After another freezing night the Long Water was partly iced up. Usually it freezes quite readily because it's sheltered from the wind and the surface is calm, but there has been a brisk east wind blowing under the bridge which kept it clear till now. Black-Headed Gulls seem to love loafing around on ice.
But the Black-Headed Gull with ring number EZ73323 was sticking to its favourite place, the notice near the southeast corner of the Serpentine.
On the other side of the lake the notorious Lesser Black-Backed Gull was in his hunting pose, ready to rush at a Feral Pigeon on the edge of the lake. The pigeon noticed in time and hastily flew away.
A second-winter Herring Gull played with a stick it had fished out of the lake.
A Lesser Black-Backed Gull, a Common Gull and a Black-Headed Gull perched above the doomed Coot nest at Peter Pan.
After I heard yesterday what sounded like a Grey Heron chick clacking its bill in the nest, I listened again today, and the sound was still audible -- though here you have to strain to hear it above wind and background noise. We can definitely say now that there's a chick.
The heron's mate visited the nest.
The heron at the west end of the island is still sitting.
The Black Swan, still on the Serpentine, flew after a Mute Swan. I don't know whether this was because the Mute Swan's patience had snapped after being constantly followed around, or whether it was just because swans like to fly when there's a wind to help them take off.
As usual there were Long-Tailed Tits in the Dell, come to visit the mealworm feeder. This one was fluffed up against the cold wind.
After eating some mealworms it had a preen. (I meant to cut this video down to about 45 seconds but mistook the number of minutes, so it's 1 minute 46 seconds. But you don't have to watch the whole thing.)
A Great Tit preened in a holly tree near the bridge.
A Robin in the same tree came down twice to take pine nuts from my hand.
A Goldfinch sang briefly in a treetop before flying away. They're very shy and don't like cameras pointed at them.
A close-up of the of the Rose-Ringed Parakeets that infest the leaf yard -- pestilential but pretty.
Fascinating, really informative being able to put 'names to avian faces' and understand some of their behaviour. JA-W2
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteHaving one more minute of Long Tailed Tit cuteness is like having a bigger treat!
ReplyDeleteHope the Heron chick will be unaffected by the cold. How much longer will the cold last? Hoping it will be done by next Saturday.
Pretty blights, Parakeets.
The forecast says that the cold weather will ease on Sunday. The heron chick also has to contend with crows and an uncertain fish supply after the Cormorants have had their way.
DeleteAlways love to see the hunting pose of the Lesser Black-back. A lucky pigeon this time.
ReplyDeleteNice to see the Black Swan in flight & even though they can be a curse lovely head portrait of the RN Parakeet.
The pigeons at the Dell restaurant are well aware of the gull, so he now does most of his hunting elsewhere.
Delete