A very happy Christmas to everyone. Appropriately there were Robins all over the place. Here are just five of them.
The Little Owl at the Round Pond refused to come out of his hole for the eighth day running. Let's hope he feels like a bit of fresh air soon.
But at least there was a Treecreeper here, a bird I haven't seen for a while ...
... and a flock of Long-Tailed Tits were going through a plane tree.
A Pied Wagtail hunted along the edge of the pond, taking little notice of the Christmas Day crowds.
The tatty Blue Tit came out to be fed in the Flower Walk.
One of the Grey Herons in the nest on the island flew out to pull a twig from a neighbouring birch tree. It was quite a struggle as birch twigs are tough, but eventually it succeeded and brought it back to the nest.
The Little Grebe was still in the Italian Garden, looking as charming as usual.
It went into one of the planters to find food but was harassed by a Mallard. It wasn't seriously worried, as it's much quicker than a duck.
The new pair of Mute Swans had left the pools. Looking down the lake, you could see them begging industriously at Peter Pan.
There were a few other swans on the Long Water yesterday, but none today. Evidently the pair have been having a clear out, just as the old dominant pair used to do. The new male has slipped easily into his role as the local bully.
On the Round Pond the Black Swan disputed with a Mute teenager about a bit of bread.
As the mahonia flowers on the two bushes in the Rose Garden wither, another bush outside the fence by the Serpentine Road is coming into flower. The Buff-Tailed Bees have already noticed it and two were browsing there. This isn't a good picture, as the bush is in the shade.
Merry Christmas to all friends!
ReplyDeleteHow very appropriate to the Christmas cheer to have so many pictures of Robins.
Treecreepers are almost becoming a pest here (emphasis on "almost"). The population has exploded in cities and no one quite knows why.
Tinúviel
Remarkable. Treecreepers are only seen occasionally here. Do you think that something might have caused a proliferation of bark insects?
DeleteI suppose it may be. Possibly longer summers lasting at least until mid November make insects hold out for longer periods, thus making food plentiful for Treecreepers. Wherever there is a patch of trees relatively away from the main busy streets you'll immediately begin to hear them call.
DeleteTinúviel
Merry Christmas Ralph
ReplyDeleteLovely to see the Treecreeper. I wonder if Tinuviel's are the same species or the closely related Short-toed Treecreeper, common in parts of the continent?
ReplyDeleteI'll ask her. She would know the difference, although they are very similar in appearance.
DeleteYup, Certhia brachydactyla, agateador europeo, Short-toed treecreeper. That's our bird.
DeleteTinúviel
Have just been looking at Collins. Fantastically hard to tell the difference. Even the 'short' hind toe is pretty long.
Delete