Monday 2 July 2012


The Dunnocks in the shrubbery near the Lido ticket office have a family. I had been keeping an eye on this area, which has been a Dunnock territory for years, and today I heard squeaking from inside a bush, and out they came and perched on the wall of the Lido play area. From left to right, they are two young birds and an adult. 


The Coots in the Italian Garden have abandoned their unsuccessful nest in the irises, and have made a new nest in a clump of mixed water plants in another of the ponds, which they will no doubt trash to the irritation of the gardeners.


The clump had been surrounded by wire mesh expressly to keep them out, but they just flew in over the top. It is not clear how or whether the nest is going to work. Very young chicks could squeeze through the holes in the wire netting, but when they grow larger they will be stuck inside or out. I don't think that the parents could unpick the mesh -- unlike Ring-Necked Parakeets, whose strong beaks and ingenuity make light of the stuff. Probably the Coots have not given much thought to the problem.

A few of the Greylag Geese have now completely regrown their wing feathers. The rest will not be far behind.


Here is a Blackbird enjoying a bath in a puddle left by last night's rain.

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