The grebes from the east end of the island were out on the lake with their new chicks. There are are at least two.
One of the chicks at the bridge wanted to climb on to its parent's back, but it's much too large for that now.
After yesterday's traumatic events, the Coots at Peter Pan were carrying on as usual ...
... and the gull that ate their chick was two posts away waiting for another.
An irresponsible dog owner let her dog attack the Mute Swans near the bridge. The swans faced down the dog ...
... and it crept away. But swans are not always so lucky.
The four cygnets on the Serpentine are now very adventurous, and two of them were going round the lake on their own a long way from their parents.
A Mandarin drake at the Vista was in full eclipse, distinguishable from a female only by having a red bill and a slight trace of a mane on the back of its neck. It was also moulting and had no flight feathers, so it needed to be an inconspicuous grey.
A Red-Crested Pochard drake at the island was in the same state.
A Carrion Crow bathed in the Serpentine in the usual manner of crows, rinsing and drying alternately, which seems to be the most efficient way of removing parasites.
Two Wood Pigeons cooled off at the top of the waterfall in the Dell.
A female Blackbird near the bridge stared suspiciously at the camera.
A young Robin hopped around on the lawn in the Rose Garden.
A Dunnock sang from deep inside a bush, where he could just be seen.
A male Emperor dragonfly hunted under the parapet of the Italian Garden.
A Red Admiral butterfly perched on a leaf near the Queen's Temple.
A group practised Kendo, the Japanese martial art of sword fighting, using wooden practice swords. The idea seems to be to repeat a stroke over and over again to the point of screaming pain, and so build up strength and endurance.
Oh God, does that kendo practice clip remind me of what we used to call the thousand tsuki class. The physical pain of repeated movement was nothing to the daunting psychological dread of knowing how many more hundreds of punches were still left after you were on the verge of physical collapse. It'll build your character, they said. Well, after several of those clases you certainly begin to understand why Japanese martial artists were rumoured to despise death!
ReplyDeleteYes, I thought it would be like that -- though very grateful not to have known at first hand. Let's hope it actually does build the character of those limp twenty-somethings who still don't quite know what they've got into.
DeleteI had witnessed a dog owner allowed her puppy to intimidate a pair of swans on the lake...was worried what will happen and said, 'be careful'...
ReplyDeletePersonally I prefer tai chi...but I have no clue about Kendo...
The dragonfly and butterfly are so beautiful...:)))
When dog owners are asked to obey the park regulations they usually become abusive, sometimes violent.
DeleteThanks for the advice..I shall zip my mouth from now on...:((
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