Sunday 31 July 2016

The young Reed Warblers are now difficult to tell from adults, but have a slight orange tinge to their brown backs.


Also, their plumage is much neater, as the parents are looking tatty after nesting. Both sexes incubate the eggs.

The holly tree near Peter Pan was full of Starlings making such a racket that passers by were staring at the tree wondering what was going on. Nothing in particular was -- they just like this tree.


One of the Little owlets near the Albert Memorial was calling from the top of a horse chestnut.


They are beginning to look like adults, with white spots on their head. It won't be long before their parents throw them out of fend for themselves, as has already happened to the owls in the leaf yard ...

... where the father was back on his favourite branch.


The mass of boats on the Serpentine on a busy Sunday had driven a lot of Egyptian Geese on to the Long Water, where they were occupying the posts near Peter Pan.


Almost all the Canada and Greylag Geese have fully regrown their flight feathers, and many of them were flying around getting used to their new set.


This is the brother of the dark Mallard drake I photographed yesterday, almost identical except for having more white on his front. Both have a white streak behind each eye.


A female Mallard was taking it easy in the willow tree near the bridge.


The Black Swan was at the Diana fountain landing stage, closely following his adopted cygnet. The other swans were giving him a wide berth, as he attacks them if they get too close to the cygnet.


This ladybird on a thistle is one of the invasive Harlequins, in the colour form that makes it look most like a native species. Others are orange or black. A spider has spun a web on the thistle, but the ladybird seemed secure enough walking around on the tips of the spikes.


A honey bee was busy in the marigolds in the wildflower patch behind the Lido.


Red squirrels are seldom seen in the park, and even less often seen texting.

12 comments:

  1. The best photo I have ever seen of a starling - a much underrated bird but you have shown its beautiful plumage very well

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    1. Thank you. But I'm still searching for the perfect shot showing a Starling at its shiniest.

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  2. I wish I could speak starling - it must be a conversational riot.

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    1. I have a feeling that, just as with people, everyone is talking and no one is listening.

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  3. Fantastic capture of the Starling; the Red Squirrel wasn't bad either......

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    1. A bit baffled by the squirrel. There was a charity walk, but he didn't seem to be taking part in it. Anyway, it is still legal to impersonate a squirrel, though probably not for much longer the way things are going.

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    2. Ralph, I know this is a stretch, but could the squirrel guy possibly be promoting the effort to return the native red squirrel to its original range in the UK? I read recently that the New Zealand Goodnature traps were going to be tested in the UK and available for sale to kill in a nontoxic manner the introduced grey squirrels, which have taken over almost all of the range. I don't know if I can post a link here, but I'll give it a try. It links to a Facebook page, so you can only use it if you have Facebook https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=goodnature%20squirrel
      BTW, other than this guy, have you seen any native red squirrels in the parks?

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    3. Sad to say, that's a lost battle. There are no red squirrels in England south of Yorkshire, apart from survivors on islands. The only animal known to eradicate grey squirrels is the pine marten, a charming creature but even worse news for small birds than the grey squirrel.

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  4. Hi Ralph after some advice what to do about an injured brown garden bird I saw yesterday could not fly and looked hungry. It escaped into a garden which i cannot access and the porter is not to helpful. Do you know an sanctuary or similar I can contact or other suggestions so I can help it.

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    1. If you can rescue the bird, try Northgate School, Edgware Community Hospital, where the pupils have a care facility for rescued birds. See their web page here, where there is a contact form.

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  5. Hello! I was the squirrel checking his emails! (Squirrel business is important business!) I was in the park with Cancer Research UK helping marshalling the Race For Life and organising photos at The Albert Memorial! Thanks for taking the great photo and also congratulations on this fantastic site! What a brilliant resource! :) All the best. Rob the squirrel ^..^

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    1. Thanks very much. You're the first squirrel to comment on this blog, though I think at least one of our commenters is a crow. (Obviously BlackBerry keyboards weren't invented for human fingers.)

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