... and another one 20 ft to the east, around the corner of the island.
It is not at all usual for grebes to nest so close together: they have a comfort zone of at least 50 yards, and even at that spacing have frequent territorial disputes. Also, you would think that there are plenty of other places behind these baskets where a grebe could nest (unless these are occupied too, which would be wonderful but most unlikely).
A juvenile Lesser Black-Backed Gull was eating a pigeon on the shore of the Serpentine.
We already have two adult Lesser Black-Backs that kill and eat pigeons. It didn't look as if this pigeon had been taken by one of those, as the gulls eat them down to the bone, and there was still plenty of meat on this one. It seems that the hunting behaviour is spreading; gulls are intelligent birds and are known to copy another bird's successful feeding strategy. If so, the park pigeons are going to have a tough time in a few years. They are already predated by the local Sparrowhawks and Peregrines but there are only a few of these, while there are lots of big gulls, especially in winter.
One of the small Moorhen chicks on the Italian Garden pond was behaving oddly. There is a line of water lily flowers, and it climbed on to the end one and walked from flower to flower right along the line.
To judge by this picture, it found something to eat on the way. But I think it may have made this excursion simply out of curiosity. Moorhens love climbing on things, particularly difficult and challenging objects such as branches, wires and chains, and I am pretty certain that they do it for fun.
I wouldn't normally publish a picture of a grey squirrel, but sometimes you just have to.
Yes, I have to agree about the squirrel. Was it one of your biscuits, usually destined for Melissa?
ReplyDeleteNo, I have a hard heart where squirrels are concerned. It was Paul who gave in to the creature's blandishments.
DeleteSome time ago during the cold spring I saw a Lesser Black-Backed finishing off a pigeon at the side of the Round Pond. At least I thought it was finishing it off but when I returned a crow was having a go at the carcass so there must have been something left on it. Later that evening I saw a Lesser Black-Backed, maybe the same one, with a whole dead pigeon in the drive in front of the Palace. It was shut for the day so the gull had the area to itself. However as soon as I showed an interest the gull took the pigeon in its beak and flew off in the Paddington direction. I didn't know if my interest had worried it or it was intending to fly off anyway. I'd not seen pigeon predation in that area before or since, and am still not sure what to make of it.
ReplyDeleteThanks. All confirmation that the habit is spreading around the Lesser Black-Backed Gulls. I am sure that the original one actually kills pigeons rather than scavenge dead ones, because I have seen it happen. In the two picture sequences I published here last year the pigeon got away, but I also saw a successful kill when the gull dived on to the pigeon from the roof of the Dell restaurant and managed to drown it.
DeleteYes, that was my impression of the two instances - that the Gull had killed the pigeons rather than scavenged them. I speculated that the second one, where the Gull took away the whole carcass over the trees towards Paddington, might be to feed some young. There was plenty of space to move it to in the Palace forecourt if it wanted to eat it safely. However that is pure speculation.
DeleteYour observation of the mode of killing is striking. They really are formidable creatures. Thank you again for all your observations. I wouldn't be aware of much of what I am witnessing if it weren't for this excellent blog.