The Grey Wagtails nesting near the Italian Garden have brought out one fledgling.
Its mother was catching insects for it.
One of the young Grey Wagtails from the family at the Lido wandered along the line of plastic buoys.
Young Starlings are out of the nest in several places. This one was at the back of the Lido.
Nick Abalov got a fine picture of a Reed Warbler below the Italian Garden.
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It was a grey and slightly drizzly day and the Tawny Owl didn't come out of his hole, though I visited the tree twice to be sure.
I haven't seen the pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull or his mate for a while. I hope they are all right. Today a Herring Gull killed a Feral Pigeon on his territory by the Dell restaurant.
The Coots nesting by the bridge now have seven chicks.
A Great Crested Grebe was fishing around the nest, which annoyed the parents but was no threat to the chicks.
The Mute Swans nesting on the Long Water brought their cygnets out of the nest for the first time. Unexpectedly there seem to be seven of them. A floating log covered with algae, and probably with some snails, got their attention.
One infertile egg remains in the nest.
The swans nesting on the gravel bank seem to have deserted their nest. Probably the dominant male, now more aggressive than ever because of the cygnets, drove them off.
The swan nesting near the Lido had brought her five cygnets back to the nest and was keeping them sheltered and warm.
It wasn't a cold day, but the drop in temperature from yesterday was enough to make five Egyptian goslings go into a huddle.
The two Canada families are now always close together.
A pair of Mandarins preened beside the Serpentine island.
A Mallard duckling was on the edge by itself. I hope it was reunited with its careless mother.
When Bluebird Boats lost the contract for the hire boats they left twelve derelict pedalos sinking near the island as a parting gesture. The new operators are now having to dispose of them. Billy, who runs the power boat and is giving the boat people instruction in lifesaving, was towing them ashore to be drained and taken away on a lorry.
One is better than none at all, let us console us with that. Always delightful to see young wagtails' endearingly wagging tail.
ReplyDeleteCould something bad happen to both Pigeon Killer and his mate at the same time? Perhaps they're just visiting somewhere else where pigeons aren't so wary.
Tinúviel
Grey Wagtails never seem to have very many young. The effort of feeding a large brood on tiny insects would be killing.
DeleteYes, I think that Pigeon Killer has found a place where the pigeons are naive and easily caught. If ever I see him again I can recognise him with absolute certainty by this strange black-spotted eyes.
Lovely shots of the Grey Wagtails & the Reed Warbler.
ReplyDeleteWonder where the Lesser Black-backs have gone? When I was doing one of my BBS surveys last week found a pair of these & 3 Herring Gull nests on an industrial roof near where I live.
Is this the first time you've documented a Herring Gull in the park killing a Feral Pigeon?
Over the last five years I've seen two other Lesser Black-Backs and a Herring Gull killing pigeons on the Serpentine, but they have only succeeded occasionally as they don't have the practised skill of the notorious gull. It seems likely that the Herring Gull I've just seen is the same one, but it has no particular distinguishing characteristics -- unlike the LBBs which had unusual leg colours.
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