Thursday 4 December 2014

A female Blackbird with a white-speckled head was rummaging in the leaves at the bottom of Buck Hill.


White patches are fairly common in Blackbirds, but seem to affect males more than females -- or perhaps the patches are simply more conspicuous on males.

There are no more berries left on the rowan trees on Buck Hill. Yesterday the various thrushes were still hanging around hopefully in that area, but today they have dispersed. This Song Thrush was in the leaf yard, looking rotund because it is fluffed up against the cold.


Ring-Necked Parakeets are not waterproof like native British birds, and the persistent drizzle had made this male look quite bedraggled. But he was happy to fly down to take a peanut.


The female Tawny Owl was in her usual place on the beech tree next to the nest tree. She is well used to the British weather.


A Goldcrest was singing near Queen's Gate. There was another Goldcrest calling from a nearby tree, which had perhaps set it off.

There were 21 Red Crested Pochards. Three were on the Long Water mingling with 40-odd Common Pochards, and the rest were on or around the island.


As they become established British breeding birds, their numbers are increasing noticeably.

In the shallow water at the edge of the Serpentine, another young Herring Gull was enjoying a diving game. It would fly up and dive headlong into the water, trying to pick up leaves from the bottom.




After a while it tired of the game and started washing itself.

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