The Little Owls by the Round Pond had been having trouble with Carrion Crows in their trees, but emerged after a while. Here is the female ...
... and this is the male in the next tree.
As usual, there were Wrens everywhere. This one was in a bramble patch between the pond and the Speke obelisk.
A Blue Tit near the leaf yard perched on a twig with new leaves.
A pair of Long-Tailed Tits worked down the edge of the Long Water.
A small group of Starlings nests every year in the eaves of the shelter on Buck Hill. They haven't started yet, but were meeting in a nearby hawthorn for a natter and preening session.
Just along the path a Chiffchaff was singing in an Italian alder.
The Wood Pigeons below the Triangle car park have run out of blossom and are now eating young leaves.
Goldfinches twittered on the roof of the house opposite my flat.
The young Grey Herons met on the edge of the island and were promptly attacked by a pair of Canada Geese that consider that bit of the shore their own.
A closer view of the Great Crested Grebes' nest in the reeds on the Long Water.
A Moorhen in the small stream in the Dell was in temporary possession of the rock. The pair would like to nest there but keep getting bumped off by the resident Mallards.
The Mute Swan that I filmed two days ago making a nest near the Serpentine outflow was just offshore from the site with her mate.
A pair of Greylag Geese were surprised when the female laid an unexpected egg at the Lido before they had made a nest.
The first Brimstone butterflies of the year have appeared in the park. Usually they're the earliest species to be seen here, but this year we've already had Small Tortoiseshells and a Red Admiral.
And that's a rather early bluebell ?
ReplyDeleteWe've had bluebells in the park for several weeks, both the slightly wrong-looking cultivated kind and what at least looks like the real droopy deal.
DeleteLovely shots again of the Little Owls & Wrens.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful image of the Brimstone on the Bluebell. A very frustrating day for me yesterday as the sun disappeared when I got to Warren Farm & when I went on to Osterley Park just big banks of grey cloud, so no insects to speak of. Once I got home the sun came out & a beautiful afternoon, but no butterflies appeared!
Most of the insects in the Rose Garden seem to be flies -- not pretty hoverflies but dreary black housefly-type ones. Not what I was hoping for.
DeleteAre the Owls going to nest soon, do you think? I'm getting ahead of myself, but thinking of owlets makes me extremely happy.
ReplyDeleteTiinúviel
They are definitely taking notice of each other, and that's a beginning. But they haven't started calling, which I take to be the next stage.
DeleteThank you for your wonderful reports and photographs! Do you know what became of the Greylag Geese's egg that was laid in such an inaproppriate place? Every parent's nightmare!
ReplyDeleteProbably rolled into the lake. Stray eggs are a common accident. The more sensible geese have taken to breeding outside the park to avoid the numerous Herring Gulls. They bring in their young as soon as these are able to fly.
Delete