Under the tree a Grey Heron was clearly feeling hot, as it was visibly panting with its bill open.
A Carrion Crow watched the spectacle impassively from a post.
A Kestrel was hunting over Buck Hill. These are now much less common than they were even a couple of years ago.
But Hobbies, a rarer bird, are now quite easy to see here during the summer.
The usual pair of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls were washing in exactly the same place on the Long Water as they always do. They are creatures of habit, and this little area of water is their bathroom.
The southwestern pond in the Italian Garden is full of small perch, already visibly striped if you look closely.
The was a report of Red-Eyes Damselflies in the Italian Garden. I manage to get a distant shot of one on a nasty-looking clump of algae. I discovered later, thanks to David Element, that it's a Small Red-Eyed Damselfly, Erythromma viridulum.
There are plenty of damselfies here, but almost all of them are Common Blue and Blue-Tailed.
There are now two sets of three Canada Goslings on the Long Water. Both are the same age and I can't tell which is which.
The male Little Owl was in his nest tree again, and glanced briefly over his shoulder at me when I arrived. After that he took no notice at all. He is used to humans with binoculars and cameras.
Great morning birding at the park -at least 20 life birds. Has 2 cormorants I immediately identified as Double-crested flyover while looking for the hobby. Bright orange gular pouches, no white at all. Very common where I come from, but apparently not here. Have any been reported in the area lately?
ReplyDeleteYours is the only report. No one I spoke to in the park had seen them, and they aren't on the London Bird Club Wiki. You could put your report there.
DeleteThe kingfisher pic is pin sharp - I have seen one only twice, both times as a flash of blue on a river-bank, diving into water, hardly visible unless looking really intently!
ReplyDeleteYou really only see them by accident. I checked the same place several times today, and there was no sign of it.
DeleteI am really impressed by the shot of the kingfisher. I bet you are (justifiably) proud. This eveing the Round Pond was being over-flown by so many Swifts (and a few Martins) that I had the sensation that I was about to need to scratch myself, as if it were a flock of midges. The latter must have been plentiful but were too small for the human eye. Met a fellow fan who took lovely photos of the tiny Mallard chicks. Whilst we were watching them, the father drove the mother off. She stayed for sometime at a distance protesting loudly. The only explanation of this weird behaviour was that he was chasing her to mate again.
ReplyDeleteThe little insects, whatever they were, were visible just over the water, where low-flying House Martins and Pied Wagtails were feeding on them. Possibly the Mallard drake wasn't even the father, but just hanging around.
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