Sunday 11 November 2018

The Black Swan is asserting herself on the Long Water. I hope this won't end badly, as the dominant male Mute Swan there is a real bruiser. She flapped her wings a few yards from him ...


... and raised them in a threatening posture. He took no notice while I was there.


A different Bar-Headed Goose visited the Round Pond from St James's Park. This is one of the hybrids, three quarters Bar-Headed, one quarter Greylag. The black bars on its head are less sharply defined than in a pure Bar-Head.


A Moorhen climbed a Japanese maple tree in the Dell. If you had asked it why, you would have get the same answer as Mallory gave when asked why he wanted to climb Everest, 'Because it's there.'


A Cormorant looked its best in the sunlight as it spread its wings on a post at Peter Pan.


Three Grey Herons arrived separately on the grass near the Queen's Temple, and circled each other warily. It was the time the man usually arrives to feed them, and indeed he turned up within two minutes.


A Green Woodpecker on the grass beside the West Carriage Drive flew into a tree as I approached. It's very easy not to notice a Green Woodpecker against grass.


On the other side of the road, at the top of Buck Hill, a Mistle Thrush perched in an ash tree. It has been here for several days, apparently alone which is unusual for these gregarious birds.


A lime tree at the foot of the hill contained a Magpie ...


... and a Jay.


A little way off, a flock of Long-Tailed Tits passed through an oak.


A Starling looked finely iridescent in the sunshine as it fidgeted on a bamboo pole at the Lido restaurant, waiting for a chance to grab some scraps.


A patch of Common Ink Cap mushrooms have come up on the well tended lawn of the Rose Garden.

5 comments:

  1. I think she'll be fine. She's both strong and prudent. Perhaps she senses that the dominant swan is getting old and can now be moderately challenged without catastrophic consequences?

    ReplyDelete
  2. We think that the reason why she left the park after her first visit was that she had a fight with that dominant Mute Swan, and lost. But that was three years ago and, as you say, things change.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Speaking of aggressive swans, you have to admire this. I also suggest this video to mark the start of Anti-Bullying Week, note twist in the tale (as well as some tails). Jim

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. Wonder whether the goose actually intended to get the swans fighting each other. That last move looks like more than mere chance.

      Delete
    2. Hmm. Could also be that these domestic geese were afraid of the water, or of being drowned by a swan, and this one was too out of puff to fly along the bank as before. Or simply couldn't get through the gap in the trees as that would have required flapping. Jim.

      Delete