Monday 27 August 2018

The two young Grey Herons were together on the edge of the island, touching bills. I don't think this is a gesture of affection. It may be what they do to adults to get them to regurgitate food when they are in the nest, and a sign that they are both hungry, as you would expect when they are newly independent and learning a heron's trade.


Their parents were paying no attention to them. One was on the roof of the Lido restaurant, hoping to scavenge some food for itself.


Later the two young ones flew back up into the nest.


The restuarant roof was covered with Starlings waiting to flock down to the terrace to scavenge spilt food.


One sang on a restaurant umbrella.


The female Kestrel was hunting over Buck Hill, and paused in a lime tree already looking autumnal.


At the other end of the hill, a small flock of Mistle Thrushes were eating rowan berries.


As the weather gets colder, the small birds are hungry again and eager to be fed. A Great Tit at the leaf yard delicately ate a pine nut.


A Coal Tit lurked in the shade of the bushes, too shy to come out to be fed.


A Blackcap uttered its distinctive ticking call in the bushes beside the Long Water.


House Martins are still here, and were flying low over the Long Water.


One of the young Great Crested Grebes from the nest near the bridge preened its shining white belly.


The Great Crested Grebes from the west end of the Serpentine island were in their usual sheltered place with their two chicks. The nest is not theirs, but was made by a pair of Coots. Earlier, it was stolen by a different pair of grebes, who raised two chicks there. These grebes nested somewhere behind the wire basket, out of sight.


The rain has brought up Fairy Ring mushrooms in a few places, though there are no proper rings yet.

3 comments:

  1. Yay, starlings! I miss them so much. One must admire their ability to multitask: pass the time you wait for the chance to scavange preening.

    Poor Herons. They must be so hungry to revert to infancy like that.

    The Grebe's whitest belly is too beautiful for their own good. Curse human vanity, and human envy.

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    Replies
    1. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was founded in 1889 to save the Great Crested Grebe. At this time only 40 or 50 pairs were left in the whole country.

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