A Treecreeper ran up the next tree.
The owl near the Henry Moore sculpture came out of her hole in the lime tree.
On the grass below, the local pair of Magpies were getting together before nesting. They usually nest in a tree conveniently next to the path, so that you can get photographs, and I shall be keeping an eye on them.
The Robin in the corkscrew hazel in the Flower Walk got a golden halo from the gilded statue of Prince Albert in the background. It came to my hand and took several pine nuts.
There was just one Redwing on the Parade Ground.
A pair of Great Crested Grebes at the island were making a nest against one of the wire baskets. This is not a good place, as a grebe's poor building skills are not up to attaching the nest properly to the wire mesh.
One of the two pairs of Mandarins was visible at Peter Pan. Here is the quietly elegant female, who makes her gaudy mate look thoroughly over the top.
A Grey Heron had a face-off with the two dominant Mute Swans. It passed off peacefully.
The usual swans were taking their ease on one of the rafts at the east end of the Serpentine.
But their time here is limited, because the rafts are being dismantled and removed. These rafts could have been a success if the park staff had bothered to strengthen the fences around them to keep swans out -- simply wiring on lengths of 2 by 2 timber along the top edge would have been enough -- so now these expensive things are being junked. This is the usual story in the park: a pricey project subsequently neglected.
The rafts are being brought ashore and sawn up. A Pied Wagtail was hunting insects in the debris.
At the Lido, a young Herring Gull struggled to keep its balance on a buoy. They are too heavy, and make the buoy revolve.
A Lesser Black-Backed Gull languidly stretched one of its long wings.
One of the pair of Moorhens in the Dell was having a bath.
Is the young Herring Gull trying to imitate the smaller gulls? I imagine it must see them perched frequently on the buoys without issue and must have wished to do the same.
ReplyDeleteGreat picture of the moment of tension between the Heron and the Swan. The Swan's swollen neck tells the whole story without words.
Joy, we do have a blessed Robin, complete with golden aureole! He looks like a decorative figure in an Orthodox icon.
The Herring Gulls must know that it's impossible to stay still on the buoys. So it must be a balancing game. They like to walk along the line of buoys, jumping off each one as it tips up.
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