Wednesday 7 October 2015

The Diana fountain was deserted on a rainy day. A Pied Wagtail was trotting confidently over one of the little bridges across the channel.


A young Herring Gull had taken advantage of the peaceful scene. The carefully filtered water is the best drink in the park, and gulls, like children, enjoy paddling in the rapids.


A Black-Headed Gull had caught another rat-tailed maggot near the bridge, and another gull was chasing it, trying to make it drop its meal.


The older brood of Great Crested Grebes on the Long Water are now trying to fly. This one almost got airborne for a moment.


The younger ones were practising, or playing at, fishing. This one had caught a stick, which it quickly discarded and dived again.


A Grey Heron had found that the fallen poplar branch at Peter Pan is a good place to stand.


The odd couple of a Canada-Greylag hybrid and a pure Greylag were walking around together at the back of the Lido. They have been together for several years and seems devoted to each other.


The female Little Owl was out in the drizzle on last year's nest tree.


The bed of wood chips under the plane trees near the Physical Engery statue continues to produce a fine crop of Stubble Rosegill mushrooms, Volvariella gliocephala. The second word means 'glue-headed', and you can see that debris is sticking to the cap. I tried to pull the larger bits off to make a better picture, but they wouldn't come away.

5 comments:

  1. Have the Canalag - Greylag pair ever had goslings? Jim n.L.

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  2. I will be visiting London from the U.S. next week. I have been an avid follower of your blog. Can you tell me where the Little Owl tree is?

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    1. In Kensington Gardens, go to 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.

      I am usually in this area around 12.30-12.45 pm every day, and if you see me, just ask me to show you the trees. You could leave a comment on the blog the day before you plan to visit. If you leave an email address I will contact you directly, and also remove your comment as soon as I see it so that your address is not unduly exposed to bots trawling the web for addresses to send spam to.

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  3. Thank you for your help with finding the little owl on Tuesday.

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