The original Little Owls near the leaf yard have come out too. This proves that there are indeed two pairs. This one, evidently the male, was seen early this morning and then went back in, and it took three visits to the tree to find him again.
It was the same story with the Tawny Owl, but he finally showed up around 3 o'clock, just before the sun came round to shine on his balcony.
In a nearby tree, this hole might seem to be a Starling's nest, but it isn't. It's full of water, despite the fact that it hasn't rained for several days, and the bird had come there to drink, to save the bother of flying down to the lake. Here it is throwing its head back to swallow a beakful of water.
On the way to show some people the new Little Owls' tree, we passed one of the Mistle Thrushes that nests near the Serpentine Gallery, looking for worms in the grass. This normally shy bird, nesting in an area full of paths busy with people, has become accustomed to them and stood its ground as we passed quite near.
This Stock Dove, presumably a male one, was striking poses on the top of a tree, trying to impress a female on a lower branch.
There is a small colony of Stock Doves to the east of the Tawny Owls' tree, and if you see what looks like an ordinary pigeon in this area, you take a second look to be sure.
Hi Ralph,
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to make a trip to Kensington Gardens tomorrow and wondered where the new Little Owls are located. Thanks,
Gideon.
The Little Owls' tree is the one where the Tawny owlets were first spotted in 2012. It is near the bicycle path that runs between the Serpentine Gallery and the Round Pond. This is intersected at a shallow angle by a path running between the southwest corner of the park at Kensington High Street and the Serpentine bridge. Just south of the junction is an oak tree. A few feet south of this is another oak, and this is the one with the Little Owls in it. The large and obvious hole can be seen from the south side of the tree, on a branch projecting eastwards.
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