There was a Great Spotted Woodpecker high in a tree overhead, much too far away for a good picture but at least this shows that it was there, in a place where I have never seen one before.
The same area also had plenty of Starlings and Pied Wagtails. Even the most barren and unpromising area fills with birds is only you keep people out of it.
A pair of Magpies were building a typically large, messy nest in a tree in the Dell.
The pair of Great Crested Grebes at the Serpentine island were in the same place as yesterday, at the east end.
When they start hanging about in an offshore spot it is often a sign that they are reserving it for a future nest -- though they may not start building it yet, and of course they are still at liberty to change their minds if they find somewhere better.
One of the Grey Herons' nests on the island also had an occupant, but despite having gathered and placed hundreds of twigs these birds seem less likely to go ahead with nesting. More often than not all three nests are empty. In contrast, herons in Regent's Park and Battersea Park are already really nesting.
The male Tawny owl was on his balcony as usual.
For some time the female owl has not been seen taking one of her early morning breaks from nesting duty. We hope this means that she is busy with owlets.
I remember your comment about bird-yawning a little while ago : just having watched an albatross chick yawn hugely on a live web cam (in Hawaii; Cornell University Dept. of Ornithology runs them) I feel sure they yawn the same way as us mammals... But I'm not a biologist.
ReplyDeleteAnd neither am I. But there may be some kind of answer here.
DeleteMr Owl was sleepily occupying the balcone when I passed by at 5.15pm last night. He was so well camourflaged in the fading light that I would not have thought to have got my binoculars out ot look at him if your blog entries had not given me the expectation that he was resident. But a few minutes later he spread a wing and shuffled around to present his rear end to the world, and then Mrs Owl appeared beside him. She was looking much more more wide-eyed and awake and actively surveaying the scene. Mr Owl continued with his posterior facing outwards!
ReplyDeleteThere was a delightful 'country dance' going amongst the Shovellers on the Longwater. Three pairs were postitioned a yard apart from each other, forming the points of an equilateral triangle, and each pair was engaged in pursuing its own little ShovelCircle. A truly delightful sight.
Thanks -- good to know that she is around.
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