Tuesday 14 September 2021

After a morning of heavy rain, a Robin had a bath in a puddle.

A puddle is an ideal place for Feral Pigeons to bath and socialise ...

... and for Carrion Crows to dunk bits of food.

Crows were nicely balanced between west and east on top of the Serpentine Gallery.

A Magpie showed little respect for the goddess Diana on her fountain in the Rose Garden.

The Peregrine was on the crane again eating a small bird, perhaps a Starling.

Not surprisingly on such a day, there was no sign of a Little Owl.

The rain stopped in the afternoon and there was even a flash of sunshine on a Great Tit in the Corkscrew Hazel in the Flower Walk.

A Grey Heron waited for a fish to emerge from a reed bed on the Serpentine.

There's already one mixed couple of a Herring Gull and a Lesser Black-Back on the Serpentine. Now we seem to be getting another, as a Lesser Black-Back was moaning affectionately at a second-year Herring Gull.

A young Herring Gull played with a stone.

The drizzle wetted a Cormorant's feathers, giving it an opportunity to have a thorough preen.

This is the teenage Great Crested Grebe from the nest near the bridge, which I hadn't seen recently. It's now completely independent and seems to be doing well.

A Moorhen chick in the Italian Garden fountains walked over water lily leaves, hardly disturbing them with its light weight spread over enormous feet.

Another chick waited on the kerb of the pool.

The Black Swan joined a mixed crowd of birds that were being fed beside the Serpentine.

Autumn Crocuses are coming up near the bridge.

This yellow fungus is growing on a dead tree, probably an oak to judge by its remaining bark, near the Speke obelisk. At first sight I thought it was a Chicken of the Woods, but its shape doesn't seem quite right. Update: Mario confirms that it is indeed a Chicken of the Woods.

6 comments:

  1. It is old Chicken of the wood
    Mario

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    1. Many thanks for the identification.

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    2. I thought it was "old" Chicken of the wood because in your photo it looked rather whitish. But actually having seen it in the flesh, it is a quite fresh specimen

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    3. Thanks. I've changed the text. It is rather a pale specimen.

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  2. The Robin looks so happy! For its size it's like bathing in an olympic pool.

    Very glad to see that the teen Grebe is doing so well. I am confident that its fishing skills are now more than up to par.

    I wonder if the odd couple will be a star-crossed one. The Herring Gull didn't seem too enthused about is suitor. Well, at least it didn't peck it out of its way, so that's a start.

    How I wish I could gather such a collection of birds around me just by feeding them!

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    Replies
    1. I was surprised by the enthusiasm of the Lesser Black-Back. For the first time that I can remember there are now plenty of LBBs on the lake, and it could have had its pick of them. Perhaps the slightly greater size of Herring Gulls makes them more attractive.

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