Monday 1 June 2020

A Young Great Tit in the leaf yard begged for food, and a parent brought it a pine nut (which I had given to the parent).


There was also a Robin which took seven pine nuts in quick succession. It was clear that it was feeding a family. Here is one of the young lurking under a bush.


A Magpie bathing in the pool at the top of the Dell waterfall was ousted by a Mallard drake.


The Little Owl in the alder tree on Buck Hill was reasonably easy to see for a change.


A pair of Great Crested Grebes are making a nest at the east end of the Serpentine island. They nest in this bush every year. It's a good sheltered place and doesn't challenge their limited building skills.


A teenage Coot in the Italian Garden was looking after its younger brothers and sisters. This behaviour is usual in Moorhens, but I never seen a Coot doing it before.


The Coot which has been trying for months to build a nest in the fallen willow tree has finally managed to make some kind of structure, though we don't know if it will hold together.


The three newly hatched Mute Swan cygnets at the east end of the Lido went out on to the water for the first time. They don't have to be taught how to catch insects and Daphnia water fleas.


Their father swaggered around a broad area intimidating the other swans.


The cygnets of the older brood on the Serpentine played around at a safe distance from him.


Glad to say that the Black Swan is also keeping out of trouble. It was with a lot of low-ranking swans on the path near the bridge.


The next inevitable conflict will be on the Long Water, when the nest on the gravel bank hatches. This should be within a few days. The dominant swan pair are not going to like it at all.


I'm losing count of the various broods of Egyptians appearing on the Serpentine. Here is a mother with six quite new goslings next to one of the small boathouses.


Geese returning to the lake to moult include this off couple of a Greylag and a Canada. They've come here in several previous years.

2 comments:

  1. Is there any chance that the dominant pair at the Long Water will not notice the new cygnets? (I know it is a foolish hope, but I'd rather cling to it).

    Adorable little Robin, still without its red breast!

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    Replies
    1. Not a chance, I fear. The two males have already had a faceoff. The nest is in plain sight.

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