Wednesday 8 July 2020

A young Great Spotted Woodpecker, evidently the offspring of the pair near the bridge, came out on a branch.


A female Blackbird furiously scolded a pair of Magpies perched on the railings below her.


A young Great Tit stared curiously at the camera.


The Great Crested Grebes at the bridge are now taking care of one chick each, the usual arrangement when the chicks have stopped riding on their parents' backs -- and are also at their hungriest, so that feeding one is a serious job.



The family at the Vista are still together. As usual they were lurking under a bush.


The dominant Mute Swan pair with three cygnets were also under a bush opposite Peter Pan.


The Black Swan had been having a little expedition on to the Long Water, and came back under the bridge.


The Egyptian family with blonde goslings enjoyed a puddle left by last night's rain. Their father, who provided the blonde genes, is on the right in the first clip.


A closer view of two of the blonde goslings. If I'm right about this colour variation being sex-linked, the eight blondes are female and the two normally coloured ones male.


Two pairs of Mandarins appeared at the Vista. The males in eclipse look much like females, but the one at bottom left is certainly male, as he has a pinkish bill and the remains of a crest.


A patch of lavender in the Rose Garden attracts a lot of Buff-Tailed Bumblebees.


Paul has been watching the Kestrel family and the Little Owls in Richmond Park, and has got some excellent pictures. Here the female Kestrel, on a dead oak tree, is holding a Common Lizard which her mate has brought her to feed the chicks.


The Little Owls also spend much of their time on another dead oak, against which they are practically invisible if you don't know where to look. But here is a female on a live chestnut.


Mark Williams reports that the Little Grebes in St James's Park have bred.


He also sent a fine picture of a Large Tortoiseshell butterfly. Update: this seems to be a rarity now.

11 comments:

  1. Surely that is a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker with the extended red on crown and incomplete marking on neck? And as always a pleasure to tune in. Jim

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    1. Thanks, yes. Then the pair must have bred. They've been established here for several years and there was a lot of drumming in the spring.

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  2. Lovely shots of the juvenile Great-spotted Woodpecker & the Black Swan steaming towards you.

    Good to see Mark's photo of the Little Grebes. Where was the butterfly taken? It's no Comma. It looks like a Large Tortoiseshell to me. Formerly extinct in the UK it's been recently found breeding on Portland after several years of sightings + individuals were seen at various locations around the south & east coasts.If this is in London this would be a remarkable record, though there's always the chance of a release by breeders rather than a genuine migrant.

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    1. Oh dear, wrong again. But thanks for the information. As far as I know this picture was taken in St James's Park, but will confirm this with Mark.

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    2. No. It was in Kensington Gardens at the Queen's Temple.

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  3. Interesting, Ralph. It would good if Mark submits this record to the LNHS butterfly recorder, Leslie Williams with the photo, date & location. Though I've seen these in Europe I've never seen an English one.

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  4. The Little Owl looks a bit frightened: what was she looking at? On the other hand the young Great Tit appears to be looking at the camera wondering whether it'd be any good to eat.

    So thankful for the daily treat of fluffy adorable chicks of all species.

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    1. The expressions of Little Owls are striking but inscrutable. Maybe she thought that Paul was uncomfortably close and pointing a sinister big black 500mm lens at her. Incidentally, the Little Owl in Kensington Gardens is much more worried by my video camera, where the lens is not shaded by a heavy lens hood and looks like a big staring eye.

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  5. What a LOVELY treat/gift for me today, a very memorable one Indeed!
    The woodpecker,the tortoiseshell butterfly, et Al..
    Awesome...thanks Ralph, Mark and Paul...

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    1. Not such a lovely day for the lizard, though.

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