Thursday 24 June 2021

The Great Tit fledglings are still chasing their parents ...

... but now beginning to find insects for themselves.

The young Long-Tailed Tits have been independent for some time.

A Reed Warbler near the Diana fountain brought a Crane Fly and other insects ...

... to its young. Thanks to Ahmet Amerikali for these two good pictures.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker perched on a birch tree on Buck Hill.

On the path below, a Feral Pigeon carried a twig to a nest somewhere.

One of the two young Grey Wagtails came to the pool at the top of the Dell waterfall.

A Great Crested Grebe shook a crayfish violently to remove its claws before swallowing the rest whole.

It was now feeling a bit uncomfortable, so it had a wash to settle itself.

The eldest chick on the Long Water was given a very small fish.

A grebe has taken a Coots' nest at the landing stage near the Diana fountain. I think the Coots have abandoned this nest, but ...

... the local Grey Heron likes to use it as a fishing platform, and you can't say no to a heron. It was scratching itself as it stared at the grebe.

A young Egyptian flapped its large new wings.

The youngest Greylag gosling sat on the edge of the Serpentine.

The female Mute Swan on the Long Water brought two of her cygnets dangerously close to a large pike, which you can just see to the left of the cygnets. It was almost impossible to photograph in the murky water, and this is the best I could manage.

A Harlequin Ladybird larva crossed the path at the foot of Buck Hill.

Tom found several Speckled Wood butterflies near the leaf yard.

4 comments:

  1. "speckled wood" is a wonderfully apt name. It looks as if it was made of wood!

    I would never have imagined that a Grebe should be able to swallow such a large crayfish in one go. Amazing bird.

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    1. I do wonder how nutritious crayfish are. All that indigestible chitin and not much inside.

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  2. Looks to have been a fairly successful breeding season for many birds in the park-good to see so many healthy youngsters.

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    Replies
    1. Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs have also done unusually well.

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