Saturday 23 July 2022

Blue Tit upside down

A Blue Tit hung upside down to check the underside of a leaf for larvae.


A Chiffchaff surveyed the scene from a treetop.


A Robin lurked in the dark under a yew tree in the Dell.


A Blackbird in the top was looking for berries.


The female Little Owl near the Round Pond looked down from a horse chestnut branch.


One of the owlets was higher up in the same tree.


An owlet at the Serpentine Gallery was calling. Otherwise I wouldn't have found it in the shade.


The two young Grey Herons in the nest on the island have now reached the stage where they climb out of the nest and start exploring the branches. They still have to learn to fly, so it's a risky adventure, but I've never yet seen one lose its footing.


An adult at the Vista was having crow trouble and put its crest up, which made it look rather silly.


The two Coot chicks from the nest under the boat platform are still small, but they seem to mostly feed themselves rather than begging from their parents. A great contrast to the chicks from the bridge, which are almost fully grown teenagers and still begging.


A pair of adults ate each other's parasites.


The white-patched West of England Goose trundled across the road to the Serpentine.


A close-up of its strange blue eye.


Small Red-Eyed Damselflies mated on a patch of duckweed.


A Comma butterfly perched on a thistle. Thanks to Nick Abalov for this pretty picture.


A Small Skipper fed on ragwort, a plant they particularly like.


A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee working over a buddleia blossom was joined by a Common Carder bee.


A branch of a hawthorn near the Queen's Temple is covered with the webs of a Hawthorn Moth. The black dots are the droppings of the caterpillars, but I couldn't see any caterpillars so I think they've already left.

2 comments:

  1. Blue Tits ought to be allowed to compete at the Olympic games. They'd take gold in still rings without batting an eyelid.

    I don't know how Herons think raising their crests makes them look more fearsome. I can picture crows snickering at the view.

    Tinúviel

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    Replies
    1. I've seen a Great Tit land on the ceiling of a stone-lined tunnel. Tits' strong feet will grip almost anything. But I don't know how it managed to perform the flip that got it into the landing position.

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