Sunday 1 August 2021

On a showery day it took two visits to see one of the Little Owls. The first time I went to their tree I was followed by the usual Jays, whose lack of reaction when they perched in the nest tree showed that the owls weren't out.


The second time I heard the female calling but couldn't see her. Finally there was a glimpse of the male.


A family of Magpies made a racket in the Flower Walk.


A group of Long-Tailed Tits crossed the path.


A Wren posed in a yew.


A Grey Heron preened on the Henry Moore sculpture, a vantage point much used by herons looking for rats in the undergrowth.


Another scratched its chin at the Serpentine island.


One of this year's young Black-Headed Gulls stood on a post at the Vista.


I thought there was only one Great Crested Grebe chick left from the four hatched on the island, but am glad to say I was wrong. I've added a 10 second countdown to the start of the video in an effort to stop YouTube from pixelating it into incomprehensibility -- rippling water is particularly likely to cause trouble.


The Coots that nested on the post near Peter Pan seem to be starting again. Their three young from the first time are now completely independent.


The Moorhen chicks under the balustrade of the Italian Garden are only occasionally seen as they creep around in the reeds.


The ten young Greylag Geese one the Serpentine have grown their flight feathers but haven't managed to get airborne yet. Vigorous flapping helps to strengthen their flying muscles.


The four younger ones are some way behind.


A Red Crested Pochard drake at the Vista was completely in eclipse, with feathers exactly like those of a female, but its red eyes and bill give away its sex.


During a bright interval anemone flowers attracted a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee ...


... and a Honeybee.

2 comments:

  1. Three out of four! Not doing bad. That is excellent news!

    The picture angle makes the Wren look like a mighty titan. I wonder what a three-metre Wren would get up to.

    Never a bad day if there is an owl.

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    Replies
    1. It would eat eat you without a second thought. We used to have three-metre Wrens, feathers and all. They were called Deinonychus and things like that.

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