A pair of Chiffchaffs flitted around in a tree below the Triangle car park. The male sang occasionally.
A Robin sang in a tangle of climbing roses around a dead tree in the Rose Garden.
A Blue Tit pecked at flower buds in a blossoming tree. I'm not sure whether it was looking for insects or it's just that the buds taste sweet.
There's yet another Long-Tailed Tits' nest, this time on the north shore of the Serpentine. One of them arrived with a small bit of lichen.
The Redwings on the Parade Ground have become quite calm about humans looking at them, and if you don't make a sudden movement they will come quite close.
A Pied Wagtail ran around on some freshly ploughed, harrowed and raked soil where new turf is about to be laid. You wouldn't think after that treatment there were any insects left alive in the ground, but evidently the bird was finding some.
The usual pair of Pied Wagtails on the Serpentine had ventured on to the scrubby goose-cropped grass, short enough for them to run easily.
A Wood Pigeon ate tender fresh leaves in a tree beside the Serpentine.
Tom was in the Rose Garden, where he photographed something I've never seen before: a man taking his pet hen for a walk.
The elder and larger of the two young Grey Herons was climbing around the edge of the nest. It will probably come out on the branches tomorrow or the next day.
A young Common Gull was enjoying the stiff breeze.
The odd couple of a male Herring Gull and a female Lesser Black-Back were on the roof of the Dell restaurant. This is the favourite perch of the pigeon eater, but he was away so they were left in peace.
A pair of Black-Headed Gulls on the edge of the Serpentine moaned and bowed to each other. A pair of Mallards took no notice of their behaviour.
The Great Crested Grebes from the west end of the island displayed beside the wire basket where they are trying to build a nest, without much success so far.
Coots built a strong nest on the west side of the Long Water.
Another Coot was looking wistfully at a large floating branch, but it was too big even for a Coot to use.
A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee browsed in plum blossom.
That's a gorgeous picture of the Bumblebee!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have ever seen a man walking a hen before. It looks like such a well-behaved hen, too.
We take sadly too little notice of wagtails when they are such gorgeous creatures with the sweetest little faces.
Wagtails seem to be invisible to most people, who walk at them as if they aren't there when the little birds are running along the edge of the lake. I pointed out the Pied Wagtail on the Parade Ground, which was about 10 metres away, to a normally sighted person, and she still couldn't see it. Both Pied and Grey are well camouflaged in different ways.
DeleteAgree a lovely shot of Bombus.
ReplyDeleteThe sound of returning Chiffchaffs is always a great herald of spring. I saw one on my patch the previous Sunday on my patch, though suspect that may have been an over-wintering individual, despite me not finding any this winter.
I believe your gull in flight isn't a Herring Gull but a 1st winter Common Gull with its dark secondary & tail pattern, gentle head appearance & fine bill.
Thank you for the correction. Have altered the blog. I should have looked more carefully. It's funny how dark-eyed gulls look gentle while those with yellow eyes look ferocious and implacable. It also applies to owls.
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