Tuesday 27 June 2017

A young Pied Wagtail was begging for food from its father on the far side of the Round Pond.


Getting none, it flew across the pond and immediately found a large green larva.


This is the female Grey Wagtail of the pair nesting in the willow tree next to the Serpentine bridge. It was looking for insects at the Lido restaurant, the favourite hunting ground of this family.


A Moorhen chick was exploring the waterlilies in the Italian Garden.


Moorhens enjoy their agility, and love climbing and balancing on narrow places. This one is on the plastic tubing topping the fence of one of the reed rafts at the east end of the Serpentine.


The pair of Great Crested Grebes who have been unsuccessfully trying to make a nest on the side of one of the rafts were at it again. This is the pair who briefly tried to make a nest on the island, but must have been chased off by the resident pair, so they have gone back to their hopeless task.


They could make an excellent nest in the nearby reed bed, but it seems that grebes have to learn about making nests in reeds. The ones on the Norfolk Broads, having reeds but few trees, are accustomed to it and build quite good reed nests.

Coots have no difficulty in attaching nests to the rafts. They poke crooked or knobbly twigs through the mesh to make them stick.


The Black Swan was near the island. This video doesn't show him doing anything interesting, but it's good to see him sweep gracefully by.


This young Egyptian Goose is one of Blondie's brood, now completely independent and going their separate ways. It is not quite full size yet, but already able to fly.


On the Long Water, the Egyptians were escorting their goslings on to the gravel bank.


The odd-looking ducks at the far left are Red-Crested Pochard drakes in eclipse. They look much like females but have red bills. There are also two not yet fully in eclipse at the right, along with a couple of Common Pochards and a Tufted Duck.

At the other end of the gravel, the Great Crested Grebes' nest is uncomfortably close to a Coot nest.


The first returning Black-Headed Gull was on the Round Pond. They are not black-headed, of course, and this one's head is an unusually pale brown. Thanks to Virginia for this picture.


Virginia also sent me an interesting close-up of a young Starling on the Round Pond.


This is one of the Coal Tits that come to take food from my hand at the bridge.


On a dark morning, the female Little Owl at the leaf yard was looking out from her hole.


The wildflowers in the patch behind the Lido are beginning to come up. A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee was gathering nectar from a cornflower.

6 comments:

  1. I missed yesterday's blog and caught up tonight, so the news of the Black Swan's return has made my day! Long may he stay.

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  2. OOOOhhh the Black Swan is back!! Best piece of news I've had the whole dreadful week. To reading back I go.

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    1. Glad the noble bird has brought a bit of cheer.

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  3. Looks like an emergent damselfly the young wagtail caught? Jim

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    1. Was wondering about that myself, but too ignorant to hazard a guess. Would the green colour mean anything? Emerald Damselflies are rare here, though I think someone saw one once.

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