It was a chilly dark grey Sunday but there were still a lot of people in the park, so there wasn't much to see. But the bold Wren in the Flower Walk hopped around on the path, ignoring the passers by.
A Jay waited in the corkscrew hazel bush ...
... and a Jackdaw was also looking expectant in an oak next to the leaf yard.
The female Little Owl looked out of her hole in the dead tree near the Round Pond.
The trees around the Speke obelisk were loud with Redwings.
The Blackbird in the Rose Garden is still very wary but can be persuaded to come into view if you throw down some raisins and back away.
The male Pied Wagtail I filmed yesterday was in the same place on the shore of the Serpentine. They have their preferred hunting grounds.
A Wood Pigeon found a bit of very hard biscuit and chewed pieces off it till it was small enough to swallow.
Goldfinches chattered in the trees opposite the Buck Hill shelter.
A Dunnock foraged beside the steps leading up to the bridge ...
... which it could do fairly safely as the Grey Heron that usually stands on the handrail had moved into a tree on the other side of the path.
The young herons on the island were hunkered down in the nest out of sight from the shore, but one of the other pair of adults was above the nest looking down enviously. Well, it has a mate and had better get on with breeding.
The Little Grebe was diving in the Italian Garden, temporarily free from being pestered by the aggressive Moorhen.
Moorhens also enjoy annoying Black-Headed Gulls, and advance until they panic and fly off. The tactic seldom fails.
But the dominant gull on the boat platform can keep a larger Coot away just by staring at it.
A pair of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls did the worm dance on the Parade Ground. One saw a worm that its mate had brought up but not noticed, and grabbed it.
A Mute Swan on the Serpentine had a retinue of Coots.
The Coots seem infatuated looking at the swan. I'd be, too.
ReplyDeleteThat Coot retreating from the gull without a fight is the disgrace of its species.
Tinúviel
I can see that being attacked from the air by a gull, even a small one, is distressing. Think of what a couple of angry terns can do to a human if you get too near a nest site. But equally, the gull evicted by the Moorhen could easily whip round and give it a swift aerial peck.
DeleteAs always, you are right. Such is the power of having air superiority!
DeleteTinúviel
Lovely portrait of the Wren. Certainly hearing more singing now.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the park will be quieter this week? Certainly looks quite grim weather-wise. In fact little sign of any spring-like weather for at least the first half of March!
We seem to be having a rerun of December, steadily getting colder. And no end in sight.
Delete