The gull was away again. In a comment on yesterday's blog post Caroline told me that she had seen him a fortnight ago picking up lunch at Harvey Nichols, which is only a couple of hundred yards from his usual hunting ground. There is also a report of gulls taking pigeons in other cities. As I have mentioned before, a Lesser Black-Back has been seen killing pigeons in St James's Park near the bridge, but I haven't seen this and don't know whether it's our gull or another one. Our gull is instantly recognisable from the deep custard yellow of his legs.
It was a hot day, and a Cormorant was panting to cool itself on a post near the island.
The Coots who nest in one of the small boathouses have two new chicks. It is a good place for a nest, well sheltered from gulls and visited only by the staff of Bluebird Boats, who are always careful not to disturb the Coots.
In the Italian Garden pond, a Moorhen was pulling up algae for the chicks. As far as I can see they don't give the algae to the chicks to eat, but sift through it to find tiny invertebrates.
One of the Great Crested Grebes on the Long Water was slowly stretching its wings, watched by a chick. Grebes often hold their wings up for half a minute or more, evidently to relieve cramp caused by having them tightly folded and seldom used.
The teenage Mandarin was at Peter Pan again.
Most of the large flock of Red Crested Pochards have left, but a few remain and there was a female at Peter Pan. They are particularly elegant female ducks with their softly shaded colours.
I couldn't find the Tufted duckling on the island. There was a crowd of water birds of various species, and it was hard to see what was there. I couldn't find the Black Swan either, and nor could the lone cygnet, which was wandering around from one group of Mute Swans to another as if looking for its protector.
A flock of Long-Tailed Tits passed along the west side of the Long Water. If you can find them moving from the bridge towards the Vista, you can go to the edge of the Vista, where they will collect in a small tree before they cross the gap. It's easy to photograph them here.
The female Little Owl at the leaf yard was in a corner of the nest tree where it was hard to get a clear view.
The male Little Owl near the Albert Memorial was also in a difficult place high in an oak tree.
In an adjacent tree, a male Rose-Ringed Parakeet was inspecting a tree hole. They do this even outside the nesting season, as they sometimes use holes for shelter.
A Small White butterfly on a flower in the Dell was not looking very white, and I photographed it because I thought it might be something else. But they have have yellowish tints on their underwings, and perhaps this one was yellower than average.
Ralph, do you remember the old willow tree in the Dell cafe garden? I wonder why they had to fell it down back in winter. There is a new one now growing instead but that will take 100 years for it to reach the same appearance.
ReplyDeleteWillow trees are very short-lived, and when they are old they fall to bits. The one at the Dell restaurant was only 60 years old. It had already needed propping up with a giant steel crutch, and was in a visibly rotten state. It had to be felled and replaced.
DeleteShame, it looked marvellous next to the cafe. There is another willow tree on the north bank near the Triangle, it looks younger.
ReplyDeleteThe black swan and cygnet found each other eventually with much vocalising from the adult and rather weak responses from the youngster. It feels odd hearing sounds coming from the cygnet since the adults live up to their name. Have you ever heard the adults produce sounds in any circumstances?
ReplyDeleteApart from the usual snorts and hisses, no. But Collins Bird Guide says that lone swans seeking company have a contact call that it renders as 'ga-oh'. Sounds like a version of the Black Swan's two-tone call.
DeleteI find familiar adult Mute Swans can be quite 'chatty' when I feed them. Huffs, snorts, gentle barking. Really charming. *** They do hiss loudly when approached by dogs whose idiot owners have let them off the lead!
DeleteIt's all down to the silly legend that swans sing once before they die, I think.
DeleteThank heavens they found each other. Poor lonely little cygnet.
ReplyDeleteCould the butterfly be a green-veined white Ralph? I see some darker scales in closeup.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't be surprised. But it looked much more like the Dmall Whites in the pictures I compared it with.
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