Thursday 28 February 2019

A large flock of Redwings settled in a group of trees near the Albert Memorial. Their chattering could be heard from some distance away.


There were still plenty of Redwings on the Parade Ground. Light rain softened the soil, bringing up worms for them.


A Dunnock looked for tiny creatures at the edge of the terrace of the Lido restaurant.


It picked up a beakful of leaves, but there was probably a larva among them.


A Carrion Crow had also found something to eat on the weeping beech near the Rose Garden.


There was a Peregrine on the barracks tower.


A young Black-Headed Gull played with a bit of soggy paper.


The Coot nest being built up from the bottom in 3 ft of water is now high enough to stand on, but there is still plenty of work for these indefatigable birds to do.


A Moorhen was starting to make a nest on the rock in the little stream in the Dell.


One female Mandarin could be seen at Peter Pan, but there was no sign of her mate.


A Bar-Headed--Greylag hybrid goose preened beside the Serpentine.


Then off to St James's Park again.

One adult Tawny Owl could be seen here today, slightly disarranged by the breeze. One of the owlets was partly visible behind a branch.


Here are Tom's best two pictures of the family from yesterday afternoon -- well worth his patient wait.



Though the view of the owls was not so good today, I got a picture of a Goldcrest flitting around under the tree.


There are three dark Mallards in St James's Park too, one of them almost black.


Interesting birds, but they lack the splendid markings of a normal Mallard drake. This one was preening on the Serpentine.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Ralph. Where abouts in the park are the tawnies located?

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    1. I can't say on a public blog. You can email me.

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  2. Great pictures of the Tawny family! Always hoping to see more pictures of these lovely birds.

    Goldcrests are certainly a worthy consolation prize.

    I could watch Coots' nest-building videos for hours.

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    1. That Goldcrest picture was a very lucky shot -- just a single click before it vanished into the leaves, and providentially it was in focus. I didn't have time to visit the Tawnies on Thursday, but hope to see them again soon.

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