Wednesday 23 September 2020

 A much cooler day with a bit of rain. The usual Grey Wagtail was back in its favourite place at the top of the Dell waterfall. As autumn sets in the number of insects is falling, and it's having to look around for prey.

Feral Pigeons sheltered from a shower under the cornice of the bridge.

This Robin at the back of the Lido came out to be fed, not something it usually does. Hungry times are coming.

A Wren looked out from a rose bush in the Rose Garden.

A sunny picture from the last of the summer by Mark Williams: a Blue Tit feeds on his hand.

A Rose-Ringed Parakeet tore off a yew twig just to get at the one berry on it. The ground underneath was littered with twigs pulled off by these destructive birds, which just nibble the berries to get a bit of juice and spit them out.

A Carrion Crow explored a crisp packet.

Another crow was having a dogfight with a Black-Headed Gull over the Serpentine.

A Grey Heron stood on the weeping beech in the Dell.

One of the eldest brood of Great Crested Grebes now has a fine black crest, and only a trace of juvenile stripes. It was fishing, and therefore the centre of attention for various gulls hoping to grab its catch.

A pair of Moorhens washed and shook themselves dry on the chain which stops boats from going under the bridge. Behind the chain, the Long Water is kept as a quiet area for water birds.

Another Moorhen was caught in a tailwind and had a Marilyn Monroe moment.

A Red Crested Pochard drake is beginning to come out of eclipse, and has the first white feathers of his bright breeding plumage.

A Myathropa florea hoverfly worked over an ivy flower at the back of the Lido.

It's sometimes called the Death Head Hoverfly because the markings on its thorax are supposed to have a faint resemblance to a skull. Another name is the Batman Hoverfly, and one of the marks on its thorax does really look quite like the Batman emblem.

2 comments:

  1. I've been squinting at the Death Head Hoverfly for a few minutes and cannot see the skull. I am notoriously unimaginative.

    Great picture of the Moorhen while playing Marilyn!

    Very happy to see the young Grebe so agile and alert. I imagine it can now fish now efficiently?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Even with the fly seen head upwards there really is hardly any resemblance to a skull, just two black marks with a faint shadow in the pale band between them supposedly dividing it into eyes.

      It will be some time before the young grebe is efficient, but it seems to be catching enough while its skill develops.

      Delete