There were also the usual Pied Wagtails.
Redwings in the top of one of the plane trees around the bandstand panicked and fled as soon as I raised the camera. But there were other birds in the trees between the bandstand and the Rose Garden, including Mistle Thrushes ...
... and Goldfinches, one of which was singing.
In the Rose Garden, the bush with the feeder was visited by the usual pair of Coal Tits ...
... and the Dunnock on the ground underneath, dodging between the pigeons to pick up spilt food.
It also picked up a tiny creature which I couldn't identify.
Readers of the London Bird Club Wiki will know that some Waxwings were seen at Marble Arch yesterday morning, in the tall trees at the far northeast corner of the park. I spent two hours looking for them, also going around Hyde Park Square, Oxford Square and Connaught Square (where I once got stopped and searched by the police for making an apotropaic gesture to ward off the evil eye when walking past Tony Blair's house). There was no sign of them. Also, these squares and the streets around them have no trees with berries that might attract Waxwings. The only berries are on a cotoneaster bush at the west end of the Marble Arch traffic island, near the site of the Tyburn Tree where so many people were hanged, and on a couple of small rowan trees several hundred yards to the west next to Albion Gate.
Anyway, there were other birds to see, including the Kingfisher on a bush on the west side of the Long Water near the Italian Garden, though he wouldn't come out from behind some twigs.
Also on the Long Water, a Cormorant somehow managed to perch on a very thin and wobbly branch, and flapped to keep its balance.
A pair of Feral Pigeons on the willow tree next to the bridge were clearly in love.
A Grey Heron was gathering twigs to build up one of the nests on the island.
The female Little Owl in the oak tree near the Albert Memorial was out enjoying the sunshine on a mild day.
But the one in the lime tree near the Henry Moore sculpture was on the shaded side of the branch and had retreated halfway into her hole, where she could only be seen from a considerable distance.
Searched by the police for birdwatching...
ReplyDeleteInteresting!
I have actually been stopped by the police for photographing the Peregrines on top of the Metropole Hilton hotel, but was able to convince the constable of my bona fides when I let him look at the bird through my binoculars. I have a No Crime Notice as a memento of that encounter.
DeleteWas that the digitus impudicus that called the attention of the police? For my own apotropaic purposes I content myself with muttering καὶ σύ under my breath.
ReplyDeleteIt was the Italian gesture of extending the index and little fingers to poke the Devil in the eye.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, that is a Spanish gesture as well (I assume it must come from the Romans). Funnily enough, it is now used as a malediction, not so much for protection.
ReplyDeleteYesterday in Kensington Gardens I encountered what at first sight looked like gently falling snow. When I looked up I was passing under a horse chestnut tree packed with parakeets who were stripping it of something and discarding the inedible bits. Any idea what foodstuff is available at this time of year? It was obviously new growth and not detritus. Meanwhile the Diana Memorial swan was enthusiastically ripping up reeds for a nest. Very impressive effort if not, as you pointed out, very practical.
ReplyDeleteHorse chestnuts have large showy flowers which don't develop till spring, and are insect pollinated. So the 'snow' was not pollen. I think that the parakeets were shredding the early leaf buds. They do seem to batten on to trees of various kinds and chew them severely, leaving a lot of debris on the ground underneath.
DeleteThat's quite a Rodin-esque pose of those pigeons. Jim
ReplyDeleteThe pose of 'The Kiss', the bodies of 'Balzac'?
DeleteHadn't heard of the latter but I see what you mean. Jim
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