A Blue Tit brought a caterpillar to the chicks in the nest in a gas lamp post near the South Carriage Drive, where there is a nest every year.
A Grey Wagtail perched on a post at Peter Pan ...
... and there were several Pied Wagtails running round the edge of the Round Pond.
A Blackcap sang near the Italian Garden.
A Carrion Crow ate an apple that had been put out for the Rose-ringed Parakeets.
There were plenty of Swifts over the lake, as well as a few House Martins.
While I was trying to grab a picture of the elusive Swifts, a Mute Swan charged overhead ...
... and two young Herring Gulls had a dogfight.
The Little Owl by the Henry Moore sculpture was in her favourite alder tree.
There's only one place on the open Round Pond where a Coot can nest, on a platform that holds a mysterious recording instrument powered by a solar panel that shields the chicks from gulls.
The incompetent Coot in the dead willow in the Long Water is making faint progress with its nest after months of trying.
This Coot on the Serpentine has the necessary building skills but absolutely no idea about location.
Nor does this Mute Swan, which has made a nest completely in the open on the south side of the Serpentine.
Later, the gardeners kindly put barriers round it. But the swan doesn't have the faintest chance of success.
The six Egyptian goslings on the Serpentine were in a heap.
Joan Chatterley photographed this pale Egyptian gosling in Battersea Park. If it survives it will be as pale as our Blondie, who looked just like that when she was little.
Duncan Campbell saw with alarm that the pond at Marble Arch had been drained to clean out dead leaves. But it was refilled within hours, and the nine goslings were all right. However, it will take a while for the population of Daphnia to recover, an important food for young Egyptians.
A Crane Fly in the grass on Buck Hill.
Swifts! I was able to see some today, which made me supremely happy.
ReplyDeleteIs that flying Swan's neck all right? It looks crooked.
I wonder if that Blue Tit nest is inheritable. Old and large stork nests pass from generation to generation.
Where has Blondie been, by the way? Have you seen her lately?
Yes, swans do silly things with their neck while flying. I've often seen this.
DeleteIt doesn't seem strange that Blue Tits brought up in a certain lamp post might return there to nest.
I saw Blondie a few days ago, in her usual place at the east end of the Serpentine.