Friday 28 May 2021

A young Chiffchaff, barely out of the nest and still with a few downy feathers, perched on a twig on Buck Hill.


A young Long-Tailed Tit beside the Serpentine was already catching its own insects.


A Greenfinch sang from a twig near the Queen's Temple, where there are now quite a lot of these birds.


A Blackbird had a bath in the fountain in the Rose Garden and preened on a branch.


A pair of Herring Gulls moaned affectionately at each other on the edge of the Serpentine. There is a breeding colony nearby in Paddington, so they can nest if they feel like it.


The Great Crested Grebes at the bridge were repairing their nest. I haven't yet been able to see any eggs in it.


The solitary Moorhen chick in the Italian Garden poked around in the algae.


The Coot nest on the basket on the other side of the bridge now has four chicks in it -- and suddenly, a whole lot more eggs, eight in all. Apparently these were laid in the last few days. It's not clear what the parents will do about this.


The four Coot chicks at Peter Pan are still in good order.


The Mute Swan with five cygnets at the island shooed away a Coot that had got too close.


A Mute Swan, Egyptian Geese and Greylag Geese grazed happily on the newly restored lush grass on the south side of the Serpentine.


Two Greylag families sprawled across the path on the south shore of the Serpentine, so that people had to walk round them.


The four young Mallards that miraculously survived on the open lake are now almost full size, though their wings are not yet serviceable.


It rained heavily in the afternoon. Virginia got a good picture of a Mandarin drake in the downpour.


A interesting picture from Jabir Belmehdi. Ermine Moth caterpillars have built a cocoon around a bush near the children's playground on the south side of the Serpentine. They will now eat all the leaves. A bush similarly attacked on the other side of the lake two years ago has still not recovered.

4 comments:

  1. Are those caterpillars edible for birds? The'd provide plenty of nourishment for nestlings, and some succour to the bush.

    The young Chiffchaff is so adorable!

    Glad to see the Geese won't move for anyone. Lets hope though that self-respect won't come before self-preservation!

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    1. That's what the web is for. It will completely encase the bush and the caterpillars will be safe inside eating all the leaves.

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  2. Yes, love the Chiffchaff youngster- a charming photo. You had more rain there as we just had a couple of light showers.

    The Ermine looks like Spindle Ermine-often feeding on the evergreen Japanese Spindle in parks & gardens.

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    1. Thanks for the identification. We had an earlier infestation a couple of years ago near the bridge.

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