Another Cormorant, replete after a day's fishing, was heading out of the park to spend the night downstream on the Thames.
The Great Crested Grebe family on the Long Water, also busy fishing, were annoyed by a Black-Headed Gull trying to grab their fish. The father chased it away.
A group of Greylags were having a communal wash on the Serpentine, diving and chasing each other around in a good-natured way, and of course turning upside down and waving their orange feet in the air.
It's surprising to see these big birds diving and staying under for several seconds.
One of the hybrid geese had also been bathing, and was flapping its speckled wings.
Most of the Canada-Greylag hybrids on the lake are awkward looking, but this one is quite elegant. However, it lost its poise when it slipped on the algae at the edge of the lake and fell flat on its belly.
Some Starlings on the Round Pond were also having a bath together.
This is the same Lesser Black-Backed Gull as yesterday, in the same place on the edge of the Serpentine, but with a new toy, a decayed goose feather left over from the big moult in June.
The male Little Owl was basking in the sunshine on his favourite branch.
When I went past the tree later there was a lot of calling and I went to see what had happened. The owl was in the other tree, but I couldn't find anything amiss. Probably he had been annoyed by some kind of crow.
Sadly, the tree people have hacked up the beech tree next to the damaged Tawny Owls' tree, removing the other places where they liked sitting. Heaven knows where the owls are now.
I really don't understand these people's strategy. They assault what seem to be healthy trees, while huge bits fall off trees that they have overlooked. For example, everyone knew that the Tawnies' nest tree which collapsed recently was in a dangerous state: there was an enormous hole right across the hollow trunk from side to side that you could see through.
I just went to hyde park to look for the little owls. I was near the Lido but I couldn't find their spot, can you please give me directions?
ReplyDeleteThey aren't anywhere near the Lido. They are in Kensington Gardens. Start at the leaf yard, the fenced enclosure with the statue of Peter Pan on its east side. At the southeast corner of this enclosure there is an old battered chestnut tree. Look for the next one, a few yards away to the southwest. Then look for the one after that, at a slightly greater distance and up the hill a bit. It has brambles round its base. This is the Little Owls' nest tree from last year, and the male owl's favourite branch, when viewed from the north side, is at the top left corner of the tree. One or both of the Little Owls may also be high up inside another chestnut tree adjacent to this on the uphill side, and visible from the north or west side of this tree. This is the tree where they nested this year.
DeleteThank you. I will have to try and find this next week. I will let you know how I get on.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried tweeting at the Royal Parks Twitter account people Ralph? Sometimes it grabs management attention and changes behaviour on the ground.
ReplyDeleteI don't use Twitter or Facebook. I find social media completely baffling.
DeleteUnderstood, but since the office bods are all transfixed by it it can produce results remarkably quickly. The feedback is so public they feel compelled to respond. Drives park wardens bonkers of course.
DeleteCool blog! So could the bird really gulp down that spiky/large perch whole?? Does the fish put up a good fight, if eaten, does the unlucky prey get swallowed alive as well?!
ReplyDelete-Kyle
Thanks. Yes, the Cormorant did manage to swallow it, distending its whole neck as it went down. The fish wriggles a bit when caught, but never seems to struggle hard, and never escapes. I'm sure it's alive and conscious for a while until it gets ground up in the bird's gizzard.
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