The most remarkable picture today was taken by Mark Williams in St James's Park. After nine years of feeding the birds there, during which that he has almost become part of the scenery, finally a Long-Tailed Tit came to his hand. He was offering it suet, which it found irresistible and spent some time feeding.
He also shot a video, which is on Twitter here.
Back in our park, nothing sensational was happening but the sunshine brought out the male Little Owl at the Round Pond. He doesn't feel safe in this place which is not very far from the ground, and you have to approach him diagonally to avoid scaring him back into the hole.
One of the Blue Tits in the Flower Walk posed on a paperbush flower ...
... and a male Chaffinch perched in yellow jasmine blossom at Mount Gate.
I was trying to photograph a Robin on the ground below either with its mate or against a background of daffodils, and didn't manage either. But I did get it with a tiny worm it had found.
The usual male Pied Wagtail on the south shore of the Serpentine picked up a larva.
There were still Redwings in the trees around the Speke obelisk ...
... but I think we may have seen the last of the ones on the Parade Ground. Most of the bare ground where they hunted is now covered in new turf and workmen are busy filling in the last gap.
There's still plenty of plum blossom below the Triangle car park to keep the resident pair of Wood Pigeons happy.
Someone threw a couple of bits of apple to a young Common Gull, which examined them and didn't like them.
The peculiar brown Great Spotted Woodpecker has turned up in St George's Fields just north of Hyde Park, where Mike Harris got a record shot of it on his phone.
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Another picture from elsewhere: Caroline Reay got a good shot of a Barn Owl flying in daylight at Wallasea Island in Essex.
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The Grey Heron chicks in the nest on the Serpentine island are still in good order, but I'm surprised that they haven't yet started climbing about in the tree.
The heron at the steps on the bridge came up to a branch to have a look around.
A pair of Great Crested Grebes have a new nest on the Long Water. They built a previous one on the other side but it was stolen by a Coot.
The fountains in the Italian Garden are out of order, so the Little Grebe was having an unusually quiet day. Time to attend to its feathers.
A Moorhen stood on one of the silent spray heads.
I know I would drop dead of the squee and the cuteness, had I been in Mark's place.
ReplyDeleteIs that Little Grebe specially energetic? Ours are a bit on the lethargic side usually,
Tinúviel
Now everyone will be wanting to feed Long-Tailed Tits. Maybe word will get out among the birds that humans provide delicious suet. This does happen: suddenly here lots of Blue Tits are coming to the hand, something that only a very few did before.
DeleteI think the Little Grebe has to work very hard to sustain itself on the scanty insect larvae and other small creatures in that pool. You hardly ever see it resting. There won't be any young fish for some weeks. Of course the grebe can catch them when they're tiny, more or less as soon as they are hatched.
In other news, Prime Minister spotted with dog off lead by the Serpentine. Jim
ReplyDeleteTee hee. But poor dog, having to belong to that man.
DeleteGorgeous shot of the Little Owl.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a Long-tailed Tit come to the hand- what a delightful photo.
The gull with the apple is a first-winter Common Gull rather than a Herring Gull- more delicate bill, more rounded head, smaller & longer winged than any Herring Gull.
Good to see the Barn Owl. Did see a few in Norfolk back in January. We have them locally but I'm rarely out at the right time to see them.
I was uncertain about that gull with no others around it to give it scale. I looked at other pictures where you could see its whole bill, and it was solid black at the tip, not with the usual Common black band. So I went for Herring, wrongly as it turns out.
DeleteAm having a good chuckle over your comment about the dog 😀
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your coup with the Long-Tailed Tit. I hope the habit spreads through the flock.
DeleteAgreed very lucky for you Mark. And still adoring your Blue Tit taking pine nuts, of 2019. Jim
DeleteI thought the long tailed tit photo was just adorable too. On point of the PM‘s dog, that is the last one to be worried about. What about all the other people who allow their dogs to run all over the protected areas, especially when there is a sign right in front of their nose, telling them not to!
ReplyDeleteHe was beside the Serpentine and there was a notice right in front of his nose.
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