So is another family with six ducklings of about the same age.
For some reason, after years of the local Herring Gulls eating practically all the ducklings, we are seeing a reasonable survival rate. That is in spite of the fact that there are up to 100 Herring Gulls on the lake on some days.
The Tufted Duck on the Long Water with six ducklings was back on the Coots' nest under the willow.
This is the latest and largest of the five Tufted Duck families, seen here at the island. It was almost impossible to count the ducklings, but I think all eleven were still here, although the largest number visible at any time in this clip is ten.
But Blondie the Egyptian Goose, who is an attentive mother, has lost two broods this year. She was by herself near the Dell restaurant.
The Great Crested Grebe family near the bridge could be heard from hundreds of yards away.
One of the chicks preened its shining white belly.
Four Moorhen chicks followed their parent through the thick duckweed in the Italian Garden fountain pool. A fifth chick was out of the picture with the other parent.
The Coot nest on the raft in the Long Water is still going. The net that was supposed to stop birds from nesting on the raft has actually made it possible for the Coot to succeed here. With no net, any chicks would have been trapped inside the plastic fence.
The two young Grey Herons could be seen in the nest on the island. The one on the left is sitting on its haunches with its feet up in the air, an odd posture that had me worried for a bit, but I think it's OK. As with other perching birds, the toes clench automatically when it bends its legs.
A dead Feral Pigeon picked clean on the shore of the Serpentine showed that the notorious Lesser Black-Backed Gull had had his breakfast. When I passed the Dell restaurant, it was clear that he was already thinking about lunch.
It was a drizzly morning. The Rose-Ringed Parakeets were waiting at the leaf yard for someone to come and feed them, but no one came.
A Robin waited in a bush for me to feed it, the first I've seen for a while. Things are getting back to normal after the long hot dry spell.
The ground has been softened by rain, and the Blackbirds are out again looking for worms. The dry weather has made a lot of leaves fall off the trees, giving a prematurely autumnal look.
Lovely seeing a picture of a Robin. I am relieved that things are getting back on their natural course.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that Grebe chicks were so white underneath. I imagine it shines so white because the feathers are always clean on account of their always being in the water? White Storks end up looking muddy and dirty because they rumage far too much in landfills. Gulls do so, too, but Gulls are obsessive with their hygiene.
Poor, poor Blondie. She is as good a mother as the Tufted Duck. She is just luckless.
There is something extra white, almost pearly, about the feathers on the underside of grebes. This led to the species almost being exterminated in Britain in the late 19th century by people wanting grebe skins for lining winter coats. Yes, really, ugh. They were down to 30-40 breeding pairs, and it was to save them that the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) was formed.
DeleteCould past losses of mallard ducklings be partly down to nocturnal raids by determined fox(es)? This did for the ornamental duck ponds in Golders Hill Park years ago, now the captive ducks are usually kept in a large aviary with a water feature. Jim
ReplyDeleteI think it was mostly gulls, aided by herons and crows. Ducklings appeared briefly on the water, and vanished within a few days. I can't explain this.
Delete