Friday 3 September 2021

A large group of Starlings enjoyed a splash at the Lido restaurant terrace.


A Chiffchaff perched on the dead tree near the bridge.


Long-Tailed Tits passed through the trees on the opposite shore.


Neil photographed a Nuthatch in a treetop in the Flower Walk. This bird is often heard in the area but always hard to get a picture of.


Neil also got a distant shot of two Hobbies high over Kensington Gardens, heading for the Round Pond.


But we couldn't find a Little Owl today.

A Grey Heron shooed another away, showing the threat posture with wings lowered. The way the loser raises one wing seems strange, as if it wanted to fend off a blow.


A heron in the Italian Garden hoped that a fish would come out from under a water lily leaf.


There was a very pale Herring Gull on the edge of the Serpentine, with odd grey eyes. Its wings had the usual black and white pattern and I don't think it was some exotic species.


The Great Crested Grebe chicks on the Long Water are still being carried.


This parent from the west end of the island seemed bored by its chick's incessant begging.


The other parent was getting much the same from the other chick.

The teenager from the other end of the island was preening.


The bullying male Mute Swan from the west end of the Serpentine was chasing the others around.


The Black Swan had a drink.


A Tufted Duck washed splashily.


The group of Red-Crested Pochards on the Long Water seem to be stuck there, as some are moulting their wing feathers.


A fox came down to the edge of the Long Water to drink and groom. It looked old and walked stiffly, and like most urban foxes was suffering from mange.


Another picture from Neil, of a fungus at the base of a beech tree near the Albert Memorial. As usual, I don't know what it is.


There is an outbreak of blue-green algae on the Serpentine, unusually as the last few days have been quite cool. Warm weather is expected and it may get worse. Bathing has been stopped because these algae are toxic as well as foul-smelling.

5 comments:

  1. Perhaps dropping a wing is a submission gesture to acknowledge defeat?

    What a sweet picture of both chicks carried on their parent's back!

    That is a very beautiful gull. Its grey eyes make it look almost innocent.

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    1. It's strange, isn't it? To humans, dark eyes make gulls look sweet, yellow ones make them look merciless.

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  2. Nice shot of the Chiffchaff. Guess your Hobbies will be on the move soon. Have you heard anything about the youngster taken into care?

    Went to Wisley Gardens yesterday & was often hearing Nuthatch, but eventually had good views as it moved through the upper branches of a pollarded oak.

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    1. The young Hobby was released while its parents were calling overhead. t flew up and found them, and all seems to be well. It may well be one of the two in the picture.

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  3. Good news- thanks for the update.

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