But after a while it settled down and had a preen to settle its ruffled feathers and feelings.
The two Mute Swan cygnets on the Serpentine were having a moment of peace.
The female swan with four cygnets had only three of them with her, and people were worrying that she had lost one.
But the missing cygnet was soon found. It was with its father, being taught the main rule of being a swan: you attack everything smaller than yourself for no reason at all.
A group of swans had a concerted rush together to see if their new wing feathers had grown enough to carry them, which they hadn't. But the Black Swan, starting at the back, overtook them because its feathers are now fully grown. I haven't seen it take off yet, though.
A Mallard at Peter Pan has managed to hold on to seven ducklings by keeping them under a bush.
Two female Red-Crested Pochards appeared at the Vista. It's unusual to see two females by themselves without the far more numerous males. Probably they had flown in from St James's Park simply to avoid the attention of the drakes.
Two Egyptian goslings in a huddle on the edge of the Serpentine were ruffled by the brisk wind.
The three Egyptian goslings on the Long Water are now quite large. They appeared on the wall of the old water filter under the marble fountain. One of the parents is stranding on the remains of a Coots' nest, abandoned when a Grey Heron started using it as a fishing platform.
Nearby, another Coot family were out looking for food among the algae. They examined a floating bottle cap and discarded it.
All four Great Crested Grebe chicks on the Long Water could be seen, but again it was impossible to get even a moderately good picture. Here is one of the parents lurking under the willow next to the bridge.
The nest at the west end of the island is now permanently occupied, and probably there are eggs in it now.
Things should be happening quite soon at the other end of the island, but at present all you can see is a comfortably sitting grebe.
The hollyhocks in the Rose Garden are attracting lots of Buff-Tailed Bumblebees.
That adorable little head poking from among the dozing Grebe's feathers!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if all swans must be taught to be aggressive, or they take to it naturally. Certainly that male swan is providing a good education.
What a feisty feather ball that tiny wren is. When it pecks at its leg in misplaced aggression - that's exactly what my canary bird used to do when I was too far away for it to give a good peck at my finger.
We've already seen several videos and pictures of that loud and furious Wren. I think he must be a male in the middle of a harem of females that he wants to impress with his vigour.
DeleteLove the observation of the loud and furious wren forever scolding..
ReplyDeleteThe buff tailed bumblebees are thriving on the hollyhocks, very nice too...
The Wren was still at it today.
DeleteTireless little bird. I wonder what got into Aristotle's head when he called it "gentle in disposition"!
DeleteMaybe he was thinking of the fable of The Kings of the Birds and comparing it to the eagle.
DeleteNevertheless, noisy but nice..
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