... being fed by their parents. This one is getting a damselfly.
The Grey Wagtails on the Serpentine are not so far ahead, and are still feeding their young in the nest. This parent was collecting insects at the Lido.
A pair of Nuthatches in the leaf yard are now regularly coming to my hand. They have at least one chick to feed, which can be seen occasionally in the background.
Sunbathing Feral Pigeons were sprawled on the grass nearby.
The male Little Owl was moving around restlessly in the chestnut tree.
The wave of ill luck continues to affect the Mute Swans. The pair on the Long Water have lost a cygnet.
A swan near the island saw off a Herring Gull that had come too near her young.
The family on the raft have not had any further losses. When the parents preen, the cygnets copy them.
On the Round Pond, a Coot chick was reclining idly on the raft with the solar panel ...
... while the adults got on with the serious business of pointless fighting.
The pigeon-killing Lesser Black-Backed Gull had claimed a new victim on the gravel bank on the Long Water, the first time I've seen him hunting there. This picture was taken from the other side of the lake.
There were four terrapins, all Red-Eared Sliders, on the fallen horse chestnut tree on the Long Water.
The conventional wisdom is that they can't breed in the British climate, but it is beginning to look as if recent warm summers have allowed them to.
Teen Coots are very pretty - considering how ugly they are as chicks.
ReplyDeleteThat Herring Gull looks as if it's seen death in the face. That's almost an expression of terror. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the Swans' bad luck this year.
It was only a momentary fright for the Herring Gull. It went and sat in the water a couple of feet away.
DeleteGulls are psychologically indestructible, I guess...
DeleteOn the positive side, I think there are still more cygnets than this time last year?
ReplyDeleteYes, but numbers are falling rapidly and inexplicably.
DeleteThankfully the swans in the Lido still have their two, but whilst I was there I witnessed a herring gull knock a coot off its nest(built foolishly on the buoys that mark off the swimming area) and take a chick.... the poor coot and partner were beside themselves, we all looked on helpless. I still find it hard to believe that these remorseless birds are a "protected" species!!!!
ReplyDeleteTheir numbers are rising alarmingly in the park, thanks to the breeding colony -- now perhaps two colonies -- in Paddington.
DeletePlease get those red-eared sliders out of there. They are most likely dumped from some ones tank when they had to move out and found them no longer attractive or convenient.
ReplyDeleteWish we could. But easier said than done.
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