The female Little Owl came out to the front of her hole in the dead tree by the Round Pond.
Two Great Tits sang and called in trees near the Albert Memorial. Their song is very varied, ranging from one to eleven notes, and each male has his own song.
A Blackcap was singing near the Henry Moore sculpture.
Every time I cross the Flower Walk the dominant Robin is waiting for his treat of pine nuts.
A Wood Pigeon ate the small flowers and new leaves of one of the big copper beeches behind the Albert Memorial.
The Rose-Ringed Parakeets, dangerously visible and exposed to predators in winter, are now well camouflaged again. This picture was taken shortly after a Peregrine zoomed overhead in pursuit of a Feral Pigeon. They eat parakeets too.
Three pigeons were bathing in a puddle near the Italian Garden.
The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull and his mate were enjoying lunch together at the Dell restaurant.
The two Grey Heron chicks in the third nest on the island are invisible from the near shore, but today I discovered that you can get a very distant view of them from across the lake.
The Great Crested Grebes and Coots are still sharing their nest site, avoiding conflict by completely ignoring each other.
A pair of Egyptian Geese near the boat hire platform have eight new goslings. They are keeping very close to their mother, which will increase the chance of at least some surviving.
The first brood on the lake tend to wander, and are already down from eight to three after raids by Herring Gulls.
A dozen Pochards, all but one of them male, were on the shore at the island. Pochards are normally nervous of humans, but these seemed quite calm.
A Crane Fly, aka Daddy Long-Legs, in the grass near the Round Pond.
Two views of the same Brimstone butterfly in the Rose Garden, on a bluebell ...
... and a Mexican orange bush. Bees tend to stick to one species and colour of flower, but butterflies seem to go for anything with nectar.
The new Serpentine pavilion is going up, and looks to be one of the most attractive ones, a welcome change after last year's dismal black thing. The roof will have big pleats. It's by a Lebanese architect called Lina Ghotmeh.
I had always thought a daddy long legs was an opilion. I've been wrong all my life!
ReplyDeleteI once read that if you are walking in a forest and hear a bird you can't identify, 9 times out of ten it's a Great Tit. They delight in throwing us for a loop.
Tinúviel
The name 'Daddy Long-Legs' is also given to long-legged Opiliones, but the usual English name for these is harvestmen.
DeleteWith Great Tits singing their little heads off all round here, there's lots of opportunity to observe the variety.
Great to see the brimstones. Love the video of the dining gull - they almost seem polite...
ReplyDeleteMrs Pigeon Eater gets her share but she has to work for it, getting in occasional bites while he tries to monopolise the meal. But occasionally he takes a break, and then she can eat to her heart's content.
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