Sunday 19 April 2020

The Egyptian Geese on the Serpentine have managed to keep all nine of their goslings so far, in spite of the hungry gulls waiting for a chance to snatch one.


The single survivor on the Long Water was wandering off as usual. Jorgen told me that this was because they were looking for small crustaceans such as Daphnia, which the young birds eat for extra nourishment as they are growing.


The Coots on the long Water still have their four chicks, and they were still on the rock. There was no sign of the parents building a new nest.


There is no incentive for them to return to the island, since the Lesser Black-Backed Gulls were occupying it.


The male Moorhen in the Dell was chasing his mate.


A Great Crested Grebe on the Serpentine expertly caught flying midges.


The dominant male Mute Swan at the east end of the Serpentine was in a particularly aggressive mood, and was beating up another swan.


The punishment continued on land.


A Grey Heron watched the swan get off her nest at the boathouse, hoping that this would reveal some cygnets that could be snatched. But she hasn't even laid any eggs yet.


A young Herring Gull played with a plastic food pot, briefly abandoned it for a stick, and went back to the pot because it was more fun.


A Pied Wagtail perched on the roof of one of the small boathouses.


In the Rose Garden, a Long-Tailed Tit arrived with food for the nestlings. I still haven't heard the slightest noise from them.


A pair of Feral Pigeons canoodled in the Dell.


The female Little Owl was back in the alder tree.

4 comments:

  1. Well, the pot has the distictive advantage of being capable of rolling. I'd prefer it too if I were a gull.

    Perhaps Long Tailed Tit chicks are silent? Adults are quiet enough when they are on their own. Great that the little gosling has survived another day. Perhaps we will get lucky this time.

    Do we have an innovative/adaptable Coot on our hands? It has apparently chosen to continue to use the rock rather than build a nest. That's capability of independent thought, at least for a Coot.

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    1. I don't think the Coot has made a conscious choice. The rock was the only flat surface anywhere near. But it's not a bad place if the chicks can be kept to the back under the wall of the larger rock which protects them from swooping gulls.

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  2. I'm enjoying the unfolding spring stories and the associated cliff-hangers.Have the black-headed gulls gone on their various migrations yet? It's of no moment but the pigeons and long-tailed tit pictures have swapped places.

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    1. The last Black-Headed Gulls left last week. Thanks for pointing out the misplaced pictures. Will sort them when I get to a computer -- can't be done on a mobile.

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