The young one was bored, and yawned.
They were waiting for the park to close and the people and dogs to go away so she could go hunting.
A Wood Pigeon reached down to a bunch of elderberries. It was about to lose its footing and fall out of the tree.
A Robin beside the Long Water wasn't doing anything, but just being a Robin is a reason for a photograph.
A Grey Heron in the little stream in the Dell was in deep water but could just keep its feet on the bottom. Herons can swim, but not at all well.
Another heron looked uncomfortable at the end of a row of Cormorants.
A Great Crested Grebe flew up the Serpentine.
These are the grebes from the west end of the island. The chicks on their mother's back saw their father arriving with a fish for them and reached out to be the first to grab it.
The chicks from the east end of the island rested side by side.
The Coots' nest at the Dell restaurant is getting more and more enormous. It has eggs in it, but the Coot wouldn't stand up for long enough to let them be counted.
At the east end of the Serpentine what looks like a nasty mess to a human eye is a useful source of food for the Mallard and her four ducklings.
Having fed at the end of the lake, the Mallard and her ducklings hurried back to their usual place near the boat platform. It's amazing that four ducklings have survived this long on an open lake with dozens of Herring Gulls.
Some unfortunate midges were caught in a spider's web in the Dell.
Two interesting pictures from St James's Park by Joan Chatterley. A pair of Little Grebes have four chicks.
The Black Swans are now making their fourth attempt at breeding this year. They lost the eggs from their third nest, on the Pelican Rocks, and are trying again. It's a barren and exposed place and they are unlikely to succeed.
Got to be lovely for Mama and baby owl to have the park to themselves...perhaps party with other nocturnal pals...after people are gone ...
ReplyDeleteLove twilight but not many places welcome nocturnal creatures...
The robin is so sweet and solitaire....
Little Owls are not nocturnal, and the mother would hunt during the day if it weren't for the people and dogs milling around.
DeleteThat Mallard mother looks uncommonly attentive, and the ducklings behave very obediently and disciplined. Perhaps they'll make it...
ReplyDeleteWhy does the Little Owl yawn? I've read that mammals yawn when they are feeling sleepy or tired and want to shake tiredness off.
That's an impressive nest, even by coot's standards.
I've seen several kinds of bird yawning, and simply don't know whether it's the same as a mammalian yawn. But in owls it really looks like it.
DeleteThat nest is like an iceberg. Nine tenths of it -- literally -- is under water.