... included a Coal Tit ...
... and a Goldcrest.
The Redwings were still on the Parade Ground, staying warily in the trees as a man went past with a roller.
A Wood Pigeon ate flower buds in a tree in the Rose Garden.
We need a picture of a Robin from time to time. The park would be a duller place without their melodious year-round song.
The little Egyptian gosling at the Henry Moore sculpture had survived another night and reached four days old, which is a record for the young of its incompetent parents.
Four Great Crested Grebes were sitting in a loose group in the middle of the Serpentine, without making any displays. This is a sign that they had just flown in. When grebes are moving they drop their territorial claims and travel together for greater safety, flying at night to avoid predators. These two are not a pair, and both clearly male.
Some Greylag Geese flew down to the lake.
A Canada Goose turned upside down during a vigorous wash at the Lido.
A pair of Gadwalls passed by. You can see the distinctive white patch at the back of the female's folded wing.
Female Mallards look quite similar but the patch is blue, because it is the bird's secondary feathers, here fully displayed as she flaps her wings.
The female owl at the Albert Memorial was at the back of her hole during a dim morning.
When the day brightened up later she went inside, so this is the best picture I could get.
Never a dull moment where Robins are concerned!
ReplyDeleteMost of our wintering Robins have gone. I miss them so much.
We have them all the year round, in large numbers. The Collins Bird Guide shows a little blue spot in Extremadura where Robins are found only in winter, and the nearest red place for summer migrants seems to be Switzerland.
DeleteWe do have a small resident population of Robins, but they're usually deep in the country. It's a very stark contrast to winter, where everywhere you go, everywhere you look, city, village or country, there is a Robin with its cheery winter song.
ReplyDelete