There were more Redwings on the Parade Ground, but still only half a dozen. One of them found a worm.
A Green Woodpecker called from the east side of the Long Water. I went round and found it in a horse chestnut tree near the park offices ...
... where it was looking for insects inside a hollow branch.
Nearby on Buck Hill pair of Magpies called to each other above a nest. This is an old nest from last year but they will repair and reuse it.
Some Long-Tailed Tits jumped around in a tree.
A Chaffinch perched in the corkscrew hazel in the Flower Walk.
A Great Tit looked for insects in the rotten wood of the dead tree near the bridge.
On the other side of the bridge a Grey Wagtail landed almost at my feet and started hunting along the edge.
It was disturbed by the arrival of a couple of Grey Herons, and went to perch on the chain in front of the bridge ...
... followed by the herons.
Finally a group of Mute Swans cruised under the chain directly below it, so it gave up and flew away to find somewhere quieter.
Swans flying the other way gained altitude to pass over the bridge. They never fly under the arches, though geese often do.
The male swan in the Italian Garden was asleep standing on one leg.
A pair of Greylag Geese had a splashy display before mating.
A pair of Shovellers revolved dizzyingly under the parapet of the Italian Garden.
A flock of Tufted Ducks at the Serpentine island were preening and diving.
The little stream in the Dell is the territory of just one pair of Mallards.
There are also a pair of Moorhens and a single heron. There's no room for more in this small space.
Is it that large swans would have a harder time outmanoeuvring an ambush attack from the far side of a bridge than geese? I may have suggested this before. Jim
ReplyDeleteI think swans know that they are unmanoeuvrable in the air, and avoid anything they might crash into. I have seen a careless swan trying to do a turn hit a tree and crash through the branches to the ground. Luckily it wasn't hurt, but its fury and embarrassment were a sight to behold.
DeleteIt's wonderful how such a large and heavy creature is able to balance itself on one foot. And fall asleep while doing so.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous picture of the Redwing. They are truly handsome birds
The little bit of red on a Redwing makes it look even more like a dead leaf than other thrushes do. They are invisible until they move.
DeleteGorgeous shot of the Redwing. A couple of days we made a local trip to Warren Farm & had confiding views of Redwings, Fieldfares & Mistle Thrushes on the horse field.
ReplyDeleteGood shot too of the Green Woodpecker- a fine male.
Something quite mesmerising about watching Shoveler as they feed in the water vortex on various small critters.
Redwings understand that fences keep humans away, so you can get quite close to them if you are photographing over the top of a fence. On open ground usually you can't get within 50 yards
DeleteShovellers and Phalaropes must have very special arrangements in their inner ears to allow them to whirl rapidly in the same direction for several minutes at a time.