On the Parade Ground, a dozen Redwings chattered in a tree. There wasn't a good view of any of them, so this clip is about the sound they make.
One caught a worm on the ground.
We haven't had any Fieldfares yet, but Tom was at Rainham Marshes and got an excellent picture of one.
A Carrion Crow looked under dead leaves in the churned mud.
A Robin flitted around a bench in the Rose Garden.
In the leaf yard a female Chaffinch fidgeted in a yew tree and flew away.
Starlings foraged in the rough grass until something scared them and they flew off together in an instant.
One of the Coal Tits in the Flower Walk looked out from the pink hazel catkins.
This is the Grey Heron nest on the island which may be active, though I'm far from sure.
Another heron flapped to keep its balance on a thin twig.
The Black-Headed Gull on the landing stage had cleared off all the other birds and was looking pleased with himself.
When one gull starts washing, the others do too.
Coots fought on the Long Water.
A Tufted drake dived at Peter Pan.
Another fine picture from Tom at Rainham Marshes: a pair of Pintails in flight.
The aggressive Mute Swan at the west end of the Serpentine was being his usual bullying self.
The sunshine dimly lit one of the large pike under the edge of the Italian Garden.
Can cormorants catch pike of that size?
ReplyDeleteWhat is written on the bench the Robin is perched on? "Presented to the people..."?
This seems to be the largest size of pike a Cormorant can eat. It was a desperate struggle for the bird to subdue and swallow the fish.
DeleteThe notice on the bench says 'Presented to the People of London by the Cotchett Family of California.' Good for them.
Good to see the Pike photo.
ReplyDeleteA couple of beautiful photos by Tom Rainham seems to be the best place around London to see Pintail, though the London Wetland Centre often has one or two birds.
There seem to be a lot of Herons on nests now. A couple of weeks ago saw a few on them while on a botany walk at Richmond on the islands in the Thames & last week while doing WeBS at Lonsdale Rd Reservoir.
I've only ever seen two Pintails in the park. They don't seem to be city birds.
DeleteI still doubt these Grey Herons are nesting seriously. While pairs elsewhere are getting on with it, ours hang around for months and may not breed till summer. Maybe it's because most of the fish have been eaten by Cormorants by midwinter, and there's a hungry gap till the spring's new fish are large enough to be worth catching. But why doesn't this happen in the other parks?
Good question Ralph & one I can't answer.
ReplyDelete