Tuesday 1 June 2021

It was a hot day. A Carrion Crow panted to cool down.


A family of Blackcaps kept in the shade of the bushes beside the Long Water.


There is a pair of Robins nearby bringing up a family, though I haven't seen any young ones yet.


This is the male of the Great Spotted Woodpecker pair which are having to make a new home after their tree near the Henry Moore sculpture was blown down.


Starling families waited in the trees on the Dell restaurant terrace for people to leave a table so they could grab any leftovers. Some passed the time by bathing. The young ones were making most of the noise.


A fine picture by Mark Williams of a young Pied Wagtail in St James's Park. We should have some soon. They can often be seen at the edge of the Round Pond.


One of the young Grey Herons from the second nest was down on the ground on the island. The other was in the nest.


Belinda Davie got a good shot of the Great Crested Grebe on the nest near the bridge standing up, revealing four eggs.


The Coots nesting on the post on the Long Water are keeping their chicks on a branch, where they are safe from gulls in the air and pike in the water. Meanwhile they are repairing their nest as if planning to use it again. (Actually I think this is just instinct. Coots don't make plans.)


Unfortunately, the Coot that usually nests in one of the small boathouses was there again. The chicks always fall off the platform and can't get back. People have tried to put in ramps in other places where this has happened, but the chicks don't get the idea.


A Moorhen had a good wash and preen on the edge of the Serpentine.


As the geese arrive on the Serpentine to moult during June, there are some familiar faces including this Canada Goose with a speckled head.


The ten Greylag goslings are in good order.


There is a new family of Greylags which seems to have three parents. Usually other adults get chased off. Perhaps the extra goose is the mother's sister.


A pair of Egyptians shooed away another that had got too close to their goslings.


The two blond goslings are nearly grown up.


Joan Chatterley, who keeps a watch on the swan trio in St James's Park, sent this picture. All the cygnets are doing well and are now quite large.


Three terrapins in a row basked in the sunshine at Peter Pan.

4 comments:

  1. Terrapins? Will have a look for them tomorrow :)

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    1. On the fallen horse chestnut tree in the Long Water between Peter Pan and the Italian Garden. Red-Eared Sliders and Yellow-Bellied Sliders, five in all.

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  2. How hot was it today? It was quite cool and rainy here today, at least for Spanish standards.

    I wonder what, and how, a Coot thinks. I wonder what their thought processes are like. Perhaps "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing".

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    1. Not hot by Spanish standards. Maybe 23°C. But a welcome change from the freezing spring.

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