Sunday 11 September 2016

The Black Swan was being very aggressive on the Long Water. I arrived just after he had chased the dominant male Mute Swan, and found him swaggering around and doing his peculiar threatening display.


This is quite different from a Mute Swan's threat posture and at first didn't mean anything to the other swans, but now they have learnt to fear it. After this he went over to the adopted cygnet and displayed triumphantly.


Unaffected by all this chasing and posing, the Great Crested Grebes were getting on with the serious task of feeding their chicks.


The broken horse chestnut tree on the west side of the Long Water near the Queen's Temple is a favourite place for Grey Herons.


It's also a dangerous place, as there is a family of foxes underneath. Two herons have died when they swooped down to the ground to catch a rat, and were caught themselves.

The holly tree north of Peter Pan was full of Starlings making a tremendous din. Mostly they stay inside the tree and are more or less invisible, and the noise puzzles passers-by. One of them came out on a twig for a moment.


A flock of Long-Tailed Tits passed through the bushes.


A sunny Sunday had brought a lot of people to the leaf yard to feed the Rose-Ringed Parakeets. Some, rightly fearing being bitten, stick apples on the twigs.


They didn't notice the Little Owl in the chestnut tree a few yards away.


One of the owls near the Albert Memorial was also visible until a Wood Pigeon knocked him off the branch.


Little Owls can win against Stock Doves, but Wood Pigeons are large and surprisingly aggressive.

The Moorhens in the Dell are still making their new nest.


Two of the chicks were on the bank, eating each other's parasites. The original nest seems to have been unusually lousy -- is that why it was abandoned, and all these others have been built?


A Migrant Hawker dragonfly rested for a moment in the reed bed near the bridge.

10 comments:

  1. A heron is quite a good size bird for a fox to bring down, isn't it?

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    1. Herons are very thin and light, even by the standards of birds. Average weight is 3 lb.

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  2. I saw the Migrant Hawker in a quartering flight focussed on the aquatic plants in the SW basin in the Italian gardens. I think they oviposit in/on plant stems, so presuabjmy that was the intention.

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    1. I've seen female Emperors laying eggs there, anyway.

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  3. At last I have posted my great crested grebe photos for you! Not as exciting as yours though. I enjoyed your recent photos of Rainham marshes - interesting to see you had a little grebe shot and other species we are more familiar with up on the coast here in the north-east. You had a busy day! The swallows here are busy congregating on the power cable by the house so it won't be long until they head off and our winter visitors arrive.

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    1. Please will you give the URL? Can't find your blog with a Google search.

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    2. https://coquetnaturelover.blogspot.com
      I dont know why it doesn't appear in search. I think it possibly takes quite a few viewings and regular posts to get listed. Will have to take some advice. What is your URL please? Is it http or https! I'm not great on the technical side.

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    3. Thanks, have found it. Excellent pictures of the grebe family, and indeed the other pictures. My URL works with both http and https, but http is more reliable:
      http://kensingtongardensandhydeparkbirds.blogspot.co.uk/

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  4. Thank you - glad you liked the photos.

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