Two young Coal Tits came out in the Flower Walk. Their parents fed them with pine nuts provided with a liberal hand.
But a Great Tit chick near the Rose Garden was unlucky and was taken by a Jay. Thanks to Tom for this gruesome picture.
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A young Magpie begged a parent to feed it. Duncan Campbell took this shot on the edge of the lake below the Triangle car park.
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A small muddy stream runs down the side of the Vista where a drain is broken. Carrion Crows and a Magpie used it to drink and bathe.
This Robin is usually seen in the corkscrew hazel in the Flower Walk, and I've photographed it several times before. Now the leaves are out on this peculiar bush you can see that they are as distorted as the twigs.
Another good picture from Duncan, a Coot on the nest at the bridge giving a chick a rough going-over to remove parasites.
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A Coot nesting on a post at Peter Pan has hatched two chicks.
Coot chicks on the Serpentine begged plaintively as they chased their parents.
The Coot that built a nest in a silly place on the open edge of the lake is still stubbornly occupying it.
Moorhens nesting on the island have hatched five chicks.
A Great Crested Grebe fished nearby ...
... and the Mute Swan cruised serenely with four cygnets.
The swan with six older cygnets was industriously pulling up algae for them.
Two goslings browsed on grass and weeds under the willows beside the Serpentine. They are being looked after by Greylag Geese, but the one on the left is a Canada gosling adopted by accident.
The Egyptians at the Triangle have a sixth gosling which I didn't see yesterday.
A squirrel ate the unripe fruit of a cherry laurel in the Flower Walk. This is full of cyanide, but it seemed to have no effect on the squirrel.
A female Black-Tailed Skimmer dragonfly perched on a blade of grass.
A closer look at one of the Backswimmers in the Italian Garden, showing the little dents its feet and the tip of its abdomen make in the water as it floats just under the surface.
I couldn't identify this caterpillar on a daisy in the Rose Garden. My best guess is a Cabbage Moth.
Hi Ralph,
ReplyDeletethe video with greylag goslings grazing- it's the couple with one Canada in your footage. They have one their own and the Canada is a mystery.
Jenna
Many thanks. That was quick. Have amended the text on the blog and YouTube.
DeleteI searched for the Little Owls all day today and still none came out!
ReplyDeleteI went early in the morning and then in the afternoon when the sun came out. I also found the Coal Tits in the Flower Walk as well as a Goldcrest.
Theodore
Tom and I couldn't find the Little Owl either despite two visits. It's still rather windy which doesn't help.
DeleteIt has been windy which is really annoying when you are trying to photograph dragonflies on reeds! I found a Holly blue in Bushy Park too, my first one this year!
DeleteThe Black-Tailed Skimmer Dragonfly is a great find! I am still looking for them but have only found a few female Broad-Bodied Chasers
ReplyDeleteBlack-Tailed Skimmers are usually the commonest dragonfly in the park and I'm sure more will be out later. The males are often seen basking on the kerb on the edge of the Serpentine.
DeleteThanks! I am chiefly found Damselflies in the Italian Gardens and Broad-Bodied Chasers in the flowerbeds nearby. Do you think that I can find some Black-Tailed ones along the kerb near Peter Pan or the Long Water?
DeleteThanks
That’s bizarre that the Backswimmers literally swim upside down sitting underneath the surface tension and looking directly up. They must be vulnerable to predators below and an easy snack!
ReplyDeleteSean
Those Coot chicks are really, really loud.
ReplyDeleteI like the expression of the stubborn Coot clinging to a hopeless place. It seems to be saying to the Universe in general "you and what army?".
Tinúviel
I've never known a Coot getting as far as laying eggs in one of these hopeless places, but there's always a first time.
Delete