Friday 18 July 2014

The male Little Owl had found his usual sunbathing branch too hot, and was in the shade of the next chestnut tree.


His mate was out in full sunlight in the lime tree near the leaf yard. She is not as shy as she used to be, but still dislikes being stared at, and she shifted about restlessly and moved to a more secluded branch.


The Tawnies couldn't be found in any of their usual places.

The seven Mute Swan cygnets on the Long Water had gone into a cool shady place under a willow tree.


The three Mallard ducklings and five new Moorhen chicks in the Italian Garden are still with us. Here are the two elder chicks keeping an eye on three of the young ones, while the other two were going around the pond behind a parent.


The adults are quite happy with this arrangement, but when one of the elder chicks forgot that it was supposed to be acting grown-up, and pestered a parent to be fed, it got the bum's rush.


The Great Crested Grebes' nest that can be seen across the lake from the Vista is still going strong.


However, the one opposite Peter Pan has failed, and the grebes who lost their nest in the willow tree near the Italain Garden have also given up trying to take it over again. So the only other active nest at the moment is the one on the Serpentine island. However, the grebes still have plenty of time. They have been known to nest successfully in the park as late as the beginning of September.

Another visit to a patch of ragwort discovered a Common Blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus).


This is a female, and it is only the male that is properly blue. The upper sides of her wings are brown with a hazy blue cast.

2 comments:

  1. My mother would have been delighted by this photo of the Common Blue. She was a great idetifier - and collector, I regret to say.

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    Replies
    1. Fortunately the modern camera has made that unnecessary.

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