And this is the younger one, with six ducklings.
A few feet away, in the corner of the reed bed, a Mallard and her six ducklings relaxed and preened.
It's a sheltered spot, and shelter was needed as there were almost a hundred Herring Gulls on the Serpentine. The vast majority of them were juvenile or second year, a sign of how fast the population is expanding.
There were only two Lesser Black-Backed Gulls -- the pigeon killer and his mate -- and only half a dozen Black-Headed Gulls which came briefly over from the Long Water and soon returned. The Herring Gulls have really taken over here.
The Egyptian goslings at the Round Pond were sheltering from the hot sunlight under a bench.
This young Egyptian on the Serpentine has fully developed wings and is ready to fly. I haven't seen any trying yet, but soon they will be running along the path and flapping in an effort to get into the air.
A young Moorhen walking along a chain hadn't quite achieved the effortless balancing skill of an adult.
The Coots persist in their second vain attempt to nest at the outflow of the Serpentine, and have eggs. Inevitably the chicks will fall down the gap at the back of the nest into the weir.
The three Great Crested Grebe chicks at the bridge were fully fed and quietly preening alongside one of their parents.
The Little Grebes were calling on the Long Water and I got a distant glimpse of one of them. Throwing lifebelts into the lake is a favourite pastime of pea-brained youths.
The male Little Owl near the leaf yard was hard to find in the upper chestnut tree.
A flock of Long-Tailed Tits passed through the small American oak tree next to it. This young one's tail is already a bit frayed from brushing through the leaves.
A White-Tailed Bumblebee climbed through thistledown to get to a flower that was still in working order.
A Common Carder bee found a younger flower.
I thought it was gossamer near the bumblebee and, predictably, I began to get nervous. But then I realized it's just thistledown and gave a breath of relief.
ReplyDeleteThat Long-Tailed Tit looks in a foul mood. Or perhaps it's just exhausted.
I think it's bad news that Herring Gulls should have taken over the Park. That's not good for any species.
Now that I think of it, it should be cobweb, not gossamer, right?
DeleteBTW I just learned that cob in cobweb and cob as the name of the male swan has the same etymological origin! It means a rounded objet, or a head. Cob as an old name for a spider comes from attercop, poison-head.
The larger original photograph from which I cropped the published picture shows unmistakable thistledown, and the bee had just walked through it. Gossamer is a thin strand of spider silk used by young spiders to drift on the wind.
DeleteInteresting about the etymology of cobweb, thank you.
Is there nothing that can be done about the Gull population? Seems like it's already a menace to the wildfowl and getting a bit out of control.
ReplyDelete