Sunday 29 November 2020

The Goldeneye was back in view on the Serpentine -- maybe it never left, though I looked in vain for it yesterday and the day before.


It dives incessantly in the deepest part of the lake and spends much more time submerged than it does on the surface.


A Tufted Duck stood on the dead willow near the Italian Garden.


The elderly and incompetent pair of Egyptian Geese who live in the garden seldom get their feet wet, but today they decided to go for a swim in the fountain.


When a pair of Great Crested Grebes meet, even after ten minutes of being out of sight of each other, the affectionate birds always go through their greeting ceremony.


The Herring Gull I have been filming recently found a chicken bone to play with.


Black-Headed Gulls enjoyed a splash in the Diana fountain.


The usual Grey Heron at the island was in a different nest, but found it too small and went back to the usual one.


The female Peregrine was on the tower in the morning but left and didn't come back when I was there, to the disappointment of some people who had come to see the pair.


The Little Owl on Buck Hill has been seen several times in the past few weeks by Jonathan Henrotay, mostly in the horse chestnut trees between the allotment and the park offices. He says she prefers the two trees nearer the offices. Possibly the hole is in the nearest, though it's impossible to see from the ground. His best recent picture is of her in a lime.


Two Carrion Crows perches on the weathervane of the Lido restaurant.


Hand feeding Starlings is a pretty violent affair. They weren't very keen on the sunflower hearts I offered them first, but when I switched to pine nuts it became a complete frenzy.


Neil found this fungus growing on the steps at the southwest corner of the bridge. The clump is only two inches across. Update: Mario identifies this as Candlesnuff Fungus, Xylaria hypoxylon


Another fungus on a dead tree at the bottom of Buck Hill. Update: Mario thinks it may be old Split Gill Fungus, Schizophyllum commune, but closer inspection would be needed and you can't get at it because it's behind the railings.

11 comments:

  1. The first fungus is Candlesnuff Fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon). For the second, one has to see the underside to determine the species, though it has the look of old Split Gill Fungus (Schizophyllum commune)

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    1. Thank you for the identification. No way to see the underside of the second fungus, as it's behind railings along the south side of the path along the bottom of Buck Hill, a short way north of the Henry Moore enclosure.

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  2. I hope the Goldeneye stays there for a few more days. I would love to see it.

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    1. It's been in the eastern half of the Serpentine, always near the middle. Quite hard to spot, as there are lots of Tufted Ducks and it spends 90 per cent of its time submerged.

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  3. Someone ought to write a self-help book on how to keep marriages healthy by imitating Grebe behaviour.

    Starlings have expensive tastes.

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    1. All the small birds have expensive tastes. Once they're on the pine nuts they won't accept anything less.

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  4. Pleased you've still got your Goldeneye. There's also been one at the London Wetland Centre for a week or so.

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    1. Maybe ours is a stray from a flock moving up the river.

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  5. Hey Ralph, what tower is that, where you always see the peregrines?

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    1. The tower of the Household Cavalry barracks on the south side of Hyde Park.

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