Thursday 19 September 2019

The Spotted Flycatchers were near the bridge, as they have been for a week now. They were on the far side of the trees at first, and you could only see them when they flew out to catch insects. But one of them moved round eventually.


The familiar Coal Tit came down to take a pine nut.


A flock of Long-Tailed Tits passed through.


Ahmet Amerikali was also here, and got good pictures of a Chiffchaff ...


... and a Wren.


A Robin sang in the Dell.


The only occupant of the rowan tree on Buck Hill was one of the resident Magpies.


The Mistle Thrushes were on the grass below. Against a background of dead leaves they are almost invisible till they move.


A Wood Pigeon reached too far for a hawthorn berry and fell out of the tree.


When the notorious Lesser Black-Backed Gull is on the prowl the Feral Pigeons remain calm, but there is an empty ring around him marking the minimum safe distance.


He didn't manage to outwit them, and settled down to sunbathe on the edge of the lake.


Some visitors were wondering why there was a plastic heron on the bridge, and were shocked when it flew away.


A Mute Swan on the Serpentine enjoyed a splashy wash and a good flap.


A Cormorant washed furiously on the Long Water.


Kamal can now slalom through 80 cones. The shop had run out of cones, but he'll be going for the magic 100 soon.

4 comments:

  1. That is an outstanding feat of precision, control, and finesse. I wonder if Kamal is training to break some sort of record.

    Most everybody would look pretty ridiculous when splashing about, but not swans. Every ounce of power in those powerful wings is displayed for everyone to see.

    I laughed at the thought of the clever Heron fooling passersby into thinking it was a plastic ornament. If it works on humans, the Heron may think, it will be even more successful with fish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is something unreal about herons. It's not just the complete stillness, it's the implausibly elongated shape.

      Delete
  2. The Spotted Flycatchers seem very happy there. Noticed the number of migrants reported on Londonbirders has greatly diminished over the last couple of days. With a change in the weather from Sunday maybe they will continue southwards?

    ReplyDelete
  3. While it's lovely to see the Spotted Flycatchers here, it really is time they got moving. A picture on the blog a few days ago of a Mistle Thrush in the top of a small tree surrounded by a mob of gnats may explain why they have stayed here for so long.

    ReplyDelete