A male Little Owl looked down from the sweet chestnut tree near the Speke obelisk, which is where the pair have their nest hole. This is my first picture of an owl here this year.
Neil had previously seen both of them, but the female quickly went into the hole. They were having trouble with Magpies, and shortly after I took this photograph the owl joined his mate in the hole.
Beside the Round Pond the trouble was Stock Doves, which are often Little Owls' rivals for nest holes. When I arrived a pair were occupying the front entrance to the tree, and I didn't see the owl.
But Richard Oxborough got pictures of the young owl in the back entrance, glaring at a Stock Dove ...
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... and also the other young owl looking out of the hole in the horse chestnut tree.
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The horse chestnuts, rendered almost leafless by the combined effect of the drought and the Leaf Miner moth, have rallied and are putting out blossom and new leaves.
A young Magpie played with a horse chestnut twig and a bit of blossom. Inevitably the new growth has been attacked by Rose-Ringed Parakeets, which is why there are bits on the ground.
A holly tree near Mound Gate was also in flower.
Several Great Tits, a Robin and a Coal Tit came to take pine nuts from my hand in the Flower Walk. The Great Tits don't mind being filmed but, as you can see, the camera makes the others nervous.
Shooting this video was made more difficult by the local Jay, which kept turning up demanding peanuts.
There was a good selection of small birds near the bridge: a Chaffinch ...
... a Chiffchaff ...
... and a flock of Long-Tailed Tits.
A young Wood Pigeon stood on a fallen tree on Buck Hill. It's just beginning to get its adult white collar, and its eyes are changing colour from dark to pale grey.
A Cormorant on a post at Peter Pan waved a twig at its neighbour. I don't know whether this was a gesture between mates or whether it was just playing with something it had found in the water.
The Coot family from the nest at the bridge are still in place. They must be strongly dominant, because the main gang of Coots is only a short distance along the shore but they can't come near this corner. Having a nest and a teenage family gives them a moral advantage in territorial disputes.
How was your ankle today? Is it back to normal? Please don't overexert yourself!
ReplyDeleteBit surprised at the adult's attitude towards the young Magpie. It's almost as if it was keeping an eye on the youngster.
Great Tits are the honey badgers of the avian world. They simply don't care.
Tinúviel
Yes, I was surprised by the adult Magpie too. But the young one wasn't actually pestering it, just fooling around.
DeleteI'm glad the park isn't full of Honey Badgers.
Ankle still a bit frail and I'm not walking far, only around Kensington Gardens.
Love the look that Little Owl is giving the Stock Dove! I do find Stock Doves a very attractive bird.
ReplyDeleteIt's seems like many Horse Chestnuts are producing small flowers at the moment. some trees with just a handful while others have many, but much reduced in size compared to the usual spring blooms. I wonder to what cost to their health?
I also noticed at Kew last week some Blackthorn with a combination of many flowers & ripe sloes!
Good to see you back on your feet again!
Little Owls are the absolute masters of disapproving looks.
DeleteThe horse chestnuts around the dead tree by the Round Pond were particularly hard hit by moth and drought, so perhaps it's not surprising to see them bounce back so vigorously. But they are old enough to have seen and survived the far worse droughts of 1921 and 1976, and I think they'll be OK for a few decades yet.