The young Lesser Black-Backed Gull on the Serpentine that is probably the pigeon killer's offspring has not turned vegetarian. After playing with the carrot for a few minutes it abandoned it in the lake.
One of the young Mallards on the Round Pond played with a dead leaf.
There was just one Common Gull here. This may be the same bird that I saw beside the Serpentine a few days ago.
The water inlet is a source of endless fascination for Mute Swans. They don't just enjoy the spray of water, they also like biting the metal diffuser.
Greylag Geese flew into the park from the north and passed over the bridge to splash down in the Serpentine.
There is a lot of coming and going of geese in the park, and one group of Greylags commutes daily between here and the Thames, at St Mary's church in Battersea.
One of the young Grey Herons stared at the stream in the Dell, seemingly mesmerised by the passing carp, which are much too large for it to eat. There must be some smaller fish here too.
A pair of Magpies rummaged for food on the gravel bank in the Long Water.
A Robin looked out from the shrubbery near the bridge ...
... and a Blue Tit fluffed itself up.
A Wren hopped around in a patch of scrub at the foot of Buck Hill.
A film crew from Warner Brother is working in the park, with the usual vast amount of equipment. Huge cherry pickers carrying lights are stationed all round the lake.
A couple of Victorian bathers waited for their scene beside the Serpentine.
The crew made a fake shrubbery from cut branches on the edge of the lake. There is a real shrubbery less than 100 yards away which would have been perfect for filming, but that is not the way film makers do things.
I have heard it said that movie people prefer to build sets whenever possible, even if they have a natural location right at hand. Who knows why.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good spa for swans. No wonder they are drawn to it (like we all would, I guess).
Lately a Magpie has been walking up and down the pedestrian street underneath my window calling to no one in particular and imitating a Starling all the while. I don't know what purpose it serves for the bird, but it certainly appears to be having fun.
A few years ago a film crew wanted to shoot a scene set in the Serpentine Gallery, and took a great deal of trouble to dress up the loggia of the Italian Garden to look like the gallery, which was only 500 metres away. Well, it keeps a lot of people in employment.
DeleteNow all we need is a Starling that imitates a Magpie.