Monday 13 May 2019

Starlings nesting in the eaves of the shelter on Buck Hill will take food from the hand and are also collecting insects to feed their young.


A Pied Wagtail ran along the edge of the Serpentine collecting midges, then flew off to its nest.


One of the Blue Tits nesting in the lamp post at the back of the Lido arrived with a caterpillar to feed the young.


A young Long-Tailed Tit waited to be fed on a tree beside the Serpentine.


A Carrion Crow stole a packet of tissues, thinking it might contain something edible. After pecking it a bit, the disappointed bird threw it away.


A crow on the bridge taunted a Grey Heron ...


... and then chased it.


The Little Owl near the Albert Memorial dozed peacefully in the sunshine, taking no notice of events on the ground.


A young Herring Gull played with a stick.


A Cormorant raced around in the shallow water over the wire baskets at the bridge, which are full of young fish.


The Great Crested Grebes at the east end of the island are thinking of nesting again.


The Coots on the Long Water were feeding their three chicks.


The Coots trying to make a nest in the narrow space between the plastic buoys at the Lido have not got any further with their attempt. Not all Coots are master nest builders.


The older Egyptian goslings on the Serpentine are now half grown and beginning to look like small adults. Their new feathers need careful attention.


A pair of Mallards have taken to hanging around the leaf yard, hoping to get some food from the people who mass there to feed the Rose-Ringed Parakeets.


A Holly Blue butterfly perched on a bramble leaf near the bridge.


Another look at the moth larvae that have completely covered a bush in webs and eaten almost all the leaves on it. As Conehead54 told me yesterday, they are probably a species of micro Yponomeuta ermine moth. After the larvae have pupated, there is a good chance that the bush will recover slowly from its savaging.


Here is a close-up of one of the caterpillars.


It's oddly difficult to photograph buttercups. They are extremely bright and reflect the sunlight like little parabolic mirrors.

2 comments:

  1. I love Ralph's pictures of flowers as much as those of birds. They are like a drop of sunshine that will light up the dullest day,

    Not all can be winners, and not all Coots can be building prodigies.

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    Replies
    1. One of the best things about photographing flowers is that they don't run away when you point a camera at them.

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