Saturday 30 June 2018

A pair of Blackbirds in the leaf yard have at least one fledgling. It could be heard calling in the bushes, and when I gave its father some sultanas it came out to share the treat.


There were also some Goldfinches here ...


... and the male Little Owl was enjoying the sunshine in his usual tree.


The pair of Coal Tits near the bridge, not seen for some time, also have young. They came out to collect pine nuts for them.


There was a young Blackcap beside the Long Water.


A Goldcrest hung upside down from a branch.


The unstoppable Coots, evicted from their nest on the net on the raft by an Egyptian Goose, are back on it again.


The Coots under the parapet of the Italian Garden were busy feeding their chicks. The parents are finding small creatures in the water below the floating weed, but what are they? The lake is full of Daphnia, tiny crustaceans, but you would think they were too small for a Coot to bother with.


The Canada Geese with three Greylag goslings are almost always seen with another pair with three Canada goslings. It will be interesting to see how the relationship develops when the Greylags are older -- though it must already be very apparent that they are different from the other family's young.


A pair of Gadwalls have returned to the Long Water. They don't migrate, they just fly in and out of the park as the mood takes them, probably from the gardens of Buckingham Palace where there is a small breeding population.


More Cormorants have arrived to eat this year's young fish.


A pair of Common Blue Damselflies mated in the reed bed near the bridge.

4 comments:

  1. Have you ever had a Goldfinch come to the hand? I still have a few visiting my window feeder, incl a juvenile (no head colour yet) with constantly chattering parent in tow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, they're very shy. Just look at them and off they go. The telephoto lens has a usefully long lens hood which stops the lens from glittering and looking like a big frightening eye.

      Delete
    2. Same here. You look at them even briefly and they're off. The wear sunglasses trick does not work with them.

      I am convinced that, in the event of a nuclear winter, Coots would be the sole animal to survive. They say coackroches would, but Coots would polish them off in no time.

      Delete
    3. So cute that Goldfinch anyway! Jim

      Delete