Sunday 4 August 2019

The Great Crested Grebes' nest under the willow, which recently was raided by an unknown predator which took all the eggs, is now back in full swing and the pair were mating. Let's hope they succeed this time.


The pair of grebes at the east end of the Serpentine were fishing under the balcony of the Dell restaurant, catching plenty of small fish in the shallow water.


A pair of Mute Swans engaged in a courtship ritual, mirroring each other's movements. They do this at almost any time of year, not just in the breeding season.


The two Bar-Headed x Greylag hybrids saw me and came over for some sunflower seeds.


The pale Greylag stared at the camera, but it wasn't interested in being fed. It only comes to the park to moult, and now that it can fly again it will soon be off to wherever it spends the rest of its time.


The three Mallard ducklings on the Serpentine survived another day. They stay close to their mother, which helps to protect them. Also, they are at the west end of the Serpentine, where there are fewer Herring Gulls.


The young Grey Heron in the Dell took off with one flap of its mighty wings.


The Little Owl in the oak tree was in an awkward place and could only be photographed from a considerable distance.


A Stock Dove in the same tree was plainly visible.


Two Carrion Crows probed a tree trunk, looking for insects in the bark.


A Blackbird ate a blackberry.


The Reed Warbler family could be heard in the reed bed near the Diana fountain, and Ahmet Amerikali got a picture of one of the adults.


He also photographed a female Chaffinch near the bridge.


One of Tom's friends, Dilshan Muthalib, kindly sent me his picture of the Great White Egret which has spent eleven days on Pen Ponds in Richmond Park.


Tom was at Rye Harbour nature reserve, where he got a picture of a Painted Lady butterfly. There have been a lot of these in the past few days, but not in the park.

2 comments:

  1. I love watching the swans court. So elegant and harmonious, it is hard to reconcile that with their usual sullen disposition.

    Are Great White Egrets frequent in urban parks over there?

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    1. We are gradually getting more egrets everywhere in London, mostly Little Egrets but Cattle and Great White are not far behind. Only the first of these has been seen in the park so far, but it's only a matter of time for the others.

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