Thursday 20 July 2017

It seems than another Lesser Black-Backed Gull in the park is killing pigeons. This very dark one was beside the Round Pond. The usual pigeon-killer was a mile away at the far end of the Serpentine.


Two Carrion Crows were eating the remains of a pigeon a few yards away in front of Kensington Palace. Probably this is the leftovers from one or other of the gulls.


The brisk wind encouraged swans and geese to try out their newly regrown flight feathers.



The Black Swan was among them, and came down on the water right beside us.


The Egyptian Gosling that lies in the middle of the path seems to have learnt the habit from its mother. Neither was taking any notice of the runners who pounded past inches away.


The Mallard ducklings near the Lido continue their perilous existence. They were wandering around without their mother.


But the mother of the two at Peter Pan was guarding them closely, not surprisingly as there were a dozen Lesser Black-Backed Gulls only a few feet away. They are fairly safe if they stay close to the railings at the edge, as a long-winged gull needs room to swoop.


The Great Crested Grebe family from the island were out in the middle of the Serpentine.


The elder chick of these parents, now an independent teenager, spends much of its time lurking behind the baskets at the edge of the island.


A Coot was enjoying a jacuzzi above one of the air bubblers that are supposed to keep the lake water oxygenated.


House Martins were flying low over the Serpentine.


Three Mistle Thrushes were prospecting for worms on the Vista.


The young Great Tits are now independent. This one was searching for small larvae in the grass.


The female Little Owl at the leaf yard stayed in her hole during the morning drizzle, but came out later during a brief sunny spell.

2 comments:

  1. Did this other gull kill the pigeon, or did it find it dead already?

    It always marvels me how much white is concealed within the ruffles of the Black Swan.

    Lovely to see that the teen grebe is doing fine on its own. Birds are true survivers, if given half a chance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know whether that gull killed the pigeon. Also there were two pigeon carcases here, the other one being eaten by the crows. It's possible that the notorious pigeon killer went up to the Round Pond. Another likely sighting of him last year is on the Regent's Canal over 2 km northeast of the park, so he certainly moves around.

      Delete