Monday 26 April 2021

A Wren sang beside the waterfall in the Dell. The tiny bird is naturally so loud that it doesn't have to raise its voice to be heard above the rush of the water.


A Wood Pigeon bathed in the pool at the top of the waterfall.


A Long-Tailed Tit was collecting insects near the Italian Garden. This must be one of the pair nesting in the bramble patch, although it was on the other side of the lake.


A Chiffchaff gave the camera a serious stare.


Tom got a shot of a Willow Warbler near the Henry Moore sculpture. We never get more than a few in the park and they're difficult to photograph.


He also got a female Blackcap in the same place.


Neil took this close-up of a female Chaffinch in a tulip tree.


This is one of the Mistle Thrushes nesting near the Diana fountain.


The first clear view of the Grey Heron chick in the second nest to hatch on the island. I think there may be two chicks, judging by the noise they make.


Not in the park: a pair of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls surfed the updraught at the top of a building. One amused itself by standing on the other's back.


This video has been forwarded again and again on Twitter and I can no longer trace where it came from, but congratulations to whoever shot it.

Another picture by Neil, of a Great Crested Grebe catching a crayfish, of which there are great number in the lake now.


Only one of the four pairs of grebes is nesting, which is just as well as the stock of small fish must be very low at the moment, and crayfish are not suitable for feeding to small chicks.

The male of the pair of Mute Swans nesting at the east end of the Lido guarded the six eggs while his mate was away feeding. This is the pair that succeeded last year in bringing up two cygnets despite the threat from foxes to a nest on the shore. The male is exceptionally aggressive and killed another swan that got too close to the nest.


The four Egyptian goslings on the Long Water are growing at a tremendous rate.


The mother of the goslings at the Dell restaurant exchanged hostile looks with a nesting Coot.


It looks as if more little Egyptians are on the way at the Diana fountain. Thanks to Tom for this picture.


A Mandarin drake on the Serpentine, back from the Round Pond where they have been recently.

2 comments:

  1. I never cease to be amazed by how powerful the voice of such a tiny little slip of a thing can be.

    Isn't it funny how stern and severe little birds can look? It's almost as if they can bite more than they can chew.

    That Gull video is the most amazing thing.

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    Replies
    1. The Chiffchaff has a most imposing presence for a creature that only weighs 7 or 8 grams.

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