Friday 7 September 2018

The pair of Moorhens that have been nesting in a hawthorn tree on the terrace of the Dell restaurant have just hatched at least one chick.


This is not a good place as, once a chick has dropped out of the nest, it can't go back. It seemed completely helpless. I gave them some biscuit crumbs and a bottle cap full of water. Later someone moved the chick to the edge of the lake, and its mother settled down with it under her wing. I don't think the poor little creature has much chance of survival.


Brought up in a much better place, the two teenage Moorhens in the Italian Garden climbed around in a patch of purple loosestrife. They were probably finding insects here, but Moorhens enjoy climbing for its own sake.


An adult couple on the edge of the Serpentine fondly ate each other's fleas.


One of the young Grey Herons at the island stabbed furiously at the water, evidently picking up some kind of food.


Later they flew to the Long Water, where one landed in a tree ...


... and the other on the tern raft, which is still ridiculously covered in anti-bird netting.


People's attempts to feed the geese inevitably attract a screaming mob of Black-Headed Gulls.


This blonde Mallard is darker than the other blondes, and has a ginger tint.


There was a brief glimpse of a female Kestrel flying around the Royal Lancaster Hotel, north of the Italian Garden. I was watching her with Tim, who suggested that the pair may have nested on the building, and that the young one is from the nest there. This makes sense: the only time anyone has seen the male Kestrel, he has been in this area.


A Little Owl called from a horse chestnut tree near the oak tree in Hyde Park where I have previously photographed an owl. The one in the oak was certainly male, and this one is probably his mate. She has been heard calling from this tree before, when he was in the oak, but he wasn't visible today.


A Carrion Crow perched on the roof of the Lido restaurant looking for scavenging opportunities.


The Starlings were already at work on the tables.


A Grey Wagtail ran along the edge of the water.


Not many Robins have been seen recently, but there was one in the darkness under a bush near the bridge.

4 comments:

  1. I feel sorry for the poor chick.
    I visited the feeder in the Rose Garden. There were several small birds around and I think I caught a glimpse of a Coal Tit. Then the Parakeets moved in.
    The beautiful white Mallard was on the south bank of the Serpentine

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    1. There's a pair of Coal Tits here regularly. I saw that the feeder on the Harlequin Glorybower has been replaced with one with a small cage, but doubted that it would keep out the parakeets.

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  2. I almost gasped when I saw the close up of the Starling. What a wonderful picture!

    Poor little baby Moorhen. It looks so helpless, and so hopeless. Its mother seems to be aware that little can be done. Ralph is doing God's work in bringing some comfort to the poor little creature.

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    1. Even when not in direct sunlight, Starlings look amazing close up.

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