Monday 10 April 2017

The Little Owl near the leaf yard was looking out of his hole, and I was just about to take some pictures when a Wood Pigeon, which had evidently not seen him, blundered past. The owl retreated into his hole.


But a few minutes later he stuck his head out, had a careful look around ...


... and came out.


The Coots nesting on the basket have four eggs. Here a parent turns them over.


They are no longer bothered by Cormorants fishing around the nest. Would a Cormorant eat a Coot chick? Probably.


Virginia reports that a pair of Coots at the east end of the Serpentine have four or five chicks. I didn't see them myself.

The Mute Swans nesting on the raft gazed proudly at their football.


It would have been fascinating to see a swan dribbling this down the lake.

At the other end of the Serpentine, a pair of swans fled from the local bullying male past a fire engine with an appropriate notice.


The Egyptian Goose family on the Long Water were on the bank below the Henry Moore sculpture.


Blondie took her brood on to the Serpentine when an irresponsible dog owner went by with two dogs off the leash.


A pair of Robins were flirting about in a tree beside the Long Water.


In an ideal world, that branch would not have been in front of them.

A Mistle Thrush sang in the top of a tall plane tree near the Serpentine Gallery.


A Blackbird wasn't doing anything but looking elegant.


A Blue Tit posed prettily on some blossom.


A Jay got a peanut and looked pleased with itself.

8 comments:

  1. Great pic of the fleeing Mute Swans :)
    In the right place at the right time!

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    1. Didn't know what the sign said when I took the picture. Some things just happen.

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  2. I think I've guffawed no less than three times while reading this. Great entry, wonderful pictures. What would we do without Ralph?

    Any theory about the purpose of the Swans' football? They gaze so fondly at it, one is tempted to believe they are soccer fans.

    Speaking of Swans, I just found this hilarious short youtube clip:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMHMC8nyRNY&feature=youtu.be

    Proof, if more proof were needed, that birds can read. They just choose not to let us on in the secret.

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    1. Lovely clip. If anyone put a red plastic collar on me, I'd behave the same way.

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    2. There are three Horse Chestnut trees at the entrance to Kensington Gardens at the south west corner of the bridge and while the two outer ones are thriving the middle one is struggling – its leaves are drooping and its blossoms stunted. The middle one was the one I saw being stripped of its new growth a few weeks ago by a mob of rose ringed parakeets. It will be interesting to see what happens to it through the year

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    3. The Horse Chestnuts are badly affected by leaf miner moth, some more than others. I think this has more effect on their health than the ravages of the parakeets. Wonder whether the parakeets prefer leaf buds with moth larvae in. They are supposed to be vegetarians, but nothing is really.

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  3. Love the footballing swans. Birds are endlessly fascinating!

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    Replies
    1. Oddly, their football is gone today. Maybe the Canada Goose couldn't bear it any longer.

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