Monday 9 March 2020

The Long-Tailed Tits' nest in the gorse bush is nearly finished, and another day's hard work by the two birds should see it fully roofed over. It looks as if the entrance hole will be on the left.


There were just two Redwings left on the Parade Ground.


A pair of Pied Wagtails sprinted around the newly laid turf on the Parade Ground, looking for insects. Males have a black back, females grey.


Several Goldcrests could be heard singing in the bushes around the lake.


A Dunnock perched on a twig near the bridge.


A Great Tit stared out from the yellow stemmed bush on the other side of the path, waiting to be fed.


A Blue Tit preferred to wait in a magnolia.


A Greenfinch sang from a tree near the Italian Garden.


This Robin can often be seen and heard in the olive tree next to the Lido swimming area.


A Wood Pigeon ate some new leaves.


A Jackdaw perched precariously on a broken willow branch.


A Carrion Crow probed the decayed wood of a fallen tree for insects, and seemed to be finding quite a lot.


The male Little Owl near the Henry Moore sculpture came out during a brief sunny spell.


A Grey Herons' nest near the west end of the island seems to be a going concern, with a bird sitting in it both times I passed. This is only the second nest to have eggs in it this year, way behind the heronries in the other central London parks.


A fine picture by Mark Williams of three of the new Black Swan cygnets in St James's Park. They look almost exactly like Mute Swan cygnets, hardly darker. The 'nail' on the tip of the bill is lighter in colour. Adults have a whitish nail as well as a white stripe across the tip of the bill.


Mark also found an early Red Admiral butterfly.

2 comments:

  1. How do olive trees fare in the London climate?

    Long-Tailed Tits, Robins, and a Little Owl. All is well with the world.

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    Replies
    1. Olives grow quite well in London, where the central area is 2°C warmer than the surrounding countryside. There is an ancient tree in the Chelsea Physic Garden that bears fruit every year.

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