Friday 27 March 2020

It's hard to see what's happening in the Grey Herons' nest on the island, as it has to be viewed from across a lake 200 yards wide. But here you can see one of the two chicks standing up and pecking its parent as a reminder that more food will be needed soon.


This box beside the Long Water is supposed to be for insects to breed in, but a pair of Blue Tits has decided to nest there. Possibly there is an all-you-can-eat buffet inside. A tit hung upside down from the bottom ledge as it brought in a bit of dead grass.


It looks as if the Long-Tailed Tits in the Rose Garden already have eggs and the female is sitting on them. In this close-up shot you can see her tail, slightly disarranged by cramming the feathers into a confined space.


 Several Greenfinches were singing around the Long Water. They like to perch high in the trees, which makes them awkward to photograph.


There was no sign of a Little Owl today, but a Treecreeper was climbing up their oak tree near the Albert Memorial.


When you see birds determinedly pecking at something invisible, you ask yourself what it is. In this case the Carrion Crows were under a blossoming magnolia tree. The large fleshy petals fall off, rot and are eaten by insects, which in turn get eaten by the crows.


A group of pigeons pecked busily at a small area. What was so interesting for them here? No one had put birdseed on the grass. I looked at it and all I could see apart from grass was some small leaves of what looked like a species of cranesbill (shown at the end of the clip). Do pigeons like this? Does it attract insects that they might be eating?


The Egyptian Geese at the Lido are down to their last gosling. They really don't stand a chance against the rapidly increasing population of Herring Gulls.


The hopeless Egyptians who have never raised a gosling in 20 years were on the remains of the swan island in the Long Water.


The Black Swan on the Round Pond was dozing in the sunshine.


A view looking down from the bridge: two Mute Swans on the Serpentine shooed a dog out of their territory.


A Mallard drake shone brilliantly in the sunlight.


The big Coot nest under the balcony of the Lido restaurant is now a going concern.


Cowslips are coming out around the shrubbery near the bridge. The primroses and cowslips here, planted many years ago by a long forgotten gardener, have now spread all over the grass.


Mark Williams took this picture of a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly in St James's Park. I haven't seen one yet this year.


Tinúviel sent this remarkable picture taken by her bird guide Jesús Porras near Trujillo in Spain. Ravens harass an Eagle Owl.

4 comments:

  1. What are visitors numbers to the park like? I really hope you can keep going.

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  2. Corvids really hate Eagle Owls. No wonder, because Eagle Owls are apex predators that can and do prey on ravens and even storks.

    Love the close up of the Long Tailed Tit busy at keeping her eggs snug and warm.

    Brave swans. If they had their way some irresponsible dog owners wouldn't know what hit them.

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    Replies
    1. You can see the owl's fury by the angle of its ear tufts.

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