Thursday 7 July 2016

There is a third brood of Mandarins. The mother and five ducklings appeared at the Vista, and then on the Serpentine just beyond the bridge.


The family met the Mallard with two ducklings. The parents left each other in peace, but one of the Mallard ducklings started pushing the little Mandarins around.


There is a second Great Crested Grebe nest on the Long Water, just south of Peter Pan and on the same side of the lake. It can only be seen from the other side, by standing next to Rudolf Steiner's bench.


The single grebe chick on the Serpentine was completely unworried by a near miss from a pedalo. It has grown up with these big blue clanking things and they are just part of the scenery.


The young Grey Heron from the lower nest on the island appeared on the shore below.


Shortly after I took this picture it was attacked by one of the parents from the other nest, and flew off.

The very aggressive male Mute Swan on the Serpentine near the bridge attacked another for no apparent reason. The victim escaped by swimming under water for several yards.


The Black Swan was out of sight somewhere, though he had been seen earlier this morning.

The eldest of the Canada goslings in the mixed brood is now looking very adult. Behind it are, from left to right, a younger Canada, one of the parents, and one of the adopted Greylags, whose species is now unmistakable.


A Coot was trying to feed bits of banana peel to its chicks. They didn't like it.


This young Starling had scavenged a piece of lettuce from a table at the Dell restaurant. This too was rejected. I have noticed that birds don't like salad dressing.


This is how to feed a Rose-Ringed Parakeet without getting bitten.


A family of Long-Tailed Tits flew across the west side of the Vista. Here is one of the young ones.


Only one Little Owl was visible in the chestnut tree, the female.

9 comments:

  1. That near-miss with the pedalo makes me wonder: are those things a serious danger to waterfowl? I hope they're not.

    That Mute Swan is beastly. You can almost feel the power of its onslaught in the picture.

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    1. No, I don't think they're dangerous. They're slow and noisy, and even the smallest ducklings can get out of the way as they approach. The people who operate the powerboats seem to be well aware of birds and steer out of their way.

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  2. Is one young heron presumed lost to Cain and Abel behaviour? Jim n.L.

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    1. Unsure whether there are still three. They seem to spend a lot of time hanging around invisibly on the island. This one is from the nest that had a single chick.

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  3. I really enjoy your blog and in fact you have inspired me to start my own! When I'm in London, I always take a trip to see if I can spot the birds you love. It was a great joy to see the young grebe with his devoted parents! Thank you.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words. What is the URL of your blog?

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  4. https://coquetnaturelover.blogspot.com
    I'm not too good on the technical side but read it was best to use https as it is encrypted so ticked the box! My blog is hard to find but I guess I need to be patient and post regularly. I am just an amateur with a lot to learn. I enjoy nature and photography so I am trying to combine the two in the blog. I hope we may see more baby grebes and your herons are magnificent!

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  5. Thanks. I look forward to my next visit to the park.

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