Friday 29 July 2016

The pair of Mistle Thrushes nesting near the Serpentine Gallery have two young. Here is one of them.


A parent found a caterpillar for it.


A young Carrion Crow on the Vista was also being fed.


Between feeds it was making a terrible racket and flapping its wings. I gave it a peanut to quieten it, but it hadn't yet discovered to to extract the nuts from the shell. It will learn soon.

The three Great Crested Grebe chicks near the bridge were waiting for a fish to be brought. They are quiet when no parent is visible, and start begging as soon as it surfaces.


These are the grebe chicks from the nest near Peter Pan.


The Moorhens in the Sunken Garden are down to a single chick, which they were looking after attentively.


It hasn't been a good year for Moorhens, for some reason. The ones in the Italian Garden have also suffered heavy losses. That can be put down to gulls, but these seldom visit the Sunken Garden.

Both Little owlets from the nest near the Albert Memorial were visible in a horse chestnut tree.


The female Little Owl from the chestnut tree near the leaf yard could also be seen in the nest tree.


A Wood Pigeon was looking for ripe blackberries in the bramble patch east of the Italian Garden.


The Black Swan was at the landing stage near the Diana fountain, gazing fondly at his adopted cygnet.


This young Egyptian Goose grown is one of Blondie's brood. It was preening its almost completely developed wing feathers. Only a few near the leading edge are still partly in their wrappings.


A Grey Heron at Peter Pan had caught a large carp, far too big for it to swallow.


It could have pecked it to pieces, but this idea doesn't seem to occur to herons, and it was obliged to abandon its catch.

4 comments:

  1. I suppose the carp was killed regardless? :( Did it just sink to the bottom then? Jim n.L.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it was clearly dead. I think the heron had spiked it, though the hole is not visible in any of my pictures.

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  2. Glad to find your blog - it is bringing added interest to my walks.
    Regards
    Denise Braun

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