A young one played with a leaf.
The female Mute Swan who nested behind the railings in the background and, against all odds, brought up two cygnets returned to the site of her triumph.
The Black Swan rested on the shore.
A Grey Heron posed among the classical urns in the Italian Garden, watched by an unfriendly Carrion Crow.
Tom photographed a crow eating a piece of corn on the cob with enjoyment -- in fact it had practically finished when he got to it.
A Cormorant stared at the camera.
So did a Wood Pigeon at the top of the Dell waterfall.
It had frightened away the Grey Wagtail, which flew down to the bottom.
A Chiffchaff perched in a bush beside the Long Water.
There was a Blue Tit in a hawthorn in front of it.
A Hobby passed over the Meadow at a considerable height, and I missed it but Tom got a distant picture sharp enough to show that it was one of the adults.
Tom also got a good shot of the usual female Kestrel in a plane tree in the valley of the Tyburn Brook.
A pair of Migrant Hawker dragonflies mated on a reed beside the Serpentine. It's a long and complicated process. The male is the blue one on top.
A Devil's Coach Horse beetle (Ocypus olens) crossed the path at the foot of Buck Hill.
An Eristalis arbustorum hoverfy in the wildflower patch at the back of the Lido.
At first sight we thought that this tree fungus was the skull and bones of an animal which had somehow perished on a branch.
Ralph, if you have time, I would recommend a visit to St James’s Park. There are plenty of pairs of Gadwalls, looking very smart in the autumn sun. There’s also a great crested grebe family with 3 quite young chicks
ReplyDeleteThanks, will try to fit it in. At the moment I'm having to work for quite a while to get enough pictures and video.
DeleteLovely video of the mating Migrant Hawkers- good numbers around at the moment.
ReplyDeleteGood to see the Hobbies still- had one each of the last 2 days in different locations.
I've been seeing lots of Migrant Hawkers but they wouldn't stop until now, when they had other things on their tiny minds. (The name always reminds me of the North African carpet sellers I used to see in Italy.)
DeleteThe Hobbies must be off soon. The last of the hirundines are heading south and they risk missing the gravy train.
Our hirundines are all gone, except for red-rumped swallows, who are about to leave, and a few crag martins. Are they still in Kensington Gardens?
DeleteThat affectionate gull couple could very well have their own tv series. Perhaps a gull sitcom.
Yes, all our hirundines are gone. There was a passage through the park two weeks ago, and that was the end of it.
DeleteI can imagine a gull sitcom delicately animated by the late Isao Takahata in the sketchy style of My Neighbours the Yamadas.