It was a warm day and the Mute Swan on the nest east of the Lido was panting.
Feral Pigeons cooled off in the bird bath in the Flower Walk, which is cleaned and filled every day.
A Robin sunbathed in a flower bed.
You often see Blue Tits pecking leaf and flower buds, which evidently taste sweet enough to interest these normally insect-eating birds. Today I saw a Blackcap doing the same.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming near Queen's Gate.
Still no sign of the Tawny Owl. I think he has changed his habits. He may have been annoyed by the large number of people who came to look at him. I never published his location here, but inevitably word gets out.
Coot fights are usually between pairs. Mostly the males fight and the females urge them on, but sometimes the females attack each other.
Some more peaceful scenes: the Coot chicks on the Long Water were fed by their parents, which usually put them on this fallen branch in a sheltered and safe place ...
... and an affectionate pair on the chain near the bridge.
But this Coot chased a Moorhen for no reason at all.
Moorhens constantly climb trees. They may find insects, but often it just seems to be for the fun of it.
The reunited Moorhen pair in the Dell are not spending much time together. The male likes to stand at the top of the small waterfall ...
... while the female pokes around farther down the little stream. The iron grating is the water intake for the pump that works the large waterfall at the top of the Dell. She went in between the bars, and I think she will nest here. Presumably there is a finer mesh filter inside to keep leaves out of the pump, so the chicks will be in no danger of being sucked into the machinery.
I hadn't seen Blondie the Egyptian Goose for a while, but here she is on the south shore of the Serpentine.
Three Speckled Wood butterflies were fighting in the Flower Walk. One of them paused on a leaf.
There were also some Holly Blues, but they wouldn't stop to have their picture taken.
A Batman Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) landed on an oak trunk.
It was surprising to see an orange growing on the north side of the Flower Walk. This is a Japanese Bitter Orange, a very hardy species. I think it's Poncirus trifolia, but two other species share the common name, a hybrid variety of the true orange Citrus x daidai, and Aegle marmelos also known as the Bengal Quince.
Some good pictures from Rainham Marshes by Tom: a Linnet ...
%202022%201a.jpg)
... and a Grass Snake.
%202022%201a.jpg)
Does Blondie have a mate at the moment?
ReplyDeleteI think so. There was another Egyptian a few feet away, and no others near.
DeleteIt's a little upset that the tawny owl didn't show up today. I waited for a while and met several birders and passer-by. They kindly shared me more details about the owl. It's the third day that we cannot record the owl. Maybe he has found a mate and left. Anyway, I'm not sure if too many birders or photographers interrupted it (I don't really think so, because there're noisy crowd and annoying neighbours everywhere) It still needs some good luck for me to come across a tawny owl.
ReplyDeleteAt one time there were some people who came with two noisy dogs, sat under the tree, and had a picnic. They had come to see the owl and thought they'd make a day of it. People like that must sorely try the patience of the most tolerant owl.
DeleteMaybe it is waiting it out so that the casual onlookers get bored?
ReplyDeleteThat Moorhen is truly alarmed, and no wonder. Coots punch above their weight, so picture under their weight.
What an extraordinary picture of the sunbathing Robin. I have never seen one in that posture.
It unseasonably hot here as well. If this is mid-April, I shudder to think what mid-July is going to be like.
Many birds sunbathe in that abandoned sprawling posture, looking as if they had crashed and died. But I disturbed that Robin by pointing a camera it it, and a few seconds later it flew away briskly.
Delete