Monday 7 September 2020

A Blue Tit clung to a horse chestnut leaf with its sharp little claws. The leaves are much damaged by Leaf Miner moth, and the bird is probably eating moth larvae.


It was part of a flock of mixed Blue Tits and Long-Tailed Tits.


Starlings foraged in the grass in the Diana fountain enclosure. They clustered closely over what was probably an ants' nest.


Another Starling was eating berries off a dogwood bush, with white berries instead of the black ones of the common British species.


One of two Grey Wagtails seen today. This one, preening at the bottom of the Dell waterfall, is not the one previously seen in the Dell, which is missing the middle toe of its left foot.


A closer look shows that this one's left foot is intact.


So the other Grey Wagtail, which was flying over the Italian Garden, must have been the one usually in the Dell. They fly over a wide area in pursuit of insects.

A young Herring Gull finishing off the remains of one of the pigeon-killing gull's victims had no difficulty keeping a Carrion Crow at a respectful distance.


A pair of Black-Headed Gulls moaned affectionately at each other.


They weren't actually saying anything, it was like the famous Punch cartoon by George Du Maurier.


The younger two Great Crested Grebe chicks from the island were out on the lake being fed by their parents.


A Cormorant washed at the island.


So did a Mute Swan, finishing with a mighty flap.


Canada Geese flew up the Serpentine.


The Mallard family at the boathouse were joined by two teenage Moorhens.


Three Mandarins cruised on the far side of the Long Water. The drake is back in breeding plumage, well ahead of the other duck species.


I hadn't seen any Common Blue Damselflies for some time, but there was one near the bridge.


The patch of wood chips under the plane trees near the Physical Energy statue has produced another kind of mushroom, a Yellow Fieldcap. These very short-lived mushrooms fade and wither in a day, and this one has already lost most of its yellow colour by late morning.

7 comments:

  1. Thanks for the splendid cartoon! Reminds one, like when reading Diary of a Nobody, or Three Men in a Boat: not all things Victorian were all that dull, or humourless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'Bilious old gentleman feels quite sick' has been a catchphrase in my family for many years.

      Delete
    2. Nice one. An excellent & useful phrase.

      Delete
  2. Now I am picturing in my mind those gulls dressed in Victorian garb.

    I cannot stress enough how lovely, lovely, lovely pictures of Long-tailed Tits are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't resist photographing Long-Tailed Tits whenever they appear. It's also impressive how the Blue Tit has managed to land on the vertical surface of a hanging leaf and drive its claws in with the impact.

      Delete
  3. I've noticed that tit flocks at this time of year seem pretty partial to feeding on the Horse Chestnut Leafminer larvae.

    Nice shot of the Common Blue Damselfly. I saw half a dozen on Saturday in Richmond Park.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pity we don't have more birds that eat these larvae. The horse chestnuts in the park are in a sad state, especially those on rough ground where the grass isn't mown under the tree.

      Delete