The small birds in the leaf yard didn't seem worried. A Robin clung to an iron spike on the railings with its frail spindly feet.
A Nuthatch walked confidently down a branch.
The weather had kept Easter visitors out of the park, and Pied Wagtails were running around the edge of the lake undisturbed.
Mute Swans are very fond of young willow leaves. The trees around the Long Water get cropped up to the highest level a swan can reach.
A pair of Mallards had managed to land quite high up inside the willow tree near the bridge. This picture was taken looking down from the parapet.
There was also a pair of Moorhens in the tree, but they can climb well. Every year they nest in a hole in the tree, but I have never been able to see where this is.
There were two pairs of Mandarins at Peter Pan.
The sun came out and lit up a Great Crested Grebe resting peacefully on the nest at the east end of the island.
Several Red-Crested Pochards were cruising around nearby.
The Black Swan and girlfriend number one were by themselves, preening near the Lido.
The Little Owl looks scared, poor thing. The Robin hasn't got the memo that hailstorms are very dangerous, it seems.
ReplyDeleteI think the Robin was under a leaf during the actual storm. I was under a yew, the best of all sheltering trees.
DeleteIs there in the UK a similar superstition to the one in Spain according to which a yew's shadow is poisonous? Old shepherds in Spain will not take shelter under a yew.
DeleteI don't think so. Yews are associated with pre-Christian cults, and with graveyards, where they are often planted. But otherwise they have a positive image because the wood was used for English longbows.
DeleteThere is an abundance of most of these in Mrk. Check it in the tranquil grounds of Sv Mašta.
ReplyDeleteNone of them appears when you are looking however.
They can cope with a shortage of vowels as long there are plenty of worms.
DeleteThe Diet was not completely sustaining in more northerly habitats. Especially in late February.
DeleteAs Luther said before embarking on the Diet of Worms, 'So help me God, I can take no other course.'
DeleteI love your clever allusions Ralph, though this one might have sent some in the direction of our friend Mr Google for clarification! (I reckon blogs should be for edification as well as entertainment)
DeleteMust admit that the joke is taken from 1066 and All That.
DeleteYour blog had inspired me to head down from Oxford for a photography trip awhile now, so yesterday my wife and I finally did. Had a great day, got to see plenty of Parakeets (which we wanted to) and a very brave Heron sat in the restaurant! One thing I wasn't able to find was the Hudson Memorial? Are you able to tell me which part it's in please?
ReplyDeleteYour blog had inspired me to head down from Oxford for a photography trip awhile now, so yesterday my wife and I finally did. Had a great day, got to see plenty of Parakeets (which we wanted to) and a very brave Heron sat in the restaurant! One thing I wasn't able to find was the Hudson Memorial? Are you able to tell me which part it's in please?
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed your visit. The Hudson Memorial is better known as Rima, and is on the south side of the enclosure containing the big greenhouses where the bedding plants for the park flowerbeds are grown. This is to the northwest of the police station in Hyde Park.
DeleteI hate to intrude a modestly serious note in such splendid frivolity . . . I was in the Park on Sunday, and got caught in the hailstorm (one of Hebridean charmlessness, I may say). I also saw, before the hail and in clear weather, a pair of Mute Swans on the mashed-and-trashed reed island by the Dell; both birds were pottering idly at nothing much in particular, with an egg open to plain view, completely unshielded, in bitterly cold air. Could they somehow have known the egg was defunct, and thus not be bothered? I don't know enough about swans to tell.
ReplyDeleteHarry G.
Both swans and geese seem to lay eggs here occasionally and abandon them. It has already happened three times this year. Probably it happens quite often, but it's more visible on these little artificial islands.
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