It's a while since we had a blonde female Mallard on the Serpentine.
The white Mallard has taken to spending a lot of his time in the fountain in the Rose Garden, along with the other drake in the group of three. The female hasn't been visible for several days and may be sitting on eggs. Some of the young may be blonde, but the chances of any of them surviving on the Serpentine are very small.
Still on the subject of blondes, Blondie the Egyptian Goose and her family were on the south side of the Serpentine.
The family at the Lido were keeping away from the Sunday crowds, separated by a heap of uprooted railings left by the gardening blitz at the restaurant.
On the Round Pond, the father of the family objected to a Coot building a nest on the kerb. The nest would have collapsed anyway, since there was nothing to attach it to.
A Coot was eating a clump of sprouting wheat. This is from the Zoroastrian New Year celebration Nowruz, held at the spring equinox, where seeds are grown and, when the celebration is over, dropped into water.
The Great Crested Grebes at the island were affectionately fussing around each other at their nest.
The female Carrion Crow nesting in the lime tree near the Henry Moore sculpture often relieves the boredom of sitting on eggs by leaping out, cawing loudly, to chase off another crow.
Really her mate ought to be doing this, but he was on the ground demanding a peanut from me.
In a holly tree next to the Vista, there was an indistinct view of a Magpie building a nest.
And here is an equally indistinct view of another Magpie bathing in the Rose Garden fountain. It's lucky you all know what a Magpie looks like.
Still in the Rose Garden, a Solitary Bee was taking a rest from foraging on a patch of yellow lichen.
In the shrubbery beside the Long Water, a female Robin was vibrating her wings, begging her mate to come and feed her. This is a test to ensure that he will be a good provider when she's sitting on her eggs. He did arrive, but came up on the far side of her, so I couldn't get a good picture.
On other side of the Long Water, a Stock Dove looked suspiciously at a terrapin.
A Wren appeared briefly in a bush near Peter Pan.
The male Little Owl looked out of the oak near the Albert Memorial.
And the male owl in the chestnut tree near the leaf yard was also visible.
I got a few seconds of video of him before he went in.
Another great post,but is that a honey bee or a solitary bee?
ReplyDeleteThanks, I think you're right. Changed.
DeleteRalph, how do you decide who gets peanuts, who gets pine nuts, who gets digestive biscuits, etc.?
ReplyDeleteCharles
[Please forgive my ignorance. All I know is what I learn here.]
Small birds such as tits like pine nuts. Crows, Jackdaws and Jays get peanuts in the shell -- opening the shell keeps them busy for a bit so they don't all crowd in. Swans, geese and ducks like digestive biscuits, an unhealthy treat and I don't feed them regularly. So do Blackbirds, but as fruit eaters they can probably cope with the sugar content.
DeleteLovely and interesting post. Fun to see the Little Owl on video. I noticed that after your video online at YouTube, there is a video showing a specially designed owl box for Little Owls, which partly reduces predation on them by Tawny Owls, with the design of the box. Some of your readers with a suitable garden might find such a box of interest by www.birdfood.co.uk I hope it is okay to post such a link. Feel free to edit of course.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Yes, of course it's OK to recommend things here. In a place where there are no suitable nest sites for a Little Owl, such a thing might be effective. In a park full of old trees, less so. There are eight Tawny Owl boxes in the park, and no owl has ever been near them as far as anyone knows.
Delete