The Great Tit nesting in the old cast iron pump is now used to me sticking a camera into its nest, and simply dodges round it to bring food to the chicks.
I rewarded it with pine nuts.
A Grey Wagtail could be seen from the top of the Dell waterfall flying around busily.
I went down to see it from the other side, and there it was feeding two young.
They're hard to photograph or film as they are far away in a dark place, and this is the best I can manage. But you can see that there are plenty of midges to feed the young.
A Starling shone beautifully in the sunlight as it searched for worms to bring to its nest.
The Wren on Buck Hill that I filmed yesterday furiously scolding a Magpie was still there, as angry as ever.
Ahmet Amerikali got a picture of a Reed Warbler without any reeds in the way, quite an achievement.
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A Grey Heron looked remarkably like the fallen branch it was standing on.
The Coots in the nest built in open water offshore from the Dell restaurant now have chicks. Two are visible here.
The Coot nesting on the boat platform is still stubbornly in place in spite of work to replace all the rotten wooden deck. Its nest material shows that repairs were certainly needed.
This is why geese with goslings give Mute Swans a wide berth. The little Egyptian got away unhurt.
The oldest Egyptian goslings are now big enough to be out of danger from Herring Gulls ...
... but nothing is safe from dogs. At least this swan managed to frighten off a poodle.
The Egyptians nesting by the Henry Moore sculpture have brought out goslings on to the gravel bank. Two of them seem much larger than the others. Have they strayed in from another family? Egyptians are vague about how many goslings they've got.
The first damselflies of the year could be seen near the bridge. This is a Common Blue. There were also some Blue-Tailed.
I hoped that this spectacular patch of purple irises in the Rose Garden would attract some bees for a pretty picture. But they weren't interested ...
... preferring a simple wild rose.
Our purple irises died about a month ago. Here they bloom around Easter every year and are gone swiftly after. They are the loveliest of wild flowers.
ReplyDeleteGreat Tits fear nothing. What a remarkable video.
Always fun so see the tiny furious featherballs being so lively and alert.
Tinúviel
It took several minutes to make that video, because you have to use manual focus for such subjects and the inside of the pump is so dark that you can't see what you are focusing on. All the time I had the camera pressed up against the pump, and it was remarkable to have the Great Tit blasting in and squeezing through the gap as if visits from giants holding huge black boxes were perfectly normal. I was afraid I's scare it away. Quite the reverse: it kept demanding more pine nuts.
DeleteAs we say in Spanish, genio y figura, that tit (I don't think there is an exact translation for that phrase - Collins gives "a leopard can't change its spots" but that's completely the wrong tone. It 's about someone that keeps the same way of thinking and standard of behaviour come hell or high water).
DeleteI can't think of an English idiom that corresponds. Suppose we'd say literally 'dogged persistence' -- though 'dogged' is itself an idiom referring to the tenacity of dogs.
DeleteExcellent news about the Grey Wagtail young.
ReplyDeleteNice to see some damsels again.
I think this is the first time we've had two pairs of Grey Wagtails nesting. That's partly due to the two surviving young from the nest at the Lido restaurant choosing to stay in the park rather than fly down to the little colony at Chelsea Bridge with their parents.
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