A Willow Warbler sang in a tree near the Henry Moore sculpture. If it hadn't been singing I'd probably have thought it was a Chiffchaff, but Willow Warblers have paler legs and feet, and slightly longer wings than Chiffchaffs.
Its gentle song is heard at the beginning of this video, and at 11, 24 and 33 seconds. A Robin is also singing.
A Chiffchaff perched in a tree close by. You can see its darker feet.
On the ground below a light drizzle created ideal conditions for a flock of Starlings to hunt for little worms in the grass.
Blackbirds love rain, which brings up the earthworms that form a large part of their diet. This one had struck lucky in the Rose Garden.
Another perched in a tree by the Long Water.
Several Blue Tits were dashing around in this peculiar red-leafed bush on the edge of the Rose Garden, which PlantNet suggests is a species of wattle but isn't sure. I'm not sure either about what the bird has caught, but presumably it's a larva of some kind.
During a pause in the drizzle, the male Little Owl at the Round Pond dashed out of the nest tree into a horse chestnut -- the one already in full leaf -- and I saw him for a moment before he disappeared into the foliage.
Starlings are nesting in a hole in a plane tree by the small boathouses. Every year there's a battle between these and Rose-Ringed Parakeets for this prime location.
A Pied Wagtail on a pedalo at the boat hire station exchanged calls ...
... with another on the roof. Both are male, so they were rivals rather than mates.
The young Grey Herons are still returning to their nest when they feel like a doze.
This slightly older heron is the younger of the two that fish in the little stream in the Dell. The other one is a bird from last year, more adult looking but still not fully grown up.
The Coot nesting at the bridge passed the time by tinkering with the twigs in its nest.
This is one of the little insects that swarm round the lake. I think it's a chironomid midge, but there are over 10,000 species of these. It's perched on a lifebelt.
The modest flowers of an English oak tree. They are wind-pollinated, with male and female flowers on the same tree, so there is no need to have bright flowers to attract insects.
I’ve noticed with Pied Wagtails that they are mostly on the ground and not in the trees like other small birds…
ReplyDeleteI get a few on my bird feeders and some tend to knock the swing on it and feed from the ground
Sean
They catch insects in flight, probably getting more that way than on the ground.
DeleteOh right! I’ve always thought as well that they would be more exposed to predators above them in the open areas, walking freely on the ground.
DeleteSean