Friday 9 August 2019

A half dead hawthorn tree near the Italian Garden must have been infested with insects, as it attracted several Coal Tits ...


... Blue Tits ...


... and a Chiffchaff.


A Wood Pigeon gorged on blackberries.


The interesting picture from Ahmet Amerikali shows what must be a Blackbird fledgling, although it doesn't look much like one ...


... because it was with its mother in the same tree.

Update: Tom has recognised it as a juvenile Dunnock, which just happened to be in the same tree as the Blackbird.


The newer of the two Great Crested Grebe families on the Long Water had moved a bit towards the bridge ...


... causing a grebe from the nest next to the bridge to come out and start patrolling in a threatening posture.


This is the other Long Water family, in another fine picture by Ahmet.


A Moorhen and a chick waded through the duckweed under the parapet of the Italian Garden.


A young Cormorant enjoyed a splashy wash on the Long Water.


Greylags flew past the reed bed at the east end of the Serpentine.


The Tufted Duck near the bridge still has her six ducklings, but they dive so much that it's now impossible to get them all into the same picture.


The single Tufted duckling at the island is still hanging on.


The Mallard with three ducklings was also here ...


... and the five teenagers swept past Peter Pan with their mother. It's now quite hard to tell which is which.


A Black-Tailed Skimmer dragonfly on the path had lost almost all its dusty blue coating, and was looking drab. In this species the black and yellow females are much more striking.

4 comments:

  1. I had a really enjoyable walk round the Round Pond and the lake. There was a Blackbird family near the Round Pond, with at least 3 delightful teenagers. I saw 3 Bar-headed hybrid geese, of which two flew down to the Serpentine later.
    The big group of Great Crested Grebes was still there, with some quite near the shore. I’ve never seen so many grebes so close together.

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    1. I've seen over 20 Great Crested Grebes together, on Edgbaston Reservoir in Birmingham. They mass to fly in a group, at night, and stay close together for a short time after arrival before pairing up and spreading out to take territories. But the grebes here seem to be staying together for an unusually long time.

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  2. That is quite a strange-looking youngster. Perhaps it has unusual pigmentation? Or maybe it was the light the picture was taken in.

    I cannot get over how cute grebes are when threatening someone. If I were to get mugged by a grebe, I'd give it all my money (or my lunch) willingly for its sheer adorableness.

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    1. I'm hoping someone will be able to cast light on that peculiar young bird. It's the right shape for a Blackbird but doesn't seem to have much trace of the expected spotty pattern.

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