Sunday 20 February 2022

More Egyptian goslings

A Great Tit perched on a blossoming cherry near the bridge.


A Robin sang on a stem in the Rose Garden.


In spite of the rough weather there were enough diners on the outside tables of the Lido restaurant to attract Starlings, which hung around on unoccupied tables looking for something to grab.


The Redwings haven't left yet, and several could be seen under the trees on the Parade Ground, at a distance that made a good picture impossible.


Wood Pigeons wandered among the daffodils.


The one that owns a pile of wood at the Rudolf Steiner bench beside the Long Water has got a lot more wood now. The storm blew down a large Lombardy Poplar right next to it, which has now been sawn up.


Oddly, the crazily leaning poplar on the other side, next to Peter Pan, is still standing despite an infestation of Poplar Fieldcap mushrooms which are rotting the trunk.

Both Peregrines were circling the barracks tower, calling to each other. They landed the usual antisocial distance apart. This picture shows clearly how much bigger the female is than her mate.


A Black-Headed Gull near the Landing stage kept opening its beak sharply and closing it, as if it had the hiccups. I don't know what was affecting it.


The Grey Herons' nest on the island has survived the storm -- in fact none of the nests has blown down. But the parents and chicks were having an uncomfortable time as the tree swayed in the wind.


The Great Crested Grebes who stole a Coot nest opposite Peter Pan are holding on to it. The Coots seem to have given up trying to reclaim it. They can build another quickly enough.


A Moorhen preened under the dead willow near the Italian Garden.


A Coot on a nest used a foot to preen the feathers on its head.


So did the male Mute Swan in the Italian Garden.


A pair of Egyptian Geese with six goslings grazed on the south shore of the Serpentine.


There were two more goslings on the other side, which their parents were trying to keep safe behind the boathouse railings. But they must already have lost most of them.


The male Egyptian at the Henry Moore sculpture is still waiting for his mate to produce some goslings. When the park closes she will come down for a quick feed and he will escort her to the edge of the lake for a drink.

2 comments:

  1. I wish there were fewer gulls, or that they found something else to eat.

    Maybe the hiccupping gull was suffering from indigestion or heartburn. If a gull can suffer from heartburn.

    I wonder what that pigeon wants so much wood for. Perhaps it is considering taking up carpentry.

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    Replies
    1. Gulls eat everything except, for some unknown reason but observed more than once, strawberries.

      One you start collecting wood it's hard to stop.

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