A quick walk round the lake this morning before going to Rainham Marshes. A Jay had a decorative background in the corkscrew hazel in the Flower Walk ...
... but before it could come out to be fed another Jay turned up and the two snarled at each other.
The male Blackcap in the oak tree near the bridge was singing at the top of his voice.
A Blackbird at Queen's Gate was also having to sing loudly to be heard over the noise of the traffic. Between phrases he had a scratch.
The Long-Tailed Tits were visiting their nest near the Henry Moore sculpture.
The Tawny Owl wasn't visible either in the morning or when I returned in the evening. A pair of Stock Doves were standing at the hole.
The inside of this oak is hollow all the way down, but there are only two holes of reasonable size -- a Starling might just squeeze through a third hole, but nothing larger. The lowest hole is occupied by a nesting Egyptian Goose. It seems that the Stock Doves, as well as a pair of Jackdaws, are either nesting or wanting to nest in the tree, but they can only go in or out when the owl isn't in the top hole -- an odd situation. The old Tawny Owl tree was also occupied by several species but had better entrances.
The two Coot chicks at Peter Pan were being cared for by a parent.
The rival male Mute Swans on the Long Water and in the Italian Garden glared at each other.
Warm sunshine brought out three terrapins in a row on the fallen horse chestnut tree.
At Rainham, several Whitethroats were flying around the bushes.
Two Bearded Tits appeared momentarily in the reeds.
I had forgotten that there is a very tame Robin and forgot to bring food for it, which I felt bad about.
A pair of Marsh Harriers circled in the distance. This is the female.
There were a lot of Avocets. Tom counted 21 of them.
Two flew past showing their handsome black and white plumage.
A Great Crested Grebe was nesting ...
... and so was a Little Grebe.
A Marsh Frog looked up with beautiful gold filigree eyes.
A Peacock butterfly sunned itself on the path ...
... and a Brimstone drank from a dandelion.
Went to Rainham with Scottish James last month. Didn't see much, sadly, but we were waylaid near the exit by an incredibly-confident pair of robins...would be worth another visit just to see them again :) Mark
ReplyDeleteThose must be different Robins. The pair we met were along the path some way anticlockwise, beyond the children's climbing place. One was very confident, the other not.
ReplyDeleteAvocets in flight are so lovely! I suppose the Robin was so tame because it is accustomed to being indulged by human visitors. Surely some other visitor did bring food afterwards, so don't feel bad about it.
ReplyDeleteJays must be about the only 'every bird for itself' corvid there is. Most everybody else in the corvid realm is so social.
You can imagine how spoilt a Robin gets in a place where every single person who goes past is a bird lover. Surprised that its mate is still staying aloof, and see Mark's comment above about a different pair at Rainham. But even the smallest birds have individual personalities.
DeleteNice shot of the Jay & some great shots from Rainham. Hope I haven't missed my chance with the Tawny Owl?
ReplyDeleteI'm a little worried about the owl myself, but he's only been out of sight for a couple of days so I'm not giving up hope. He seemed very calm about the people under his tree, so I don't think we have driven him away. All I can say is Watch this apace.
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