Friday 1 May 2020

The Grey Wagtails that have been nesting at the Lido have one young bird. The Lido is closed and this video was shot through a gap in the gate.


Although the Long-Tailed Tits' nest in the gorse bush in the Rose Garden has sadly been destroyed, the one in the broom bush, which is invisible from outside, is still a going concern. Both parents were visiting frequently with insects for the young.



There are now four singing male Reed Warblers in the reeds below the Diana fountain, and I was lucky enough to get pictures of two of them.



A sunny spell brought the Little Owl out into the alder tree on Buck Hill.


The young Grey Heron is finally down from the nest. It was exploring its new surroundings. It is going to have to learn to fish now, and quickly.


It's hard to tell whether Herring Gulls are courting or quarrelling. With these two young gulls it turned out to be the second.


Another young Herring Gull sneaked round a Mute Swan ...


... stole the piece of bread it was eating ...


... and retreated into the lake to enjoy its prize.


The swan was having none of this, and went after it and got the bread back. The gull was so surprised by this that it forgot to fly away.


The Coots' nest against the foundations of the Dell restaurant, built from the bottom up in two feet of water, rocked gently in the waves. The other is on the edge of the Serpentine outflow, and chicks from a nest here always get washed away. There will be a steady flow over the weir when the panic is over and the fountains are turned on again.


The Egyptian Geese on the Serpentine still have seven goslings. Most birds prefer to drink rainwater out of puddles rather than use the lake, and don't seem to mind if the water is muddy.


The lone survivor on the other side of the lake nestled against its mother.

4 comments:

  1. That is such a sweet picture of the gosling sleeping next to its mother.

    I don't think I have ever seen a Grey Wagtail chick. Such a pretty litte, if demanding, thing.

    I did't expect the swan to go after the gull, to be honest. No wonder the gull was shocked.

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    1. There is a wonderful naive gormlessness about young birds. On a much larger scale, that young heron has the same look.

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  2. Well done capturing the Reed Warbler! I have 2 singing birds in some tiny reedbeds near home & it's so difficult even getting a glimpse of them yet alone photograph them. I just love their song- a real sound of summer for me.

    Great to see the Grey Wagtail movie. Sad to hear one of the Long-tailed Tits nests was destroyed. Hope the other is successful!

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    1. Yes, photographing Reed Warblers is a challenge and I feel the need to put up the day's results if they are any better than mediocre. Helped here by my new mirrorless camera whose excellent electronic viewfinder blows up the image to 5x as soon as you lay a finger on the focusing ring. I'm still learning to use this feature quickly.

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