Friday 22 May 2020

The Grey Wagtails are putting on a show in the Dell, though they are too far away for good pictures.


A Pied Wagtail on the restaurant terrace was more reachable.


A Blackbird had a bath in the pool at the top of the Dell waterfall.


A Sparrowhawk drifted over the Parade Ground.


A fine picture by Jon Spoard of the pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull. The pair were in their usual place at the east end of the Serpentine.


The fountain pool in the traffic island at Marble Arch is a safer place for Egyptian goslings than the lakes in the park, as there are few gulls or other predators and the herd of bronze elephants presents no threat. There are still seven of the original nine.


Every now and then a gang of Mute Swans invades the Long Water to challenge the dominant swan who regards it as his sole territory. They took the Black Swan with them.


The dominant male sallied out to deal with them.


He can usually herd them away without an actual fight by zigzagging across the whole width of the lake in a threatening attitude, gradually working his way forward.

Joan Chatterley reports that the Black Swans in St James's Park have made a very large nest ...


... and the two Mute cygnets are in good order.


A pair of Gadwalls mated on the Long Water. They don't nest in the park, as the Queen has graciously provided them with hutches in the gardens of Buckingham Palace where they are safe from foxes.


Three of the gang of five Red-Crested Pochards enjoyed the sunshine on the warm stone kerb of the Serpentine.


A Coot contemplated a plastic buoy in its favourite colour.


Allium flowers are highly attractive to insects. These ones in the Rose Garden were visited by Honeybees, Buff-Tailed Bumblebees and two Holly Blue butterflies.


Red-Eyed Damselflies rested on floating algae on the Long Water.


A man took his vacuum cleaner out for its morning exercise.

4 comments:

  1. The man taking his vacuum cleaner for a walk reminds me of the various ways in which enterprising Spaniards, when we were only allowed outside to walk our pets, managed to evade the confinement:

    Walking A hen
    https://www.unotv.com/noticias/portal/internacional/detalle/video-en-pleno-confinamiento-por-covid-19-hombre-pasea-a-gallina-082155/

    Walking A crayfish
    https://www.diarioprogresista.es/hombre-pasea-cangrejo-calles-bilbao/

    Walking A dog plushie
    https://www.elperiodico.com/es/sociedad/20200317/policia-hombre-pasea-perro-peluche-palencia-video-7893105

    Walking his goldfish:
    https://actualidad.rt.com/viral/351415-hombre-sale-pasear-peces-durante

    aaand walking a vacuum cleaner!
    https://www.hoy.es/plasencia/hombre-pasea-aspiradora-20200324204440-nt.html

    The Mute Swan aspirants looking to depose the reigning champion is something to behold. I can't picture how the dominant swan manages to meet them head-on and wrangle them!

    The Coot's expression when looking at the buoy - that's True Love.

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    1. A magnificent collection of clips. Two hundred years before this madness started, Gérard de Nerval used to take his pet lobster for a walk, on a blue ribbon. When asked why, he replied, 'He does not bark, and he knows the secrets of the deep.'

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  2. Good to see the Red-eyed Damsels. We saw our first few a couple of days back on water lilies in our local country park.

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    1. Everyone was red-eyed in the park with the brisk wind blowing spiky plane tree fluff around. I don't think you have to be allergic to it, it's just plain irritating.

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