Sunday 23 October 2016

One of the Little Owls near the Albert Memorial was calling from an oak tree.


There was no sign of the pair near the leaf yard. The leaves are thinning on the chestnut trees, so probably they will soon be spending their days inside the yard where there is better cover, but it's almost impossible to get a picture.

In the leaf yard, the pair of Nuthatches are still putting on a good show.


A Coal Tit looked around very carefully before coming down for food.


They are so tiny that even Blue Tits shove them out of the way.

There was a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the leaf yard. There was a branch in the way when I tried to photograph it, but Tom was well placed to get this good picture.


Tom also found a Redwing in Hyde Park just across the West Carriage Drive from Buck Hill. Probably this is the first to be photographed in the park this season.


A Goldcrest was calling near Queen's Gate, and just managed to get a dim picture of it hopping around in the dark interior of a bush.


There was a female Gadwall on the Long Water, the first seen for some time. They come and go apparently at random, and I think our small population is shared with Buckingham Palace Gardens, where nest boxes have been built for them.  They have never bred in the park, as far as I know.


This Canada Goose has a white ring round each eye that make it look as if it were wearing spectacles. There is a fair amount of variation in the head pattern of these geese.


The Mute Swan that keeps turning up in the Lido restaurant was there again.


I thought it was being chased ashore by another swan, but this is the third time that it has visited and now I think it's actually going there by choice to try to get food from the visitors.

The young Grey Heron at the Dell restaurant had won a dry bit of pizza crust and was dunking it to make it easier to swallow.


A Herring Gull was carrying a leaf, and another was chasing it to steal this worthless object. There are lots of dead leaves to pick up, but it's the thrill of stealing that appeals to these birds.


A Lesser Black-Backed Gull's yellow bill and feet blended harmoniously with the dead leaves at the Lido restaurant. By the way, this is not the pigeon killer, whose legs are brighter yellow. He also has a circle of little black dots on the iris of each eye.

4 comments:

  1. Hello, Ralph

    Have you ever seen a swan windsurfing? Mute Swans, reportedly, can use their wings as sails.

    Regards,
    Justyna C.

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    Replies
    1. No, I've never seen this. It sounds a bit improbable, doesn't it?

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  2. Poor lovely Coal Tit... it really is something that a Blue Tit should get the upper hand on you.

    The colours in the Redwing are in perfect harmony with its surroundings. Wonderful picture.

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    1. Blue Tits are not dominated by Great Tits. They fight above their weight. But Coal Tits are so small that every time one checks the surroundings carefully and hurries over to land on my hand I am amazed that they can pack so much awareness into their tiny heads.

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