Tuesday 4 May 2021

One of the three Grey Wagtail chicks found a midge for itself, dropped it and picked it up again. They are learning.


Their mother had a short rest from the day-long work.


One of the Long-Tailed Tits feeding nestlings in a nest near the Italian Garden was also taking a break.


Every year Starlings nest in the eaves of the shelter on Buck Hill. There are always at least half a dozen nests in the corners of the octagonal building.


A Robin sang on a wind-blown twig on Buck Hill.


Belinda Davie found the female Whitethroat in a hawthorn tree above a bramble patch near the Queen's Temple. A pair has been seen here several times.


A Carrion Crow waited expectantly on a railing next to the bridge.


These railings haven't been repainted for decades. But they are made of old-fashioned wrought iron and don't rust much. Modern steel would have crumbled away by now.

The three young Grey Herons in the first nest on the island have come down to the ground.


The wind lashed the second nest. The young birds hunkered down and sat it out.


A new brood of seven Moorhen chicks has appeared in the Italian Garden fountains. They were in two pools -- even when newly hatched, the agile chicks can somehow scramble over the foot-high kerb.


The Moorhen pair in the Dell also nest regularly, and generally do well. But they haven't started yet.


Coots fought at the Vista.


The eight Egyptian goslings on the south side of the Serpentine are growing fast.


The young Black Swan had been being chased off by the older one and her Mute mate when I went by, and was lurking on the far side of the lake. But Neil caught it in a quieter moment, looking elegant in its grey teenage feathers.


Another good picture by Neil, a fox in the Dell. I'm sure there's always one there, but it's only rarely visible.


The Rose Garden is fairly sheltered from the wind, and Buff-Tailed Bumblebees were having no trouble browsing on the Ceanothus blossom.

2 comments:

  1. The Long Tailed Tit must have been pretty exhausted, to stay still for so long. But thanks to it we can enjoy the sight.

    Moorhens' feet are so comically enormous even when they are so tiny.

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    Replies
    1. It's hard to understand how baby Moorhens manage to fit their huge legs and feet into an egg.

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