Wednesday 19 October 2016

You might suppose that these two Cormorants near the island where having a dispute about who would sit on the post. But instead, one of them was politely asking the other to go fishing with it. They both jumped down into the water and swam off side by side.


A young Moorhen had climbed to the top of the plants in a floating raft and was eating the seeds.


The formerly white Mallard, now a warm cream colour, had been going around with his mate and another drake. These ménages à trois are quite usual for ducks -- understandable when you consider that there are usually more males than females.


This Black-Headed Gull has the Dutch ring code EE5T. I've written to the ringer and will pass on any history if it's interesting.


There was a lot of activity in the rowan trees on Buck Hill. A Magpie was occupying one of them and not letting any smaller birds into it.


The next tree had a noisy flock of Starlings in it.


And a Blackbird was also enjoying the berries.


A short way down the hill, another Blackbird was eating blackberries from a bramble growing up an oak tree.


The same tree also had a Treecreeper picking grubs out of the deeply fissured bark.


On the other side of the Long Water, some Rose-Ringed Parakeets were browsing in a cotoneaster bush.


A Jackdaw in the Diana fountain enclosure had found a horse chestnut seed and was pecking it open. I hope it found it unpalatable, as the seeds are moderately toxic to most species.


A Wren was looking for insects on the edge of the reed bed near the bridge.

10 comments:

  1. That Cormorant picture is amusing!
    Sorry to point out but the labels for the Black-headed Gull and Magpie are the wrong way round.
    Any news about the Black Swan, or is it gone for good?

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    1. Thanks for pointing that out. Have swapped the pictures round.

      Possible news of Black Swan in the comment below.

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  2. A friend of mine was rowing on the Thames at Hurst Park near Molesey recently. She saw a Black Swan for the first time. Perhaps that was our friend.

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    1. Thanks for the information. It seems likely, considering the previous sighting of a Black Swan at Barn Elms, a few miles downstream.

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    2. Is there any way to make him come home? I miss him so badly it's not even funny.

      Wonderful pictures of the gentlemanly Cormorans. Makes one think how little we truly know of birds' thoughts and characters.

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    3. I don't think a trip up the Thames with a packet of digestive biscuits is likely to succeed. If he wants to come back, he will. It is possible that he left because he lost the fight against the dominant Mute Swans on the Long Water. He will be seeing more Mute Swans on the upper Thames, and they may push him out again.

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  3. I've seen the deer at Clissold Park eat conkers with great appetite- hope they're the exception. I also seem to remember collecting them as a child , as feed for deer. Or was that boars?

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    1. Perhaps they are tolerable in a mixed diet. I've also seen the grey squirrels in the park carrying them. The seeds contain alkaloid saponins and glucosides, and -- contrary to the name -- are poisonous to horses, giving them tremors and lack of coordination.

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  4. Perhaps a field trip to his new haunts with a digestive biscuit or two would remind our black swan of the attractions over here!

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    1. It would be a long and difficult quest. I'd rather wait and see if he decides to come back.

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