Thursday 4 February 2016

It was a windy day, and a Moorhen facing the wrong way got seriously ruffled.


The Black Swan took possession of one of the reed rafts, chasing off an Egyptian Goose that had the impudence to land on his property.


He ripped up great beakfuls of grass and reeds to make a nest.


But neither of his girlfriends was there to see.

Yesterday Tom photographed him breaking up a pair of Mute Swans that were displaying to each other.


This Carrion Crow seems to be thinking of nesting too. It was breaking off a twig on a tree beside the Serpentine.


But you never know with crows. It may just have been playing.

On the other hand, these Feral Pigeons in the leaf yard were clearly in love.


The Great Crested Grebes have finished making their nest under the willow tree beside the bridge.


Two Coal Tits followed us down the edge of the leaf yard, taking pine nuts and seeds and hiding them in trees before coming back for more.


And a Nuthatch also came to be fed.


This Rose-Ringed Parakeet left off pestering the humans for food and perched in a laurel, eating blossom.

6 comments:

  1. (Sorry to be picky but the pigeon comment is above the Grebes not the Pigeons)
    Fantastic pictures again. Love reading it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for pointing that out. Today's post was assembled in a hurry because I got home late.

      Delete
  2. The Moorhen's "wardrobe malfunction" is so charming!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's difficult being a bird. You have to keep facing upwind the whole time, or you get sadly disarranged.

      Delete
  3. I'm curious about the reasons the Black Swan may have had for breaking up the displaying swans. Were they somewhere he considered his territory? I refuse to believe that he did it out of meanness, or spite, or jealousy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe he'd been having trouble with his own attempts to have two girlfriends, but that may be anthropomorphising too much. Anyway, he often chases Mute Swans for no immediate reason. Certainly he likes being boss.

      Delete