A Robin brought a couple of midges to its nest behind the Lido.
A Wren hopped around in a bush beside the Long Water.
The Song Thrushes at the Steiner bench were out looking for worms. I've never known Song Thrushes that were so easy to photograph.
A Magpie showed off its iridescent feathers in front of a red-leafed tree. I have not altered the colour in this picture at all.
The Tawny Owl had been sitting out in the morning drizzle, and was a bit soggy when I found him.
A young Herring Gull on the Serpentine found a stick to play with.
The Great Crested Grebe chick on the Long Water had to hurry to keep up with its parent.
The grebes on the new nest certainly have eggs, because one of them was carefully turning them over.
The grebes near the bridge were fishing. They dive so smoothly that they hardly make a ripple.
A Coot brought a bit of reed to the nest near the Italian Garden. Its elegance has been spoilt to our eyes by a plastic bag, but Coots find shiny things ornamental.
The male Mute Swan in the Italian Garden looked out from the marble fountain. Behind the right-hand nymph is his hated rival's nest.
Three swans flew past the Serpentine island.
Swans are very fond of young willow leaves. In a while all the weeping willows beside the lake will be eaten up to the maximum height a swan can reach.
Three fine pictures from Rainham Marshes by Tom: a male Sparrowhawk ...
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... a female Bearded Tit ...
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... and a Ruff.
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And back to Hyde Park for two amazing fisheye lens images by Barry Jones, shot vertically upwards: daffodils beside the Serpentine ...
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... and the weeping beech tree near the Rose Garden.
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The Magpie picture is astounding. Japanese painters would be envious.
ReplyDeleteI am sure I have already mentioned this, but I wonder if swans self-medicate eating willow leaves (if they have the same properties as willow bark).
That's a well-behaved thrush, I do hope it will continue to be so friendly.
I have a wild theory that swans have a permanent headache and that is what makes them so aggressive and moody. They eat the willow shoots stem and all, so even if the salicylic acid is only present in bark they must be getting some.
DeleteBTW, it took me three tries and three different browsers to post this comment. Don't know what happened.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that. How annoying. I've heard it from other people occasionally. Blogger is prone to random failures of all kinds, but mostly for the person writing the blog. I never get through a daily post without at least one technical failure of some kind, mostly photographs jumping out of place and videos refusing to appear at all.
DeleteBeautiful pictures of swans
ReplyDeleteThank you.
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