Monday 6 April 2020

The Egyptian Geese on the north side of the Serpentine are still hanging on to their last gosling. But there's a long way to go yet.


The male Egyptian at the Henry Moore sculpture sat alone on the dead grass while his mate was on her eggs in a tree hole. With the number of big gulls on the lake well down, they might stand a chance of bringing up some young, something they have never yet succeeded in doing. But there are still as many Carrion Crows here as ever.


The Mute Swans on the Long Water are clearly determined to nest in the reeds near the Italian Garden. It's a desperately dangerous enterprise, as foxes range along the whole bank.


An irresponsible dog owner let his dogs jump into the lake. A pair of swans dealt with them competently. But the swans don't always succeed.


When two swans took off, two young Herring Gulls went along with them.


Another young gull played with a round seed. They are fascinated with things that roll.


One of the adult Grey Herons stood over the two chicks in the nest on the south side of the island.


The heron sitting in the nest on the other side stood up. There are still some days to go before the eggs hatch.


I've never seen a heron eating rice before. But it was managing quite well.


The Henry Moore Little Owl was in his usual place.


A crow in the Dell had found a bone and was pecking the marrow out of it.


A Grey Wagtail ran over the roof of the Lido restaurant looking for insects between the tiles.


A Pied Wagtail hunted among the daisies.


This is the first Holly Blue butterfly I've seen this year.

14 comments:

  1. Interesting as always, how are visitor numbers holding up?

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    1. Well down from normal. Probably for the good, as the police are absolutely aching to close the parks. Giving power to the unintelligent can have dreadful consequences.

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    2. Not unintelligent but anti-intellectual. Jim

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  2. I've never seen a heron get that close to a mute swan either. Seems brave. Jim

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    1. Perhaps small and spiky can match big and blunt.

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    2. Dunno. Swans are juggernauts. Nothing gets in their way.

      I wonder why they like rolling things so much. Dropping and catching things and such like I understand because they learn valuable thieving skills by it, but what do they get out of playing literally ball, unless it's pure enjoyment?

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    3. You could ask the same question about humans, or indeed dogs. Just learning about the behaviour of things in general is useful. And yes, enjoyable too.

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  3. Still haven't seen a Holly Blue yet despite some perfect conditions. I think the second brood was rather depressed last year as the population goes up & down in line with its parasitoid- a tiny wasp. I know have been seen in other places in my & adjacent boroughs so will keep looking!

    Not seen Speckled Wood either yet, but had my first Orange Tip- a smart male- in the front garden at the weekend + another on our local walk yesterday afternoon.

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    1. We don't usually get Speckled Woods till later here.

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  4. I think it is not just the police - many people (not me) are calling for places with people to be shut.
    My local playground has been shut - you never see many people there, so seems unneeded, very though for people with young children in this area.

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    1. Fulham and Hammersmith council has shut all its parks, this forcing people from a wide space into the narrow streets.

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    2. Aren't they still re-opened there since the 27th, apart from play areas and sports facilities? Jim

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    3. Don't know, haven't been there. But if so, it's a sign of sanity prevailing against petty officialdom.

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