Thursday 14 June 2018

There are three new broods of Mallard ducklings: in one of the Italian Garden fountains, in the Long Water under the balustrade of the garden, and beside the Serpentine.


The first set are in the same pond as the new Moorhen family. The Moorhen chicks were wandering among the water lily leaves, being fed by their parents.


But when the Mallard approached with a determined look in her eye, they fled.


The Moorhens in the Dell are comfortably established on their nest under the waterfall.


One of the Great Crested Grebe chicks from the nest on the island is already starting to look for fish, but it will be at least a month before it can catch anything. After a while it spotted a parent and started begging.


One of the Mute Swan families was resting comfortably on the path near the bridge, ignoring the passing humans.


The two Canada--Greylag hybrid geese who are certainly siblings are now grounded, waiting for their wing feathers to regrow.


Some of the Greylag families were near the island. They seemed unalarmed by a Grey Heron in their midst.


The young heron from the island was fishing under the tree where it was hatched.


This young Herring Gull is in its second summer, beginning to grow adult pale grey feathers on its back.


A young Pied Wagtail preened on the terrace of the Dell restaurant.


The young ones are much less shy than adults, and when I found it later hunting along the edge of the Serpentine it came right up to me.


A young Great Tit waited for its parents to bring it food.


I've just got my good lens back from being serviced, and can take proper photographs of insects again. So here are some.

A pair of Common Blue Damselflies mated on a grass stem. It's a long and complicated business.


There was a Red-Eyed Damselfly on a patch of weed on the Serpentine.


A White-Tailed Bumblebee collected nectar from an equally hairy lamb's-ears flower.

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations on having your lens again! I had thought your last picture of a bumblebee could not be improven, but I was wrong. This last one of the hairy bee on the hairy flower is **spectacular**!

    The young Wagtail does not even look at you. Does it even notice humans?

    What is the Grebe chick doing? It looks to me as if it was trying to learn how to see things underwater?

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    1. The grebe chick has already been following its parents when they dive and catch fish. It is actually looking for fish. Soon it will be diving after them, ineffectually at first as fishing is a skill that has to be learnt and practised,

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