But it left when it heard the grebes arriving.
They mated on the nest ...
... and exchanged the usual courtesies afterwards.
But the Coots will win in the end, by sheer persistence. They always do.
A Coot began to build a nest on a chain between two posts at the Serpentine bridge. It may look vague, but a strong and durable structure will emerge.
The male of the pair of Coots nesting on the Mute Swans' little island chased the female. This is all the courtship a female Coot gets.
The blue-eyed Greylag Goose was at Peter Pan with his mate.
There were Mallards in the oak tree near the Albert Memorial where the Little Owls nest. I don't know what they thought they were doing up there.
But when I came back later, the female owl was back in control.
The owl near the Henry Moore sculpture was also in place. So far, there is no sign of Carrion Crows taking over the tree.
A Starling sang outside a nest hole in a plane tree near the small boathouses. It's is already in use, as shown by the droppings. At one time it looked as if Rose-Ringed Parakeets were going to take over these trees, with their many holes suitable for nests, but there was no sign of them today.
The Grey Herons' nest on the north side of the island is occupied again.
The nest on the other side also had a heron in it.
Jackdaws searched for insects and worms in the fertile, well maintained turf of the Diana fountain enclosure.
A female Chaffinch foraged in the shrubbery near the bridge.
On the other side of the bridge, a Chiffchaff sang in a treetop ...
... and a Blue Tit came to be fed.
A Blackbird hauled up a worm under a tree near the leaf yard.
I saw a male coot chasing a female today in a different park. The chase resulted in the pair mating but it wasn’t very romantic
ReplyDeleteThe female Little Owl looks very victorious today. Perhaps she had triumphed over the confused Mallards.
ReplyDeleteCoots are like orcs in many respects. Well, orcs were the worse architects.
This evening I learnt to identify (well I'm 95% sure) the crepuscular flight call of a coot. It's more musical and plaintive than the regular excitement call, 1-3 notes then an interval. The moorhen equivalent is similar but higher pitched. Jim
ReplyDeleteTheir flight is nocturnal and surreptitious, so it was well done to hear it. I suppose they must call to keep the flock together. They do go quite some distance. Since the project of ringing Coots in the park started, one ringed bird has been reported in Gloucestershire.
DeleteThe call would carry some distance. It didn't occur to me that I might be hearing more than one bird. I wondered if it was a pretence at being a variety of owl. I realise I must have heard it many times and assumed it was owl(s) in mid-distance. Jim
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