Saturday 18 September 2021

A big swimming event on the Serpentine was of no interest to two Cormorants.


But both families of Great Crested Grebes took shelter on the opposite side of the island from the hundreds of swimmers thrashing by. This is the pair with two chicks.


There are plenty of fish here, so they weren't going short. A chick grabbed a fish from its father ...


... and swallowed it.


Some of the Coots which normally cruise in the middle of the lake had sought refuge on the moored pedalos.


A pair of Mute Swans were not going to give up their territory to mere humans, and struck a challenging pose in front of their teenage cygnets.


The Black Swan wasn't bothered. It fished up a crayfish claw and ate it. Swans eat snails, so evidently they don't mind if their food is on the hard side.


Away from the noise, a Moorhen chick wandered over the water lilies in the Italian Garden.


The Peregrine was preening on the crane. The crane was in use -- you can see the pulley going round -- but the bird didn't mind.


The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery peered round a branch.


It's hard to see what this Grey Heron hoped to gain by perching in the middle of dense willow leaves.


A flock of Long-Tailed Tits went through the trees near the bridge.


There were several Chiffchaffs in the holly tree, hard to get a clear view of through the twigs ...


... and a Wood Pigeon eating unripe berries.


Common Wasps flew in and out of their nest hole near the Italian Garden.


A Batman Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) explored a Japanese Anemone.


A Honeybee gathered pollen from a Gaillardia flower.

2 comments:

  1. I would have loved to see the swans entering into a swimming competition. They'd win, wings down. A bit disappointed about the Coot refusing to enter the fray though.

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    1. I would have liked to see the swans blocking the way of the swimmers, as they do that of walkers on the shore. And also those low-level Coot attacks where the bird becomes an ekranoplan. Which is a bit hard on the swimmers perhaps, as they were doing it for a charity.

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