The female Little Owl was in a nervous mood and flew away before I could get nearer.
A family of Chaffinches were dashing around in the trees near the bridge.
A Wren was scolding a Carrion Crow in an oak near the leaf yard, leaping from twig to twig. I got just one motion-blurred picture of it in mid-leap before it disappeared into the brambles.
Starlings have returned to the Lido restaurant, and a little group of them were staring expectantly at a table hoping for crumbs.
The young Grey Herons in the nest on the island have started climbing around, a preparation for flying as they make longer leaps from branch to branch.
Two young Herring Gulls dived into the shallow water at the edge of the Serpentine. They may be trying to catch crayfish, but being young they may also be looking for stones or other toys to play with.
The single Coot chick in the Italian Garden rested comfortably on the nest.
The surviving Moorhen chick forced a path through the thick mat of algae at the north end of the Long Water.
Blondie the Egyptian Goose preened her pale wings on the edge of the Serpentine.
Wasps flew in and out of an underground nest near the Italian Garden. Near the end of this video one emerged carrying a mysterious red object. I've used an enlarged picture of this as the thumbnail for the video in case someone can identify it.
This caterpillar on the path near Peter Pan is unfortunately dead, maybe dropped by a bird. Conehead 54 identifies it as a Buff-Tip Moth. It would be good to see an adult moth, but that's very hard because when at rest it perfectly mimics a broken bit of birch twig.
Some more interesting pictures of the Candy-Stripe Spider by Duncan Campbell. It ate an Earwig ...
... and made a nest by spinning web across a leaf to fold it in half.
A later picture taken on Duncan's iPhone shows the nest more closed.
Lastly, two fine pictures sent from Spain by Tinúviel. White Storks arrive in the evening to roost on the cathedral at Zamora.
A night picture of a Long-Eared Owl near Trujillo, taken by Tinúviel's bird guide Jesús Porras.
(blogger ate my comment - trying again)
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it look a bit like the Eagle Owl from Blade Runner?
What an orderly and peaceful band of Starlings. Funny how these birds, which tend towards anarchy, can form into orderly and well-behaved ranks when they need to.
But as soon as a scrap of food appears, order will collapse as the Starlings race to be first to grab it, like little Me-163s.
DeleteSome wonderfully varied shots here.
ReplyDeleteThe caterpillar is a Buff Tip.
Thanks for the identification. I fear I'll never see an adult, since their camouflage is so perfect.
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