Birds are pairing up. A couple of Carrion Crows perched companionably on an oak ...
... and Rose-Ringed Parakeets tried out a nest hole in the plane avenue near the Physical Energy statue. This is a natural hole, but they have an unfortunate habit of stealing the holes made with great effort by woodpeckers.
A different Coal Tit: this is one from the east side of the Albert Memorial, a very confident bird which came to take food from my hand the moment I first saw it.
A pair of Grey Herons were trying out a nest in a different place at the west end of the island. There are plenty of half-finished nests for them to use, but we know all too well that they may take months to settle for one and start breeding.
Another heron was sunbathing on a post.
A Herring Gull, a Black-Headed Gull and a Common Gull lined up on the buoys on the Lido.
Herring Gulls have difficulty staying on the revolving buoys and Common Gulls sometimes get tipped off too, but Moorhens balance on them for fun.
The Great Crested Grebes who were trying to nest on the island have lost the site to Coots. They went under the bridge to look for a new place in the collapsed willow. There have been successful nests here, but it's too early in the year for grebes as there are not enough small fish, and I hope they abandon the idea till summer.
The Little Grebe was diving under the fountain in the Italian Garden.
Ahmet Amerikali photographed a Cormorant that was still able to find a good-sized perch under the parapet of the garden.
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There were another five at Peter Pan, including this one in full breeding plumage with an unusually white head.
An aggressive male Mute Swan on the Serpentine chased a harmless female on to the shore.
The fenced-off area of the Parade Ground which is being returfed is a peaceful feeding ground for Egyptian Geese, Carrion Crows and Pied Wagtails. Less so for a Redwing, which pulled up a worm and was promptly chased by Starlings trying to steal it. The Redwing got away.
Two more pictures by Ahmet from the Russia Dock Woodland: a dramatic shot of a Kingfisher ...
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... and House Sparrows bathing in a puddle. There is still no sign of sparrows returning to central London, though they are maintained in a few places by feeding.
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I miss the sparrows. I remember so many of them in Kensington Gardens when I was a little girl. And the last time I had a single sparrow in my garden was 1999. I remember it clearly because I was so surprised to see it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I miss them a lot. They were part of my childhood in the 1950s, following the milkman's horse.
DeleteThere's a possibility that your cormorant is a sinensis variety. It depends on the angle of the gular pouch. Good luck with that one!!
ReplyDeleteI've tried playing that game with photographs and diagrams. I'll leave it to others.
DeleteIs that a partly-leucistic cormorant?
ReplyDeleteThose a very smartly-dressed sparrows, to be sure. What vivid colours - our own look drab in comparison!
Tinúviel
No: Cormorants differ widely in the amount of white feathers they get on their head when in breeding plumage, and this is an extreme example.
DeleteI wondered whether your sparrows were Spanish Sparrows, but these are actually brighter than House Sparrows.
Spanish Sparrows are certainly very vivid, but difficult to see in cities. Maybe it is the light? Or perhaps the brighter setting.
DeleteTinúviel
In fact I think the colour saturation in this photograph has been cranked up farther than is realistic. I put up the picture just as I received it.
DeleteI presume the hole in the plane is wider inside, as surely a Rose-ringed Parakeet could not back into it? Jim
ReplyDeleteNo doubt. A tree of that age -- about 150 -- would be hollow inside the trunk and larger branches. But it's surprising how parakeets seem to be able to turn round in confined spaces.
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