Friday, 10 December 2021

A Blackbird on Buck Hill had a careful look around from the safety of the hawthorn hedge before coming out to pick up fallen rowan fruit.


A Redwing ...


... and a Mistle Thrush briefly visited the tree.


There is definitely at least one Little Owl on Buck Hill. Andy Williams, the Kensington Gardens manager, heard it calling a few days ago and sent me a sound recording. I'd say that this is the voice of a female owl.

Then yesterday morning at 7.30 he saw it and took a picture on his phone. This is definitely a female.


He helpfully sent a map of the area where he has heard and seen it.


Then this afternoon I too heard a Little Owl calling, probably from a big oak tree slightly to the right of the marked area, about where the blue P symbol is. I rushed to the spot but the owl stopped calling while I was 50 yards away and I couldn't see it. But it's good to know that the owl search is on again.

A Long-Tailed Tit perched on a bush in the Rose Garden ...


... and a Dunnock looked for bugs under a bench.


Magpies poked around in a flower bed near the Lido, coming up with seeds which someone must have thrown there for them.


As I was going home through the Flower Walk I was accosted by three hungry Jays.


A pair of Cormorants managed to balance side by side on a chain at the island.


Overnight rain produced a reasonable flow over the rocks that are the Moorhens' favourite spot in the Dell, but the pump that drives the main waterfall is still out of action.


Greylag Geese came ashore from the Serpentine to join the grazing flock on the bank.


There was also a Mute Swan, looking miserable among the fallen leaves. Evidently it had been driven ashore by the murderous male swan which owns this bit of the bank.


The young swans on the Long Water came over to hiss at a dog on the shore.



The sunlight picked out the iridescent green head of a Mallard in the Italian Garden.


The clump of Oyster Mushrooms on the broken horse chestnut tree near the Serpentine Gallery has expanded and is now quite decorative. The mushrooms are now too large and hard to be edible, but someone has already harvested the smaller ones at the bottom of the clump.

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