Monday 22 September 2014

The elusive Little Grebe appeared again on the Long Water. It was trying to fish under the willow tree near the Italian Garden, but its space was invaded by two adult Great Crested Grebes and two chicks, and a Cormorant, so it rapidly retreated into the middle of the lake, too far away for a good picture.


The Great Crested Grebe chicks were practising their adult dance, and one of them had found a plastic bottle cap and was waving it at the other.


The basic moves seem to be hard-wired into a grebe's brain, but when they grow up and find mates they will have to practise together to get the ceremony right.

One of the Green Woodpeckers who are long-term residents of Buck Hill came out into the grass to look for insects, which the recent mowing has made easier to find. It was so busy that it took no notice of four people starting at it, which is most unusual for these shy birds.


As I approached the Little Owls' trees there was a cry of owl fury and one of the birds rushed through the leaves. It had been annoyed by a Jay. I gave the Jay a peanut, which it took away, and waited for the owl to settle down. After a few minutes it reappeared in the tree next to the nest tree; it was the male, so he calmly allowed me to take pictures.


There were still quite a few dragonflies around the willow tree, and in fact they were in the place where the Little Grebe first appeared, so it may have been trying to catch them as they flew low over the water, which is something that Little Grebes are surprisingly good at. Here is a Common Darter resting on a grass stem ...


... and an Emperor. Both are brightly coloured males.


In the tunnel under the north side of the bridge, a Garden Spider had caught a wasp from the nearby nest and was slowly eating it.


Mario the fungus expert had written a comment on this blog about a large yellow Chicken of the Woods fungus on a tree near Lancaster Gate. Three people went to look for it in the place he described, but we didn't find it -- possibly someone had read the blog and collected it. But we did find a different large bracket fungus about a foot wide. I don't know what it is.

9 comments:

  1. The Chicken-of-the-wood is still there, I've just been there to check!
    I'll try to give different directions: starting from the NW corner of the Speke monument go strait in the direction of Queensway station. You will soon have on your left a tall dead tree trunk, surronded by bramble. Continue in the same direction (toward Queensway station) for onother 40 meters: you will have one American oak on either side. The fungus is on the north side of the tree on the right, at the end of a cut branch, some 4 meters high. It is not really a monster as size is concerned, but very beautiful, I think. And as the blog is about birds, this being a chicken...
    Mario

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    1. Thanks a lot. I think we were on the south side of the path along the edge of the park, and we should have been on the north side.

      And this blog isn't just about birds, it's about anything I like, and I like fungi.

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  2. Mr Owl according you some kind of salute for coaxing the jay away? Love it! Jim n.L.

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    1. ... and makes a change from yesterday's "not you again!" from Mrs Owl! Jim

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  3. But what exactly is the bracket fungus in the photo? Not the destroyer of trees? (does look a bit different from the one I know)

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    1. Can't find a picture of it on the web. So I've put a query on Wild Mushrooms Online and am hoping for an answer.

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  4. I am not fungus expert, but to me it does look like Beefsteak Fungus ?? or something similar.....

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it looks very much like Fistulina Hepatica, the Beefsteak.
      Mario

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    2. Thank you both for the identification. There is also a dissenting view, as reported on Tuesday's blog, but the point that the man makes about the shape being distorted by dry weather may well explain the odd appearance of the fungus.

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