The female Little Owl near the Serpentine Gallery was in a remote and shady place at the top of the horse chestnut tree.
She called to her mate.
A flock of Long-Tailed Tits moved along the Flower Walk ...
... and a Robin stretched in the middle of a bush.
A Wren came out on a holly tree near the bridge.
A Pied Wagtail perched on the roof of one of the small boathouses.
The male Peregrine was on the tower, as usual with his back to the view.
The small flock of Mistle Thrushes that visited the rowan trees on Buck Hill seem to have moved on, and over the past two days I have only seen one here. This afternoon there were only Starlings.
A Wood Pigeon hung down perilously to reach some berries.
A Grey Heron fished from a branch on the edge of the Long Water. They have no difficulty reaching down to the water even when standing a foot above the surface.
The plastic buoys around the Lido swimming area are a popular place for Black-Headed Gulls to socialise and preen.
For some reason a flock of Egyptian Geese considered that the crowd gathered for a charity run was worth a visit.
A pair of Gadwalls browsed on the green algae that have come up on the Long Water in the recent warm weather.
The big ivy hedge at the back of the Lido is coming into flower, and at last I managed to find an Ivy Bee there.
A Common Carder bee visited a patch of lavender in the Rose Garden.
Very nice photography on the bees!
ReplyDeleteThanks. Done from 2.5 metres away with the 600mm lens, picture cropped to 1600 x 1200 pixels and shown actual size.
ReplyDeleteThe Long Tailed Tits look like perfectly formed lolipops. Adorable creatures.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at the Egyptians gatecrashing the charity run. God knows what they thought it was.
We are now getting into the season when Long-Tailed Tits travel around in big flocks. As individuals they flit about quickly but the flock moves at walking speed, so if you are going the same way you are surrounded by them for minutes, squeaking and purring in the bushes.
DeleteWell done Ralph on connecting with Ivy Bee- I thought there was a good chance you'd find one there, without being certain of their presence. They are very smart bees when fresh. When I went to Rainham I saw plenty of these but had hoped to see their sibling species the Sea Aster Mining Bee near the entrance where the plant grows in the estuarine mud, but the Sea Aster had all gone to seed so didn't see any.
ReplyDeleteWatching the Gadwall here, they love feeding around Coots where they can take advantage of the weed brought to the surface by them.
Bizarre behaviour by the Egyptian Geese!
Perhaps the behaviour of the Egyptians was a territorial challenge. They like to graze in this place, which has been returfed with high quality sports turf, and don't like their dining area being occupied by odd-looking pink people.
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