A sunny Sunday morning brought a lot of people into the park, so many birds were staying out of sight. But the Song Thrush in the leaf yard came down in a bush just behind the railings to sing.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker called in a tree near the Italian Garden.
One of the pair of Coal Tits ...
... and a Blue Tit came out to be fed in the corkscrew hazel in the Flower Walk.
It took three visits to get a very poor view of the female Little Owl on Buck Hill ...
... but at least a daylight half moon was showing well.
Ahmet Amerikali found a Goldcrest in the bushes just north of Peter Pan. There is always a pair there but mostly they are hard to see in the yew trees.
He also got a fine shot of a fox beside the path ...
... and a dramatic picture of a Cormorant on the Long Water catching a pike.
A Herring Gull with a bit of bread was chased along the Serpentine by other Herring Gulls and two Common Gulls, all eager to harass it into dropping its snack. I don't think the Black-Headed Gull on the left was part of the chase.
The Grey Herons are still building up their nests on the Serpentine island. A casual observer might suppose that they were going to nest, as many herons elsewhere are at the moment, but we know from long experience that they will mess around for months before they start in earnest.
A pair of Great Crested Grebes made a low messy nest under a willow on the Long Water.
Another grebe came in close to the edge at Peter Pan.
A Moorhen amused itself by climbing in the fallen willow near the bridge.
A row of Coots beside the Serpentine preened together. Even the one nearest the camera couldn't help joining in eventually.
Preening must be like yawning in humans, I guess. Highly infectious.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely close-up of the Grebe's gorgeous face!
Yes, exactly -- I nearly wrote that in the blog. Odd how there things work.
DeleteDo you know if the cormorant got the pike down? The mind really boggles. Jim
ReplyDeleteYes, it did. I've seen a Cormorant swallow a bigger pike than this. See this blog entry from 2016
DeleteSome lovely shots. Amazing shot of the Cormorant with the Pike-I hope it didn't suffer indigestion!
ReplyDeleteFinally caught up with a Goldcrest yesterday morning on my Sunday patch when one was feeding at the base of a holly in the wood. Highlight of the day though was watching a group of 18 Red Kites wheeling around & I'd already seen 3 the other side of the wood. A new record count for me in London!
Glad you finally saw a Goldcrest. Yes, the Red Kites are gathering. I think they will be a common sight in Central London before I drop off the twig. Hope to see one in my street scoffing a discarded doner kebab.
DeleteHi Ralph,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog as usual, I spent 45 minutes or so looking for the owl yesterday, but not sure I had the right tree - is it directly next to the path?
Yes, the tree is next to the path. Starting at the Italian Garden, go to the top of Buck Hill and walk along the top path parallel to the road, towards the bridge. As you pass the first gate there is a big maple next to the path on your right, then no more trees for 50 yards. The Little Owls' tree is the first tree on the right after this gap. It's a small broken lime tree, and the big squirrel drey in it is quite obvious. It's hard to see an owl unless it has come out on a branch, which it will at dusk as the park is closing.
DeleteThank you - I'll have a go one late afternoon this weekend.
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