Wednesday 27 December 2017

In a wet, windy and almost deserted Hyde Park, a flock of Canada Geese trundled across the empty road to someone who looked as if she might have some bread for them.


Greylags came in from the other side of the lake.


A sudden gust in the Italian Garden whipped the fountain and made a Grey Heron lose its footing.


The water in the Diana fountain has turned red.


I hope this is not an awful portent.


A Great Crested Grebe, undisturbed, preened placidly.


Young Herring Gulls often dredge up stones covered with algae, and seem to enjoy picking the growth off. I don't think they are finding anything to eat here.


Several Jays followed me along the edge of the Long Water touting for peanuts.


With no one else to feed them, the Robins were extra hungry. This is one of my regular customers at the leaf yard ...


... and another on the east side of the Long Water ...


... but this one in a twisty bush in the Flower Walk is a newcomer, and I was surprised when it came to my hand.


There was just one Little Owl on view, the female near the Albert Memorial.

3 comments:

  1. I am beginning to think that birds do tell others where to find food. Your new Robin must have heard about you from the Robin grapevine.

    Water turning red is of itself a negative portent, I'd say. Perhaps the crow simply has a literary bent and fancies itself a new incarnation of Poe's Raven, perched on a bust of Pallas (or a memorial stone) quoting Nevermore.

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    1. I am puzzled by the red water. I looked carefully to see if there were red dead leaves that could have stained it. No trace. The water in this thing is carefully filtered and recirculated. The complete 'fountain' is quite big, so that any colouring agent would have had to be present in a substantial quantity.

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    2. Whenever I've seen that colour 'in the wild', it was due to algae. But I don't think that's the case here.

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