Friday 11 June 2021

The second clutch of eggs is hatching in the Coots' nest at the bridge, with two chicks out and three eggs still to go. One chick survives from the first brood.


The Moorhens at the north end of the Long Water have five chicks, not four as I had thought. The parents are very good at keeping their young hidden among the waterside plants.


The Great Crested Grebes at the east end of the island added more algae to their soggy nest.


A Mallard near the bridge had a single duckling.


Most of the Mandarin drakes are some way into eclipse and look sadly tatty, but this one at Peter Pan was still in fine condition.


A brisk breeze on a warm day helped the solitary Cormorant to dry its wings on a post at the Serpentine island.


The young Grey Herons from the first nest on the island have taken to fishing on the gravel strip in the Long Water. At one time all three of them were there.


It seems that we have another would-be pigeon eater, this time a Herring Gull. It was displaying obvious hunting behaviour in a crowd of Feral Pigeons near the Triangle car park, and had bloodstains on its face.


A Great Tit fed a fledgling near Peter Pan.


There were more young ones in a willow beside the Serpentine. But Ahmet Amerikali got a picture of a Great Tit still building a nest, collecting spiders' webs. Maybe it had lost a brood and was starting again.


He also photographed a Wren collecting insects for its young.


Wood Pigeons poked around in the grass, clearly finding something to eat. A closer look showed that it was clover.


A metallic green Rose Chafer Beetle appeared on a leaf near the bridge. Thanks to Jim for identifying it.


A pair of Red-Eyed Damselflies mated on a patch of algae in one of the Italian Garden fountains.


I've never seen so many Buff-Tailed Bumblebees. They have very definite preferences for plants. Apart from the Lambs' Ears where I saw them two days ago, they like Salvia ...


... and Escallonia.

6 comments:

  1. Not a shield bug but a Rose Chafer (beetle). I've yet to see one meself. Jim

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  2. Rose Chafers are quite exotic looking beetles-one of the scarabs. I occasionally see them. I used to work somewhere near Wandsworth Common where we found large numbers of their larvae feeding in the compost heaps. Occasionally would see an adult coming to oviposit.

    Nice to see the Red-eyed Damselflies. I've seen them in a couple of locations in the past week.

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    Replies
    1. The Red-Eyed Damselflies -- and later the Small Red-Eyed ones -- always appear in exactly the same place, to within a few feet, on one of the fountains in the Italian Garden. It's odd to see how conservative they are. Even the highly mobile Emperor Dragonflies are seen far more often in this small area than elsewhere, and that is not for want of looking.

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  3. I wonder why there are so many Bumblebees this year. Can it be the warmer weather now?

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    Replies
    1. I think numbers are unprecedented. We'll need to see if the increase is sustained next year.

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