Wednesday 3 March 2021

The Grey Heron chick on the island was frantic to be fed, but had to wait till its parent had regurgitated some fish for it.

Often Coot fights are between pairs, with two, presumably the males, fighting continuously, while the other two join in occasionally or chase each other. At the end of the video there are clear winners, with two holding another two down so that they have to submit.

In an act of random aggression, a Coot chased off a harmless Gadwall who was minding his own business.

It began to rain, but a Great Crested Grebe didn't mind.

A Black-Headed Gull played with a feather.

A pair of Mute Swans courted on the grass beside the Serpentine, probably the same pair I photographed on Monday. I think they are doing this on land because the adjacent water is the territory of the violent male who killed another swan last summer ...

... and whose two offspring are growing up to be just as horrible as their father.

The dominant swans on the Long Water are still ignoring their newly repaired nesting island. Today it was the turn of two Greylag Geese and two Lesser Black-Backed Gulls to occupy it.

A Rose-Ringed Parakeet chewed leaf buds. They damage each one just enough to stop it developing, then move on to the next one. In this way a few of these destructive pests can ruin a whole tree.

I thought these emerging flowers were bluebells, but it seems not -- apparently a kind of Scilla. Anyway, a Carrion Crow posed obligingly in a patch.

A female Chaffinch foraged in leaf litter at the foot of Buck Hill.

A Wren perched on a twig near the Italian Garden.

The Long-Tailed Tits in the Rose Garden were busy building their nest. The large and complex structure takes several weeks to finish.

Landscape with Looming Bunny.

4 comments:

  1. That's the Black Army born again and no mistake.

    I wonder who made that drawing, and why. It looks like something a kid would do for play. A cheery sight, at any rate.

    The Heron chick is now almost as large as its parent!

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    1. There's a place in the Flower Walk where two paths cross, and decorative concentric circles of metal are set in the tarmac. The inner circle makes an irresistible picture frame for children with coloured chalks, and you often see drawings there.

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  2. Good to see the young Heron doing so well!

    Definitely not Bluebells the Crow is surrounded by (far too early!) but a type of Scilla- true they are blue but otherwise very different looking!

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    1. Thanks. I realised that the flowers didn't look quite right and wondered if they were Spanish Bluebells. Will wait to see what they look like when fully out and try to identify them properly then.

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