A Wren hopped around on the other side of the railings.
A bit of drizzle suited a Blackbird very well, softening the soil and bringing worms up to the surface.
A female Pied Wagtail was hard to see in the debris washed up on the lake shore.
The female Little Owl near the Henry Moore sculpture stood in front of her hole.
Both Peregrines were on the barracks tower. The male is on the left, noticeably smaller than his mate.
The Red-Crested Pochard drake and his Mallard mate were still on the pond in the Italian Garden.
So was the pair of Gadwalls. But when some other Gadwalls came down near Peter Pan, three hundred yards away, they must have seen the new arrivals flying, for they took off and joined them.
A Pochard drake at Peter Pan showed off his finely vermiculated plumage.
A trio of Mute Swans displayed together on the Long Water -- two rival males trying to impress the female in the foreground.
A Cormorant had a bit of plastic stuck round its neck and was trying to get it off. This looked like one of those things that hold four cans of beer together. Somehow the Cormorant had poked its head through two holes.
There is no feasible way of catching a Cormorant, and the unfortunate bird will just have to wait till the plastic frays and breaks.
Two non-events caught on video.
A pair of Great Crested Grebes at the island worked themselves up into the mood for a dance. But when one of them surfaced carrying a piece of weed to present to its mate, a passing Black-Headed Gull thought it was carrying food and swooped down, so that it had to dive and the dance was cancelled.
A pair of Egyptian Geese in the Dell started the head-bobbing display that usually leads to mating, but lost enthusiasm and just washed instead.
Dunno. I find the non-events pretty eventful. The Gull swooping down looked menancing enough, doubtless more so from the point of view of the Grebe, and that's taking into account that it is a smaller gull.
ReplyDeleteEgyptians are hopeless.
So many Long-Tailed Tits on the ground! That is a sight to see. I normally work myself into a neckache by craning my neck as high as it'd go just to have a good look at them. Imagine having them about one'e feet!
Long-Tailed Tits are appearing on the ground much more now than in previous years. Here they have the good reason of picking up grit. But previously I've only seen them on the ground when they were collecting feathers for their nests.
DeleteMostly they are high in the treetops. But there are several places in the park where a line of trees is interrupted by lower bushes, and you can photograph them as the moving flock crosses the gap. Like Goldcrests, they are not shy, and don't react when you point a camera at them.