Friday 4 July 2014

One of the pair of Coots nesting in the Italian Garden was trying to build a second nest under one of the fountains, where there is just space for a Coot to enter but nothing to attach a nest to. Here it is bringing in a waterlily.


This was strange behaviour, because when I came by again the pair had brought seven chicks out of their first nest and were feeding them in the open water. It was impossible to get all seven in the same picture; here are six.


Possibly the Coot had had some idea of sheltering its chicks under the fountain. But more likely it was just an example of Coots' obsession with building.

The solitary Coot chick and Mallard duckling surviving at Peter Pan are still clinging on. But there was another brood of three Mallard ducklings, seen here eating algae off the base of a post.


The posts had seven Black-Headed Gulls on them. These are too small to be dangerous to ducklings. The large gulls were all on the Serpentine, enduring the hideous noise of the sound tests for tonight's Black Sabbath concert.

The Great Crested Grebes at the island have decorated their nest with a striped plastic bag.


It has been there for two days without being built into the nest, so evidently they just like the look of it. It might have something to do with the stripy babies they hope to hatch.

The rowan trees of Buck Hill were again full of birds eating the berries. Here is a male Blackbird.


A Wren in the leaf yard posed pleasingly to have its picture taken.


And so did the Little Owl in his chestnut tree, making the most of the sunshine.

5 comments:

  1. I was by the Little Owl tree with my sister and she spotted a little owl chick in the sweet chestnut tree to the west of the normal tree - it was hissing and making a noise which is why we noticed it when we were looking in the normal tree. Wendy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. Excellent to know something about this mystery. We thought the female and surviving chicks (two, I hope) might be in the leaf yard, but no one has heard anything there.

      Delete
  2. We only saw one young and did not see either parents, it was early afternoon

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the owl photos!

    ReplyDelete