the Serpentine was flapping its wings. The flight feathers are emerging from their wrappings, and you can also see the alula, with its feathers still completely wrapped up.


We haven't seen these two Canada-Greylag hybrids since April. They were on the edge of the terrace at the Dell restaurant.


They are the survivors of a brood of four that has been visiting the lake on and off for at least five years.

This Mallard on the Serpentine still has six ducklings left from an original eight. Their mother was recklessly leading them across the middle of the lake under the circling Herring Gulls.

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