Monday 3 December 2018

It was a day of sunshine, showers and wind ...


... with a fine rainbow over the bridge. 


Despite the uncertain weather, two Little Owls came out, both female. This is the one in the horse chestnut near the Queen's Temple which may be the female of the leaf yard pair, and certainly looks just like her.


This is the owl in the oak near the Albert Memorial.


The female Kestrel was on Buck Hill in the drizzle, as usual in the small trees near the children's playground.


The remaining fruit in the rowan tree is hard to reach, as this Mistle Thrush was finding ...


... or on very low branches, on which birds feel nervous when humans are around. This Redwing was unusually calm.


A Goldcrest jumped around deep in the bushes at the bottom of the hill, and I was surprised to be able to get a picture.


A Grey Wagtail looked for small prey on the edge of the pool above the Dell waterfall.


The Dell is a good place for Coal Tits in winter, as there are plenty of evergreen trees and bushes to shelter them, and a couple of feeders regularly topped up by the incredibly energetic female gardener who keeps the place spick and span.


Julia caught a Carrion Crow in a strange attitude as it ate a peanut she had given it.


Another crow finished off a Feral Pigeon killed by the notorious Lesser Black-Backed Gull. A young Herring Gull wanted some but, although the crow was smaller, didn't dare to challenge it.


This is a third-winter Herring Gull, still young enough to be playful, amusing istelf with the lid of a takeaway coffee cup.


A Mute Swan was caught in a tailwind and disarranged.


The Black Swan is now a permanent fixture at the Vista and is having little trouble with the dominant swan.


A Pochard drake was looking smart by the bridge.

4 comments:

  1. I've read that the reason why the weather is so changeable in the UK is because there are few mountains to stop the winds or the clouds, plus the sea is never very far off from almost any point in the island. Is that true?

    That is a strange posture for a crow. It almost looks as if it is threatening someone.

    The Little Owl in the horse chestnut is so very pretty!

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    1. Both these things help weather systems to sweep across the country. But the motor is out in the Atlantic, producing a series of anticlockwise revolving low pressure areas that come in from the southwest.

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  2. Fabulous blog - but where is the Dell? Can't find it on Google maps. Planning on visiting on Sunday, any tips on Little Owl spotting? Have never seen one

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    1. Thanks. The Dell is a railed-off area next to the east end of the Serpentine, which flows out through it down a waterfall into a short section of stream before the flow goes underground.

      I've put owl maps on today's blog (Thursday 6 December).

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