Wednesday 7 August 2019

A Wood Pigeon reached too far for some elderberries. A second after I took this picture it fell out of the bush and crash-landed on the path, looking annoyed.


A young Blackbird, being much lighter, could hop around in the brambles and get better berries without difficulty.


There are a lot of young Blackbirds. It seems to have been a good breeding year for them.

The familiar Coal Tit near the bridge ...


... and a pair of Blue Tits were waiting to collect their daily offering of pine nuts.


The male Little Owl could be seen in the afternoon, in the usual oak tree near the Albert Memorial.


A Pied Wagtail ran up the edge of the Serpentine picking up small larvae from the debris.


House Martins zoomed around the east end of the Serpentine.


The Tufted Duck on the Serpentine still has her one duckling.


The six Tufted ducklings on the Long Water were visible in the distance, too far for a picture.

In the shallow water at Peter Pan, the Mallard with two ducklings supervised them as they bustled about eating algae.


The new Great Crested Grebe chicks on the east side of the Long Water are now allowed to swim around.


The older pair were waiting for their other parent to come back with a fish.


The chick at the island prodded its father to remind him that it was time to catch one.


The father dutifully swam off, and the mother stood up on the nest, revealing at least three eggs.


At the other end of the island, the nesting grebe dozed peacefully ...


... in spite of a Grey Heron which could be seen from the other side of the row of baskets, standing directly above its nest.


The pair under the willow near the bridge have abandoned their Coot-built nest and made another one a few feet away, unfortunately difficult to see through the leaves.


I think they may have had trouble with a returning Coot, as there was one standing on that nest yesterday.

2 comments:

  1. That heron poses no danger to the adult grebe, doesn't it^?

    Great to see there are still some House Martins. Ours are making themselves scarce.

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    Replies
    1. There are no chicks in the nest yet, but I think that if one were left alone there the heron would grab it. As it is, it's just a looming presence with an uncomfortably sharp beak.

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