This nest can only be seen from the opposite side of the lake, looking over the fallen horse chestnut tree, and even with binoculars it's hard to see what's going on.
The grebe family on the Serpentine were in their usual place, close in to the east end of the island.
The Mallard with ducklings on the platform in the Round Pond was sitting alone, and my heart sank. But when I looked from the other end of the platform, there were the ducklings, sheltering under the solar panel. This is an old Coots' nest, which accounts for the large heap of twigs.
One of the pair of Green Woodpeckers near the leaf yard flew high into an oak tree.
Inside the leaf yard, a Wood Pigeon was eating unripe elderberries, apparently with enjoyment.
At the Lido restaurant, the usual young Pied Wagtail was running boldly about on the shore, ignoring the throng of people at the tables.
It is clearly a good place, because people drop food, and the food attracts insects for the wagtail to eat.
One of the Reed Warblers near the bridge was sitting outside the netting waiting for an insect to appear on the grass.
There are at least two Coal Tits in the trees above the reeds, perhaps a whole family.
The male Little Owl was quite hard to find today, hidden deep in the leaves of his nest tree.
The grebelets are utterly charming Ralph.
ReplyDeleteI was rewarded for yet another village duckpond visit today by the sight of FOUR little egrets and a stunning grey heron to boot! The egrets are hard to photograph because they are blazing white and you lose the detail. But such a joy to watch them wading, preening, flapping and fishing!
Lucky to have those egrets. Try turning down the brightness on the camera. My camera also has a thing called Highlight Correction which is supposed to reduce the flare of white objects, but it doesn't make much difference.
DeleteThanks Ralph!
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