Saturday 26 May 2018

The Coots in the nest under the balcony of the Dell restaurant have five chicks, with seven eggs left to hatch. The sitting bird was keeping them under her wings when I passed, but Julia got this excellent picture of them yesterday.


The Coots nesting at the outflow of the Serpentine also have five chicks, but it's only a matter of time before they are swept over the weir.


The Great Crested Grebes at the island have managed to patch up their nest to a more or less usable state. Even if they start nesting again, they will look after the chicks, but their attention will be divided and they won't do such a good job.


Female Egyptian Geese tend to call loudly over their goslings. This is a bad idea, as it attracts the attenti0n of predators.


Various familes of Greylag, Canada and Egyptian Geese were spread all along the south shore of the Serpentine.


The Mute Swans on the Long Water have lost one cygnet, and are down to four. Their mother was keeping well in cover at the edge.


The family on the Serpentine still have five. The mother stood up tall and menacing as a dog went past.


A Gadwall on the Serpentine catches midges off the surface of the lake, and even in midair.


You can see a Grey Heron in the upper nest on the Serpentine island if  it stands up in the nest. The sound of at least one chick begging can be heard. I think I've heard two.


One of the GreyWagtails nesting in the Dell could be seen on the rock at the foot of the waterfall.


A Blue Tit paused on the lamp post at the back of the Lido inside which they are nesting.


In the Flower Walk, a Carrion Crow stood over a dead Feral Pigeon. Maybe the crow had killed it, maybe not.


The white-faced female Blackbird who comes to me for sultanas was waiting on the railings of the Italian Garden.


At other times she forages busily in the undergrowth for insects and worms to feed her nestlings.


The male Little Owl at the leaf yard was in the chestnut tree.


This kite in the shape of a falcon flies over a houseboat in Chiswick. It's intended to scare away Feral Pigeons. There were plenty of pigeons on the bank and they didn't look bothered.

2 comments:

  1. We're sad to see that the mute swans have lost one cygnet, and that the silly coots at the Serpentine are likely to lose their chicks too. Thank you for keeping us updated; we check this blog every night together.

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  2. Where I used to live in Hackney they employed a real Harrier Hawk to chase the pigeons away- a great sight close up, once even able to study him sitting on a lamppost just below me. The pigeons did fly off, but barely waited till he was gone before they returned. By the way, do you have any idea why Coot chicks have such loud markings on their heads, evolutionary speaking?

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