Friday 28 March 2014

Two Herring Gulls were doing their worm dance side by side in the Diana fountain enclosure.


The pattering of two pairs of feet simulating rain was twice as effective as with one pair, and they were hauling up worms one after the other. I made a video of one of them catching several, which is here in MOV format and here in FLV -- if the first doesn't work for you, the second probably will.

The new floating reed bed had been temporarily moored offshore in the Serpentine, and had attracted a Greylag Goose .


It was also being investigated by Mute Swans, though it is hard for them to get over the wire fence, and by Coots. Actually a floating island would be an excellent idea, especially on the Long Water where there is no solid island to give nesting birds protection from foxes.

The swans' nest on the Long Water was being guarded by the male while his mate was away feeding. They had covered the eggs with reeds, so it was impossible to count them, and also with a lot of miscellaneous rubbish. I don't know whether the rubbish is intended to act as camouflage or they just think it's pretty.

A Mandarin pair were at their nest hole safely up a tree.


This excellent picture was taken by Virginia Grey.

The rabbits on the east side of the Long Water are increasing their numbers with traditional speed. I saw 15 on the Vista, plus this single one which has found some particularly lush grass neat Rudolf Steiner's bench and has been there for several days.


A pair of Long-Tailed Tits were hopping around the bushes near Peter Pan.


I haven't managed to see a nest this year. One was reported, but the person who found it has sensibly kept quiet about its location.

This Carrion Crow, having found a bit of stale bread, was dunking it in a puddle to make it more palatable.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for the addition of the video clip. I really enjoyed that.

    ReplyDelete