The young Little Owl at the Round Pond called from a tall lime tree where I hadn't seen him before, and he was answered by another at some distance. The leaves were very dense, but usually Little Owls perch where they can get a good view of the ground, which means that you can see them if you persist.
While looking for him I found a female Great Spotted Woodpecker in a plane tree. I've seen her here before, on 18 August.
Long-Tailed Tits were working their way along the edge of the Serpentine. The birds dart around rapidly but the flock as a whole travels at about walking speed, so you can keep up with it and grab a shot whenever the opportunity comes up. Here is one of them at the back of the Lido.
They were accompanied by several Blue Tits ...
... and a Chiffchaff, but I only got one shot of that and it isn't a good one.
The young Blackbird in the Flower Walk is now grown up. First-year males have dark bills and no yellow eye ring.
A male Chaffinch turned up to collect thrown pine nuts in the flower bed. It's rare to have a Chaffinch come to your hand, but I did have one several years ago.
A Wren made a loud fuss inside the leaf yard.
A Feral Pigeon at the Dell restaurant scorned salad but happily picked up peas.
A Carrion Crow splashed at the top of the Dell waterfall, shook itself dry, and went back for another splash. This rinse and repeat cycle is typical of corvids of several species.
Two Cormorants at Peter Pan took advantage of a sunny spell to dry their wings.
At the far end of the line of posts Cormorants were competing for a perch, uttering hoarse cries.
The newly paired Mute Swans in the Italian Garden posed together for their photograph.
The female strutted around in front of her mate extending her neck to show what a fine creature she is.
The family with five teenage cygnets which have upset the established order were on the Serpentine near the bridge.
The Egyptian Geese have started their winter ritual of standing on treetops and making a racket to proclaim their ownership of the territory.
And it is a winter ritual now. When the Egyptians first arrived in the park over twenty years ago they had no idea of the norther seasons and nested at any time, no matter how cold and unfavourable. Now they seem to have got the hang of things. They will carry on displaying all winter but wait till spring to breed.
I don't know why geese are called silly (as in 'silly goose'). They look plenty intelligent to me.
ReplyDeleteHow long does it usually take you to find the Little Owls? It looks like it takes several passes and, I imagine, a lot of looking.
Clever of the new swan couple, to have bystanders take their wedding pictures for free!
Tinúviel
Perhaps it's the noise geese make, though actually their calls are always to the point.
DeleteIt took about 15 minutes circling a dense tree with binoculars to find that owl. If he hadn't called, of course, I would never have looked at that tree and would have made several fruitless visits and general checks of the usual places, as sometimes happens.
Swans are permanently in wedding dresses.
Have you actually seen any Canada Geese in the park (I'm Canadian, so I'd be interested in knowing)?
ReplyDeleteYes, anything up to 400 at some times. They are a pest species in Britain. Impossible to dislike but there are far too many of them everywhere.
DeleteIn Canada they are known as the "world's poopiest bird." Still, the goslings are adorable, so I guess they're impossible to dislike. It's interesting how they seem to have made a home in Britain as well.
ReplyDeletePoopiest? You should see a Grey Heron. Half a pint at a time.
DeleteCanada Geese were brought here as ornamental park birds in the 17th and 18th century. In 1798 Thomas Bewick wrote in his British Birds that it is 'accounted a great ornament on ponds near gentlemen's seats'. He also remarked that in their native North America they 'are said, at certain seasons, to darken the air like a cloud, and spread themselves over the lakes and swamps in innumerable multitudes'. He didn't make the connection, but it became obvious later.
Herons are beautiful birds; we have some here too. Have you ever seen the Canada goslings walking with their parents. It's cute: they look like a bunch of little soldiers following their "leader" (mum or dad).
ReplyDeleteDo you have this bird, the grey jay? Contrary to what may be believed, our national bird is not the Canada Goose, or the loon, which is on our two-dollar coin. Rather, it's the grey jay:
ReplyDeletehttps://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/meet-our-national-bird-the-gray-jay/
No. Only the Eurasian Jay here, often seen on this blog.
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