Tuesday 5 January 2021

A Carrion Crow tossed leaves aside and found worms under two of them.


A Pied Wagtail hunted for insects among the leaves on the Parade Ground ...


... and another ran along the edge of the Serpentine.


The familiar Blue Tit followed me down the edge of the Long Water, taking several pine nuts ...


... and on a chilly day there was a lot of demand from the Great Tits in the shrubbery near the bridge.


Long-Tailed Tits ignore human offerings and look for insects themselves.


Rose-Ringed Parakeets were interested in a sawn-off tree trunk. Evidently it's hollow and offers shelter from the cold wind.


A Black-Headed Gull rolled a plane tree seed around on the boat platform.


Another didn't wait for an advancing Moorhen to tip it off a post, and left immediately.


The Black Swan was still on the Serpentine and came over to me hoping for food. But all I have is sunflower hearts, which she doesn't like (though most of the waterfowl do). She has developed an unhealthy taste for bread.


A pair of courting Mute Swans dribbled in unison.


A swan wandered around behind the ornate iron railings of the Italian Garden.


A pair of Egyptian Geese were making a racket on a dead tree near the Henry Moore sculpture.


I couldn't find the Goldeneye, but he's hard to see at the best of times and may well still be here.

2 comments:

  1. Did the Mute Swan jump over that ledge? Where did it get out of the water, I wonder. I know they are very poor walkers, but sometimes they surprise us.

    So the Black Swan is only interested in simple carbs. She is beginning to pick up human vices!

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  2. Yes. A Mute Swan that has landed in one of the fountain pools can just get over the ledge, which is 40 cm high on the water side and has a rounded edge. It does this by rushing at the ledge and colliding in a very painful-looking way, but the swan's feathers absorb the shock.

    The Black Swan seems to be feral in origin and was a teenager when she arrived. She didn't know what bread was.

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