Wednesday 22 July 2020

This young Great Crested Grebe on the Long Water is still being fed by its parents but fishing for itself is a skill it will have to acquire, and instinct prompts it to practise. There are lots of small fish in the lake and it may even be catching the occasional one.


There are also plenty of larger fish. This grebe photographed by Ahmet Amerikali has caught a perch about as large as it can swallow.


These are the grebes from the east end of the Serpentine island. Carrying chicks makes a mess of their wings, but they have no need to fly at the moment and will be moulting in the autumn.


There seems to be only one Moorhen chick under the willow tree near the bridge, but it's a sheltered spot and it has a fair chance of survival.


A Moorhen climbed the netting around a planter in the Italian Garden to reach its nest.


The two male Mute Swans on the Long Water were circling each other defiantly. It never actually gets to a fight.


It is slightly reminiscent of the daily Wagah-Attari border ceremony, where Indian and Pakistani troops try to outdo each other in ludicrously exaggerated drill moves.


(Of course this video is not by me. It's provided by Express News.)

Several people have said to me that they haven't seen the Black Swan recently, but there it was today on the Serpentine. For such a large bird it's easy to miss.


The blond Egyptian family are now down to three goslings.


The Grey Heron in the Dell wistfully watched some large carp, too big to catch, as they swam past. Actually it is doing perfectly well on a diet of smaller fish, rats, and bits of pizza scavenged from the restaurant.


The young Little Owl on Buck Hill was feeling restless, and fidgeted and yawned and preened.


A Wood Pigeon lurched around gracelessly in the bushes to find elderberries and blackberries, often losing its footing and falling down.


A young Robin hopped around on the path behind the Lido ...


... and there was a Dunnock under the bushes near the bridge.


A Honeybee worked its way over a ragwort flower.

6 comments:

  1. Well we now know where the Ministry of Silly Walks originated from. A really entertaining watch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mind you, I see staff from the Ministry every day in the park prancing and kneeling at every step or leaping sideways like sifakas.

      Delete
  2. I just got home..but the bee caught my eye because..

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'll never be able to see swans circling each other the same way again.

    I shouldn't be looking forward to watching pigeons falling over as it is unkind, but I do. They are funny.

    I'm sure you've already answered this before, but do Grebe parents teach at least a bit of their fishing skills to their offpsring?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not exactly teaching. Young grebes follow and watch their parents hunting under water, and imitate them.

      Delete