Friday 16 October 2015

The Black Swan on the Serpentine, seeing someone throwing bread, barged its way through a crowd of Mute Swans to get to the front. They will never have encountered a Black Swan before, and seem bemused by its aggressiveness.


At the Italian Garden one of the young Great Crested Grebes was scratching its ear with the remarkable foot that is unique to grebes. Its toes are the shape of turbine blades and slash sideways through the water to propel it at great speed. The leg bones are flattened to reduce water resistance.


There are Cormorants all round both lakes. A couple were preening on the fallen horse chestnut tree in the Long Water.


The familiar female Pied Wagtail was running along the shore of the Serpentine. She paused to check a leaf for possible insects.


At the Lido restaurant, the young Grey Wagtail had found one.


A pair of Ring-Necked Parakeets were perched on the scored travertine top of the Henry Moore sculpture.


Groups of Long-Tailed Tits are becoming more noticeable as the number of insects declines and they have to work harder for their food. This one near the bridge was inspecting a patch of lichen to see if there were any bugs in it.


The female Little Owl was in the same place as yesterday, and I managed to photograph her without alarming her. She is definitely getting calmer.


This ordinary Cep, Boletus edulis, was a few yards from the Little Owls' tree. Although common, they are quite hard to find in the park, I think because people come in at dawn and pick them.

2 comments:

  1. Hi there, I came to the park today after reading your blog for a while. I saw the female little owl after following your perfect instructions. She made my day! I love your blog, it's so interesting.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, and well done to find the owl at the first visit. It's not easy.

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