Monday 27 July 2020

The male Little Owl on Buck Hill was calling from a big horse chestnut tree near the Italian Garden, but the leaves were so thick that it was impossible to see him. This is the first sign of him for months, although he must have been feeding his mate when they were nesting and is probably helping with the young owl. He tends to keep at a distance from his mate during the day, which is what makes him so hard to find.

The young owl was in one of the two usual lime trees near the south end of the hill ...


... and his mother also flew in.


The former Little Owls' hole near the Albert Memorial had one of the Stock Dove pair in it. I don't think they succeeded in nesting here, as there has been no sign of young ones. Nor have the owls reappeared anywhere near.


A Wood Pigeon ate blackberries in a bramble patch. They just seem to peck at them and don't pick a whole one. Possibly the effort of pulling a whole blackberry off would cause the big clumsy bird to overbalance.


Blackbirds don't have any difficulty in picking blackberries. This young bird took one into the grass to eat it at leisure.


A family of Great Tits was hopping around in a lime tree at the back of the Lido. Here is one of the young ones.


Mark Williams sent this picture of a young Blue Tit in St James's Park, choosing which of various treats to take. It's very young to start coming to the hand.


The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull and his mate were at the Dell restaurant. He came down and advanced on some pigeons but the wary birds eluded him.


Here are some views of the four Great Crested Grebe families. The two chicks at the bridge, plus one of them being fed a fish. The single chick farther up the Long Water. The two new chicks at the west end of the Serpentine island being fed feathers. The two chicks at the east end of the island, with one of them climbing on to its father's back.


There is also the nest at the edge of the reed bed under the Diana fountain, still in its early stages, with the sitting grebe sheltered from the drizzle by the overhanging reeds.


The Black Swan's fine ruffles were a bit more ruffled by the breeze as it preened on the edge of the Serpentine.


The dominant female Mute Swan on the Long Water saw someone at Peter Pan with a bag of food and quickly brought her three cygnets over.


One of the teenage Mallards here is clearly male and is beginning to get the green head of an adult drake.


The blond Greylag Goose was with some others in the Diana fountain enclosure enjoying the lush untrodden grass.


This young Egyptian Goose is the last survivor of a brood, but is now large enough to have a good chance of making it.


A sign of approaching autumn: the first Fairy Ring mushroom on Buck Hill.

3 comments:

  1. I think the young Little Owl is looking at you with a lot of curiosity. I bet he'd talk to you if he could.

    Few sights are more heart warming than a Grebe chick climbing on a parent's back.

    A sign of autumn... how envious I am...

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    Replies
    1. Wish I could have found the male owl. He's absolutely tiny even by the standards of a Little Owl. I think the young one must be female as it's already quite big.

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  2. The owl pics and captions are always owlsome ...including previous videos..
    :0)))

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