They deserve a portrait shot of one of the proud owners standing at the doorway of this wonderful construction.
There's another Long-Tailed Tits' nest at the back of the Lido, not as easy to see or to photograph as the one in the Rose Garden. It's about half complete.
One of the tits arrived with a bit of moss.
This video shows it pulling out a piece of spider's web into a long strand to wrap around the bottom of the nest.
A normally camera-shy Coal Tit near the bridge posed for a picture on a yew twig. It got a pine nut afterwards, of course.
A Great Tit looked out from a Red Robin bush. (I have yet to get a picture of a Robin here.)
A pair of Goldcrests flitted around, and the male sang.
A Dunnock foraged under a yew tree.
A male Starling showed off his iridescent plumage in the leaf yard.
There was just one Redwing in a tree to the east of the Parade Ground.
A Carrion Crow stood on the roof of the Lido restaurant holding a twig for its nest.
A pair of Coots at the Diana memorial landing stage were building a nest in a desultory way. They haven't got far in several days.
A Canada gander courted his mate with a head-bobbing display, but she responded half-heartedly and soon paddled away.
The pair of Herring Gulls were back on the soggy lawn near the Dell dancing to bring up worms. One of them is a less active dancer than the other, and seems to depend on its mate's efforts. When a worm appeared, often they both went for it.
Joan Chatterley reports that the Black Swans in St James's Park are down to five cygnets. Losses are sadly inevitable with the teeming horde of large gulls.
What a funny dancing duo, the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers of gulls.
ReplyDeleteSo grateful for the videos and pictures of the Long Tailed Tits' nest. These wonderful little birds couldn't get more adorable if they tried.
Sad about the missing cygnets. Black Swans are great parents, but gulls are as intelligent as they are remorseless.
The number of Herring Gulls in particular is out of control, thanks to rapid breeding at their rooftop sites in Paddington. Nothing can be done to discourage them, as they are a protected species on account of being in decline nationally. It's not just the Black Swans that are hit: last year in the park we had just one surviving Mute Cygnet, a few Greylag goslings, no Canadas and four Mallard ducklings.
DeleteLovely video of the Long-tailed Tits with their nest. Yesterday morning when I went to Ruislip I also saw the species going into Gorse. Probably a good choice as the spines are probably a bit of a predator deterrent.
ReplyDeleteNice shots of the Coal Tit + Goldcrest too.
I'm worried about that nest in the gorse. It's a visual treat, but if we can see it so can the ubiquitous Magpies and the local Great Spotted Woodpecker. Feathers seem to be a good protection against spikes, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if a hungry medium sized bird could reach in.
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