Sunday 14 June 2020

A male Wood Pigeon pursued a female, making the bowing display that is part of their courtship ritual. She wasn't interested.


Probably this is the Wren that I have already photographed and filmed beside the Long Water, on the path a short way north of the Henry Moore sculpture. As usual, it was scolding some predator at the top of its voice.


Just up the hill but a safe distance from the Wren, the Little Owl was in her usual alder tree.


There was a Meadow Brown butterfly in the grass, the first I've seen this year.


Both the young Pied Wagtails were at the Lido.


A Carrion Crow was eating a Quaver that someone had given it. These highly salted snacks can't be at all good for them.


The two Cormorants at the island must be a pair. They are always close together.


Cormorants have started breeding inland, but they like secluded rocky places and the park has nothing to offer them.

The Great Crested Grebes at the west end of the island had abandoned their attempt to nest on the end of the line of baskets, and were trying a more promising spot on the side.


The grebes at the other end of the island have a far better site with bits of bush to help them, and they nest here every year with or without the help of an abandoned Coot nest to build on.


The Coot which had been trying for months to build a nest on the dead willow near the Italian Garden seemed to have succeeded a few days ago, but now the ramshackle structure has completely collapsed.


The four Mute Swan cygnets were diving busily. They were clearly feeding, but they didn't seem to be coming up with strands of algae. Perhaps they were fishing for Daphnia or other small water creatures.


A Canada Goose has nested on the tern raft on the Long Water. Two goslings have hatched, and as far as it's possible to see through the grubby plastic there are still some eggs. The brood will have to be rescued by Hugh, as the goslings can't get over the plastic wall.


Egyptian parents have a hard time. These three goslings suddenly started running down the edge of the lake, with their mother frantically trundling after them.


A Honeybee worked over an eryngium flower.


An abandoned box beside the Serpentine. Sermons in stones, books in the running brooks, and possibilities in potatoes.

5 comments:

  1. I'm puzzled. They're selling potatoes with that slogan?

    Can adult swans dive? Rolling around doing their best impersonation of a crocodile's death-roll, sure, but diving?

    Wrens, always so brave and spunky.

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  2. I think the potato product contained in that box was some kind of readymade chips cut in a novel twisty shape.

    We've had a video of the Black Swan diving and swimming under water quite efficiently, but I'm not sure whether the larger Mute Swans can manage it.

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  3. I enjoyed the video of the cynets duving, so adorable.

    The honeybee feeding on the purple flower is caught well in camera. Thanks for the name of the flower, I haven't a clue what it is called eventhough I love the numerous tiny flowers.

    Last but not leadl, the brown butterfly is well camouflaged but you manage to photograph it.��

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  4. So many typos..diving..well on camera..least..should preview before posting..

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    Replies
    1. The purple flower is an Eryngium, or sea holly (though it is quite unrelated to holly). I had mistyped the name myself, now corrected.

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