Tuesday 11 February 2020

The wind got up again in the afternoon. A Mute Swan rode the waves, looking less dignified than usual.


Some Herring Gulls left the windswept lake for the shelter of the Dell, evicting the resident Carrion Crows and doing a mass dance to bring up worms.


A young gull played with a cork. It wasn't champagne, just prosecco.


The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull has been reunited with his mate for two days now. A young gull, almost certainly their offspring from last year, tried to rejoin the family but got the cold shoulder.


A Cormorant spread its wings to dry them, but was blown about and had a hard time staying on the post.


The nesting Grey Heron is all right after the storm, but was barely visible keeping its head down in the nest.


Another heron flew by without stopping.


There is a new Great Crested Grebe nest on the Long Water opposite Peter Pan, the first this year. These early nests seldom succeed, as there are not enough small fish to feed the young.


Another new nest, built by Coots in the middle of the Long Water on the projecting branch of a fallen tree.


The nest on the post at Peter Pan is now quite large. This pair are skilled in construction, but don't seem to remember that their nest built here over and over again has always been raided by gulls.


Redwings were back in large numbers on the Parade Ground.


A Starling shone in the sunlight.


Ahmet Amerikali was at the leaf yard, where he got good pictures of a Great Spotted Woodpecker ...


... and a Wren.

4 comments:

  1. The beauty of a Starling really stands out in this photo!

    The waves with the swan look dramatic- at least today should be a pleasant calm sunny day!

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    1. The forecast is for more strong wind at the weekend.

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  2. That's quite a strong wind yet. The swan looks its best impersonation of Robert De Niro though ("you talking to me?").

    Is there going to be another storm after Ciara? Gee, birds over there get no breaks.

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    Replies
    1. If the forecast is right (a very big if in this country) Saturday and Sunday will bring high winds and heavy rain, but not as bad as last Sunday.

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