Friday 29 September 2017

A Peregrine was on the Household Cavalry barracks tower again today. It looks as if the pair have settled on this place as a day roost, and they might even consider breeding here among the mass of antennae and electronic gizmos on top of the tower.


Wind around the tower creates a strong updraught, in which a bunch of Carrion Crows were playing.


There are a few hundred Starlings in the park, not enough for an impressive murmuration display but a reasonable mob nevertheless. Here are some videos of them.

They collect in a tree beside the Serpentine for a sociable chatter.


They gather on the roof of the Lido restaurant to watch for leftovers on a table on the terrace.


Their communal bath is interrupted by a Mute Swan in a bad mood.


A Long-Tailed Tit paused under the shady trees across the path from the leaf yard.


There was no sign of the Little Owl, probably sulking in her hole because a Magpie was insolently perched on her favourite branch.


But I did hear her mate calling from his horse chestnut tree, where he is invisible among the leaves.

At least 20 Mistle Thrushes flew rattling to Buck Hill for a raid on the rowan trees.


The second pigeon-killing Lesser Black-Backed Gull was in his usual place below the Triangle car park, standing well back from the edge and alternately preening and watching for a Feral Pigeon to alight in a suitable place.


A Cormorant preened on the fallen horse chestnut in the Long Water.


A male Tufted Duck attended to the newly regrown white feathers of his breeding plumage.


There are still only three Shovellers on the Long Water. More should arrive soon.


The Black Swan saw me coming from a long way off and cruised over to get his daily treat of birdseed.


The young Great Crested Grebes on the Serpentine are now large enough to fish cooperatively with their parents in a completely adult way.


Young Moorhens grow up very fast. This one was a newly hatched chick eight weeks ago, and is now an almost fully grown brown teenager.

4 comments:

  1. Wow, that is a decent photo of the perched peregrine, given the enormous distance and height of the tower too. Interesting news that they are perching there and it would indeed be exciting if they set up to breed there.

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    1. That's a 1000x750 pixel crop out of the middle of the image. So you're looking at the limit of resolution of the Pentax DFA 150-450mm zoom lens.

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  2. Very glad to see that the Black Swan has renewed his close friendship with Ralph. How many people on earth can say that for themselves?

    I think I'd give a (non-essential) limb to be able to know what Starlings usually chatter about. Most likely they are telling each other about their day, or something equally mundane, but one cannot rule out the possibility that they may be discussing fractals and their application to flight. Who knows.

    We are about to receive the first serious wave of Common Starlings, which are winter migrants here. Looking so forward to seeing them gather to roost.

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    1. The Black Swan's loves are cupboard loves. When he sees me he thinks Food. I am OK with this.

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