Saturday 18 July 2020

The young Little Owl on Buck Hill had moved into a different tree which gave a better view. It was restless because of a noisy police helicopter overhead. I've turned the sound down in this video.


Just after I'd recorded this the resident female Kestrel flew into a the top of a lime tree. Buck Hill is a good hunting ground providing mice and grasshoppers. She wasn't worried by the helicopter, as the air ambulance lands on Buck Hill at frequent intervals.


A female Chaffinch looked for spilt seeds under the feeder in the Rose Garden.


The Grey Wagtail, not seen for some time, was on a rock under the waterfall in the Dell. It was impossible to get a good picture as she was 100 yards away.


A fine picture by Ahmet Amerikali of a female Blackcap eating blackberries beside the Long Water.


One of the Great Crested Grebes near the bridge fed a fish to a chick.


The Coot chicks in the Italian Garden were back on the nest being fed by their parents.


Young Common Carp about two inches long milled around in one of the pools.


The Moorhen family at Peter Pan were lurking under the bushes as usual ...


... but a chick came out for a moment and perched on a submerged branch, giving a view of its extraordinarily large feet.


Two more teenage Greylag Geese have arrived on the Serpentine, in addition to the five already here. It really does look as if these geese have decided that trying to breed in the park is hopeless, and the thing to do is to nest in a safer place and bring the young ones in as soon as they can fly.


That is something beyond the intellect of the incompetent Egyptian Geese who have been in the Italian Garden for twenty years and have never managed to raise a single gosling.


The dark Mallard duckling was at the Diana fountain landing stage with its normal sibling. The place offers good shelter from the gulls.


A Meadow Brown butterfly perched on a thistle beside the Long Water ...


... and on the other side of the lake a Common Carder bee was busy on a burdock flower.

11 comments:

  1. Like the Little Owl, I too am disturbed by helicopter noises. It has lately felt as though we're being supervised. Which we probably are.
    (Slightly) Paranoid of EC1.

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    1. Yes. We're now out of 1984 and into the Book of Revelation.

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  2. An acquaintance of mine was once actually chased by a police helicopter for breaking the speed limit in a deserted secondary road. He was hearing dimly the sound of the rotor, but didn't for a moment imagine that the helicopter might be after him until a booming voice coming straight from its loudspeakers ordered him to pull up and stop. He nearly had a heart attack!

    It turns out, or so he was told, that they were testing their shiny new surveillance software, and he was the lucky recipient of their attentions. I'm not sure if he was eventually fined or not.

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    1. During the early stages of the Great Panic the helicopter was circling over the park apparently directing a police car to harass sunbathers.

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    2. And a friend of mine, who lives in west Wales, was only very recently asked by a policeman to show the contents of her shopping bag, to see if it was essential.

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    3. That happened to me back in April! I was carrying a bag with groceries for my elderly mother and a local policeman stopped me and asked me what I was carrying and where I was going. I said I was carrying groceries to my mother's house and he had the gall to say that how could I as there was no supermarket in the vicinity!

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  3. The wee owl was disturbed by the hovering helicopter and I can see that she/he is scolding or muttering ...go away...

    beautiful Bee and butterfly pics..

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    1. All the birds on Buck Hill soon get used to helicopters. But the police always seem to choose the noisiest models, perhaps to frighten people.

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  4. Thanks for your blog. I managed to find the little owls by the sculture and managed to take wonderful shots.I try to be discreet though as I don t want them to be disturbed. Never managed to find the ones on Buck hill but I ll keep looking . I live near Richmond park and there are quite a lot of birds of pray here too , always a pleasure to read the news about Hyde Park . Jon

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  5. Replies
    1. Well done. They owls on Buck Hill are the same as the owls near the sculpture (which is at the foot of Buck Hill). The adult male may be in a tree almost anywhere on the hill. Haven't seen him for some time, as he's impossible to find if he isn't calling.

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