Sunday 26 April 2020

The Great Crested Grebes that I filmed yesterday in a territorial dispute on the Serpentine have failed to settle it with the usual threat displays, and today a fight broke out ...


... and the losers were chased most of the way to the island.


There is a new Coot nest under the balcony of the Dell restaurant. These nests take a lot of work because they have to be built up from the bottom of the lake on a heap of waterlogged branches. The water here is about two feet deep.


The Mute Swans' nest on the little island was occupied by an Egyptian Goose. You can see a swan egg that the goose has uncovered.


The male swan was watching from the opposite shore. He seems oddly unconcerned by other birds occupying the nest. But when the female has stopped laying and starts incubating her eggs, things should change.


Both the lone Egyptian goslings were all right, this one on the Long Water ...


... and the other on the Serpentine.


So were the seven of the other brood on the Serpentine.


But more exciting things were happening elsewhere. Duncan Campbell filmed this family of Egyptian Geese in the northeast corner of Hyde Park, on their way to the ornamental pool in the middle of the roundabout at Marble Arch. They'd never have made it across the road in normal traffic. On the way they met another male Egyptian, and there was a fight lasting several minutes.


A Mallard rested in an unused Grey Heron nest on the island.


Three male Reed Warblers were singing, one on the Long Water and two in the Diana memorial reed bed, where I just managed to get this badly obstructed picture of one.


The second Long-Tailed Tits' nest in the Rose Garden, invisible in a broom bush, is now a going concern. Here is one of the parents arriving with insects.


A Starling had found one caterpillar to feed its nestlings, and was looking for more before returning to the nest.


The usual Rose Garden Blackbird waited in a pink-flowered hawthorn tree for me to put down some sultanas for him.


The Little Owl near the Henry Moore sculpture is becoming hard to see as the leaves on the alder tree develop.


Mark Williams got an interesting picture at Clapton Pond. A male Grey Wagtail, on the right, is feeding his mate as a sign that he will look after her when she starts nesting.

4 comments:

  1. Silly geese. They go on to fight and leave the babies unattended.
    Dunno about that swan. Looks menacing enough as it is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's how Egyptians lose most of their young, going off on pointless territorial fights.

      That swan is a brute, but he doesn't have his wings up so he is no threat at the moment.

      Delete
  2. Some great drama with the grebes + Egyptian Geese.

    Good to see the pair- bonding with the Grey Wagtails. I did manage to see a couple at one of my local sites over the weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've now got a Grey Wagtail nest somewhere, because I've seen an adult carrying insects.

      Delete