Friday 6 April 2018

A Grey Heron looked across the Vista at five others, which had assembled on the gravel bank too close for comfort.


Inevitably conflict broke out.


Another heron perched on the Henry Moore sculpture was caught by a tailwind that ruffled its feathers. It hastily turned round.


A wide-angle shot of the Coots' nest resting on the lake floor shows the size of the waterlogged branches that the birds have somehow managed to drag and assemble. I simply don't see how they did it.


Strong and aggressive as Coots are, they are no match for agile and sharp-beaked Great Crested Grebes at close quarters. So the grebes at the island are still in possession of their stolen Coot nest -- as long as there is always one grebe on it.


The Mute Swans nesting at the end of the Lido restaurant terrace seem to have settled in. But it's extremely unlikely that they will get away with nesting in this exposed place, behind a low fence that even a lazy fox could easily jump over.


The Canada--Greylag Goose hybrids on the Serpentine are not the best looking of geese, but this one with a speckled head is quite attractive.


Just one Little Owl was visible today, the female near the Albert Memorial.


Johanna van de Woestijne edits the longer video clips on my YouTube channel, such as the one about the pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull, which has now had about 115,000 views. She is visiting London, and took the opportunity to feed the tits at the leaf yard, including the shy Coal Tit which is a very difficult bird to attract.


Tom made this remarkable slow-motion video yesterday of a Nuthatch coming to his hand.


A Goldcrest was bouncing around in the Dell.


As I walked home, I passed through a flock of Goldfinches in the street.


The Song Thrush near the bridge is now in full and glorious song.


A pretty pink-flowered currant bush at the Vista attracts a lot of bees.


I have always been puzzled by these stones set into the tarmac at the edge of the Round Pond, which seem to mean 'No bullfighting'.

8 comments:

  1. Ralph, there were a lot of memorable moments today in the park. I'm so happy I managed to get out there on our last day in London. Thank you so much for showing me around. If I had to pick one best moment, I would say it was seeing and hearing the song thrush in full unabashed song, going on and on.

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  2. Talking of thrush songs and slo-mo replays, did everyone hear this remarkable slowed-down recording of a Veery song? I think it sounds remarkably like orchestral music by another famous Ralph. Jim

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    1. I think that to another thrush it probably sounds like the slowed-down recording. They live eight times as fast as us. To them we are dumbed-down lumbering giants.

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    2. It waould be interesting to play to a Veery the Wasps Overture speeded up about 5x, and see what it made of that! Jim

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  3. How I love the Song Thrush's powerful, melodic song! Rhythm we may have learned to appreciate from listening to our mother's heart while in the womb, but melody comes straight from the birds. They gave it to us.

    I'm not entirely sure that is a matador in the stone. The muleta is singularly imaginatively depicted, if that is the case. I guess it's 'no trailing capes one may step on'?

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    1. Or perhaps 'The casting of shadows here is forbidden.'

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  4. I think the sign probably means 'CAUTION: ST BARTHOLOMEW CROSSING"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_the_Apostle#/media/File:Last_judgement.jpg

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