Saturday 3 August 2019

There are definitely three pair of Great Crested Grebes on the lake. This is the third nest, inconspicuously sited on the east side of the Long Water halfway between the two previous nests. You can see one of the chicks, of which I think there are two.


Both the chicks from the nest on the fallen poplar are alive and well.


Ahmet Amerikali got a dramatic picture of one of them being fed.


He was lucky to catch them coming to the west side of the lake where you can stand, since they spend almost all their time on the distant east side.

The pair under the willow tree near the bridge have recovered from the shock of their nest being raided, and are returning to it.


The two Moorhen chicks in the Italian Garden fountain climbed around on the water lilies.


One of the chicks at Bluebird Boats got a bit of a waffle from the snack bar.


The young Heron in the Dell has taken to standing on the rock where the Moorhens like to nest. This may explain why the Moorhens here haven't bred this year, the first time they have failed for several years.


The Tufted Duck family passed quickly across the waterfront at Peter Pan. I think they have lost one of their original seven ducklings, but these keep diving and it's hard to count them.


The two Mallard families on the Long Water, one with five ducklings, the other with two, collided in the shallow water when someone started throwing bread. Black-Headed Gulls also got involved, and a Moorhen quietly sneaked off with a bit of bread.


Another Mallard family worked its way down the edge of the Serpentine, eating algae.


The young Starlings are beginning to get their spotted adult feathers.


A Jackdaw skilfully pecked open a peanut shell and extracted the nuts.


The male Little Owl was in his usual oak tree in the morning, but impossible to photograph. Luckily he moved in the afternoon.


A Speckled Wood butterfly perched on a leaf in the Dell.


Three more of excellent pictures by Ahmet. A Cormorant on the Serpentine caught a very large perch, which it just managed to swallow.


The Little Grebes at Southwark Park have hatched a second chick. There is still one egg to hatch.


One of the chicks amid the duckweed.

2 comments:

  1. So many Grebe families! So glad to see that the chicks continue to thrive. I so hope they will make it to adulthood.

    That is a fine melee, between the mallards, the gulls, and the clever moorhen. Only a domineering coot is missing.

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    Replies
    1. We have 21 adult grebes on the lake now, more than we've had for years. They can continue to start nests until the end of this month and still get their young flying by the time the lake might freeze.

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