A family of Long-Tailed Tits collected in a tree at the edge of the Vista before flying across the open space together. This is a young one with a juvenile brown head.
Two interesting pictures by Ahmet Amerikali: a Reed Warbler flying through the reeds below the Diana fountain ...
... and a Goldcrest fledgling from a nest in the yew tree near the bridge, where Goldcrests nest every year.
A Grey Heron looked down from a cedar near the leaf yard. They like cedars as vantage points: the open branches are easy to land in and give a good view of the ground.
A Lesser Black-Backed Gull pulled up a crayfish.
A young Coot practised diving in the shallow water in front of Peter Pan. It can just about reach the bottom to pick up a strand of algae. Even adult Coots have difficulty getting down to any depth because they are so buoyant.
The Great Crested Grebes at the west end of the island have started making a nest against the wire baskets. It's the usual sloppy mess. They are not great builders, unlike Coots.
They had trouble with a Coot that didn't want them on its territory. They were separated by a bit of netting, so it was just a staring match. Even one grebe can easily defeat a Coot in the water, but Coots keep coming back and wearing down their rivals' patience, so they often win in the end.
No change on the Long Water: the grebes' nest on the fallen poplar has still not hatched out, though it should any day now ...
... and the single chick is still all right. I have never seen it being fed, but somehow it's getting enough to stay alive.
A pair of Moorhens mated at the Vista. They can eat just about anything, so there is no seasonal problem for them as there is for grebes dependent on small fish to feed their chicks.
Greylag goslings ...
... and Egyptians relaxed in the shade of the willows on the edge of the Serpentine.
The Mute Swan mother of four cygnets stood protectively over them at the island.
A male Emperor dragonfly hunted over the algae at the north end of the Long Water.
The Lamb's Ears in the Rose Garden are beginning to flower, attracting a crowd of Buff-Tailed Bumblebees.
Pleased to report that the LBBG pair from last year have been nesting on the chimneys above my flat again, and today I've had a first glimpse of one chick. Hope they don't have run-ins with the magpie couple in the neighbouring tree again, which did for the gull chicks last year.
ReplyDeleteGood to know that Lesser Black-Backs are really nesting in central London. With Herring Gulls it's obvious, but these are fewer and their urban habits still mysterious.
DeleteThe chick isn't looking malnourished, is it? It's hard to tell with all the down and feathers. Does it look energetic?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there is any creature that would stare a Coot down.
Yes, impossible to tell. But it's moving around briskly enough. I'd say that, with the state of the fish supply as it is, its chance of survival is still about 50/50.
DeleteGood to see the Emperor- first record I've been aware of in London this year. The most majestic of dragonflies that always gets the attention of passers by-even those that wouldn't normally give an insect a second look!
ReplyDeleteA site I worked at on Monday has a mass of the Stachys which like yours was swarming with Buff-tailed Bumblebees.
Greaat to see Goldcrests have fledged young.
I managed to get a picture of a female Black-Tailed Skimmer today -- had seen one yesterday but it was distant and wouldn't stop. Odd, because I haven't seen any males yet and usually they are the commonest dragonfly in the park.
DeleteIt's remarkable how attractive the very small flowers of Stachys are to bumblebees. The flowers in the Rose Garden are only half out, but already they're exerting their effect.
One of the bees to look for on the Stachys is the Wool Carder Bees- a very distinctive, chunky solitary bee, which can be quite aggressive to other insects, which collects the hairs from the leaves for their nests.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I will keep an eye on these plants, of which there are several patches.
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