The swans on the island in the Long Water were changing places, allowing a glimpse of two eggs in their nest. There are probably more under the reeds.
The pontoon around the bridge has been dismantled at one end, so that geese and swans, many of which are flightless at present because they are moulting, can pass through. The dominant male swan on the Long Water took this as an opportunity to round his rivals up and chase them under the bridge, and had already moved them up to that end of the Long Water.
The Grey Wagtail family will regret the removal of the pontoon, as they found its ridged plastic surface an excellent place to find insects.
The Pied Wagtails have stuck to their traditional hunting grounds along the edge of the lake and the Round Pond. Here is a young one on the pond, probably from a nest in the roof of Kensington Palace.
Also on the Round Pond, the solitary Coot chick on the platform with the solar panel, which survived for a long time, seems to have finally been lost. The adults have nested again and have at least one new chick.
There is also a solitary Coot egg abandoned on the other side of the platform, probably pushed out of the nest because it was a dud.
The two pairs of Coots on the Long Water near the Italian Garden were enjoying a fight. Their chicks raced to join in.
The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull near the Dell restaurant seemed to be finding his latest victim a bit tough. He was leaping up in the air in his struggle to rip it to pieces.
The Hobbies were both visible. Here is one in a plane tree near the Physical Energy statue.
The female Little Owl was preening herself on her favourite branch.
This is a male Emperor dragonfly, which was resting in the reed bed near the bridge.
The reeds and plants here make a good place for seeing insects, and there are also damselflies, butterflies and moths.
I like the sound of a Coot 'all join in wrestling match'. We have Coot chicks on the pond in the next village, and I adore their funny bald heads, and golden fuzzy shoulders. They have 3 earlier almost grown chicks and now 2 new chicks, all in the same family. I didn't realise that Coots could do that.
ReplyDeleteDo the older chicks help feed the younger ones? This happens with Moorhens.
DeleteI'll look out for that behaviour Ralph. They were a touching family unit. Interestingly the parents had a nest for each set of chicks.
DeleteJust wanted to say Hi and Thanks for a beautiful blog! Visited Hyde Park and London area in April and the parks will be visited again some day... Though my blog is in finnish and swedish, have a look at the pics some day ;)
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