... or a Long-Tailed Tit in a holly tree, as both of them were looking for insects.
So were the two Nuthatches in the leaf yard, seen here in the dark shade of a bush on a dark grey morning.
It was raining and rather windy when I went out, and I didn't expect to see either of the Little Owls near the leaf yard. But the female was sheltering deep inside the foliage of her usual tree, and it was just possible to see her.
This Magpie near the leaf yard got a peanut from me when it was young, and hasn't forgotten. It now appears straight in front of me looking hopeful, and indeed is impossible to resist.
The Red Crested Pochard drakes are regrowing their showy breeding plumage.
The Moorhen family in the Dell were in a little heap on the grass. Their second, third and fourth nests have now disintegrated, while the original one where the chicks nest is still intact. This shows that Moorhens take much greater care in building the nest where they are going to lay their eggs, and the later ones are just temporary resting places.
The spreading growth of duckweed in the Long Water has attracted a lot of Mallards, which were doing their best to clear it.
A young Great Crested Grebe was under the balcony of the Dell restaurant, peering down to see if there were any fish.
The number of Starlings in the park is steadily increasing. Perhaps there are 400 in this flock.
I went to St James's Park to look for our Black Swan, and found only a different one which has been there for some time.
But there were plenty of Little Grebes. Why do St James's Park and Regent's Park have so many when we are lucky to see a couple every few months? This one was under the bridge ...
... in exactly the spot where, looking up, you can see my favourite London view.
The buildings are the Horse Guards in Whitehall and, behind it, the former National Liberal Club.
I visited St James's Park today, with the same result as you (I also saw a Great Crested Grebe chick which I'd somehow missed on previous visits). Thank you for the beautiful Little Grebe photo
ReplyDeleteYes, I saw the Great Crested Grebe chick too -- not hard, as it was making a lot of noise.
DeleteI was wondering if the black swan has gone missing before? It is good to know the cygnet is coping - might need a few more digestives! How old do you think the black swan is? Lovely blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you. The Black Swan did go to Regent's Park once, soon after his arrival, and I thought he had been caught and dragged there by keepers, but now it seems that it was his choice. He never went there again, but it was the first place I thought of looking after his recent disappearance. I think he's two and a bit years old, judging by the colour of his flight feathers.
DeleteHow many starlings do you need for a murmeration fly-by, do you know? What a sight that is.
ReplyDeleteIn the early '80s , I often took the No.29 bus from Finsbury Park on a Sunday afternoon to walk through Whitehall, down the street alongside the Foreign Office and into St James's Park; it felt to me like it was all breathing history , and made me glad to have come to London. Perhaps I was a little romantic.
I suppose that what constitutes a proper murmuration is when you see a moving cloud rather than a flock of individual birds. This needs thousands, not hundreds.
DeleteYes, St James's Park really is living history -- next to filthy old Whitehall Palace where the Tudors and the Stuarts schemed until the old order was swept away by the 1688 revolution and William III made a fresh start in Kensington Palace. St James's Park was an edgy place. Boswell picked up prostitutes there. But duels were usually fought in Hyde Park, in the Dell.
Dear Ralph, I love your blog and I always look forward to reading it. I'm feeling sad and worried about Black Swan though!!
ReplyDeleteDenise
Thanks. We are all worried about the Black Swan. After 11 months he was beginning to seem like a permanent resident, and was always a fascinating character.
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