There were no gulls on the Round Pond at all when I went past, which helps to explain their survival.
A Coot was building an absolutely futile nest on the edge of the pond.
On the Serpentine, two Moorhens were not being much more sensible, trying to kick each other to death.
This horse chestnut tree beside the Long Water is only a few feet from the willow where I photographed the two Grey Herons yesterday. But a check of the previous picture shows that at least one of the herons is different, a young one. As before, they are keeping a wary distance apart.
The Little Owl in the oak tree had left his hole and was out on a branch. But every now and then he looked up suspiciously at a pair of Stock Doves in the tree, as if they might try to take the hole, in which there may be a female owl on her eggs at the moment.
The owl in the lime tree was in the hole as usual. Is he too guarding a sitting female?
It started to rain increasingly hard in the afternoon. Here is a rain-spotted Gadwall, indifferent to the weather.
The Black Swan was back on the Serpentine with his girlfriend. They seemed very fond of each other.
He climbed on to the reed raft at one time. But that is probably the last time he will be able to do so, as the rafts are being repaired, and will probably also be towed back to their original positions from which they were pushed by recent strong winds.
Providing a haven for wildlife is one thing, but allowing the fences to be crushed and the vegetation trashed by swans is another.
A pair of Mute Swans are nesting in the reeds by the Diana fountain. This picture was taken from the other side of the lake.
Nests here are exposed to foxes, but at least one has succeeded in the past. However, there are probably more foxes now, as there are everywhere in London.
In the shrubbery at the northwest corner of the bridge there is usually a Song Thrush creeping around in the undergrowth.
I don't think it's one of a pair, unlike the Song Thrushes across the lake, where the male often sings.
Flippin' wildlife doesn't know what's good for 'em! Thank goodness for conservationists to keep 'em in their place. :-)
ReplyDeleteHow long before goslings become too big and ugly for gulls to snack on? I shall be counting down the days...
To be fair, the swans have trashed the rafts so badly that one of them is staring to sink.
DeleteAs for the little Egyptians, they may be out of immediate danger from gulls in maybe three weeks. But it's still a dangerous world.
P.S. That is a very poster-friendly swan pic. Would make great publicity for the Park too.
ReplyDeletePity it was taken in pouring rain.
DeleteThat makes it even lovelier, I think.
DeleteCoots will be coots, it seems. If they weren't so comical-looking they'd be positively terrifying.
P.S.: The crazy fighting pair are moorhens?
DeleteWhoops, sorry, thank you. There were both Coots and Moorhens fighting and I didn't look too closely at the picture.
DeleteIs the Black Swan's girlfriend old enough to breed this year? Or still 'under age'? I wonder why he didn't choose a mature Mute Swan, or maybe he tried and they rejected his advances? I didn't find your excellent blog until after the start of this ongoing avian soap opera - though I guess I could catch earlier episodes on KGHP catch-up if I scoll back far enough!
ReplyDeleteShe's still well under age. Next year would be the earliest she can breed, maybe the year after that.
DeleteThere's a serious deficiency in Blogger blogs: you can't go directly to a particular month of a previous year. However, there is a simple trick. When you are on the normal blog page
http://kensingtongardensandhydeparkbirds.blogspot.co.uk
go to its URL listed at the top of your browser page, and type the year and month after the address, separated by slashes like this:
http://kensingtongardensandhydeparkbirds.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06
Then hit Enter. The example here will land you on the last day of June 2012.
Do you ever open your Hyde Park bird walks to budding bird enthusiasts who would love to learn from your expertise?
ReplyDeleteAnyone who wants to be shown round the park can simply ask me. Unless there is something particular going on, I'll be happy to oblige. Usually I arrange to meet people at the south end of the Serpentine bridge at 11.30 am.
DeleteDunno about expertise, though. At least I know where things are.
Thanks for the info about the swan, and also the tip for finding older posts. Your photos are lovely and I am learning a lot from the accompanying texts
ReplyDelete