The reliable singing Robin in the Rose Garden was having to sing against the noise from the funfair as his twig bounced in the breeze.
The Robin near the Queen's Gate crossing of the Flower Walk was in an unusually aggressive mood, chasing all the Great Tits who got anywhere near.
At the Albert Memorial end of the walk a Blue Tit perched on a stem ...
... and the Coal Tit was on top of the corkscrew hazel bush.
One of the pair of Magpies by the Triangle car park stood on a bench looking expectant.
Richard Oxborough got a good picture of a Green Woodpecker near the Speke obelisk -- not a place where I have found one before but they range widely.
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The male Little Owl here, not seen for some time, was brought out by the sunshine and flew to a nearby oak.
But there was no sign of the owl at the Round Pond, where the cold wind made conditions less comfortable. A Jackdaw perched above his hole.
Also at the pond, the Lesser Black-Backed Gull with pale legs, which has killed several Feral Pigeons, was poking idly at some feathers.
This Black-Headed Gull White 2V19 was ringed by Bill Haines. Another of the series, 2V12, turned up in Riga earlier this year.
There were half a dozen Gadwalls on the pond.
A pair of Mallards enjoyed the sunshine at Peter Pan.
The female Mute Swan with the ring Orange FDBE, widow of the dominant male on the Long Water, was on the Serpentine, miserable and angry, bullying another female and chasing her on to the shore.
The pair in the Italian Garden preened in a fountain pool. I expect them to try to take over the Long Water, left vacant by the death of the old dominant male.
A late hoverfly, I think Syrphus ribesii, browsed on some withered flowers in the border at Kensington Palace.
The fatsia near the bridge attracted a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee ...
... as well as the usual Common Wasps.
The boat hire people kindly searched for a lost pair of sunglasses. They didn't find them. It's almost impossible to find things in the algae on the lake bed. A couple of years ago a man dropped his wedding ring off the bridge and hired professional divers to look for it, without success.
So was it confirmed that FDBE’s mate died?
ReplyDeleteNo dead bird identified, so no actual confirmation. But he's been missing for quite a while in a time of pestilence, and has to be presumed dead.
DeleteIts so sad to watch. She is clearly upset and uncomprehending why she has been left alone, and lashing out at those around her as a result. We ought not to humanize birds, to be sure, but in this case she is so human. So, so human-like.
ReplyDeleteSo that Robin is able to chase away the notoriously ferocious, even murderous, Great Tits. A force to be reckoned it, be it ever so small and fluffy.
Tinúviel
Great Tits can be fierce enough, but Robins far outdo them in ferocity. Also they're slightly larger. Incidentally, little Blue Tits can also displace Great Tits.
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