A Wren bounced about in the Dell. There is a small tree nest to the lower long side, just north of the southwest corner, that is a place of resort for small birds of various species.
Mark Williams sent a fine picture of a Dunnock gathering insects for its young.
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A close-up of the young Carrion Crow in the Italian Garden. Their blue-grey eyes give them a deceptively innocent appearance.
The male Little Owl at the Round Pond was on what is currently his usual lookout post in the small lime tree, which gives him a good view of the nest tree. Faint hisses showed that the owlets were inside.
A Hobby was flying around, only momentarily visible among the trees. Tom took this picture a few days ago as it perched in a tall lime.
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The female Peregrine was on the barracks tower. I think she had a pigeon out of sight on the ledge.
A Great Crested Grebe dived for small fish in the shallow water at the edge of the Serpentine.
The pair of grebes that nested unsuccessfully in a reed bed on the Long Water in the spring, and then disappeared, are back. Let's hope they try again.
There is also a single grebe that was rescued after crashing in Piccadilly and released on the Long Water. It was lucky to escape with a few scrapes.
The older Coot chicks in the Italian Garden have now lost the red pin feathers on their heads that stimulated their parents to feed them, and are busily scuttling around eating algae.
The young ones in the next pool are still dependent.
A Mandarin has appeared on the north shore of the Serpentine with just one duckling. They were both taking a hard line with the Feral Pigeons.
One of the five Egyptian goslings by the Triangle car park climbed ashore to join the others.
The Black Swan is moulting, which has made him itchy and irritable. You can see his new white flight feathers beginning to emerge.
Bramble flowers, which resemble little roses, are popular with bees. Honeybees were giving a patch their attention on the edge of the leaf yard.
Three bees from Duncan Campbell, not certainly identified. This may be a Bronze Furrow Bee, Halictus tumulorum. (Update: Conehead54 confirms this.)
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And this may be a Clarke's Mining Bee, Andrena clarkella. (Conehead54 says that clarkella, a very early species, is over by now, but this is an Andrena of some kind.)
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This bee looks like a Heather Colletes, C. succinctus, but it's too early in the year for them and there isn't any heather. (Conehead54 thinks C. daviesiana most likely.)
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Lastly, this ghastly video appeared on Twitter yesterday, showing a Herring Gull eating a squirrel whole. I don't know where it was shot, but clearly in Europe because you can hear a Wood Pigeon singing. You have been warned.
What interesting birds of prey! Not only have I not seen the Peregrines for a while but I have not seen the Hobby since the Friday when we saw it near the Little Owl tree.
ReplyDeleteTheodore
At the moment there's a Peregrine on the tower most days. They fly on and off, so one look is not enough.
DeleteYesterday I was drinking coffee in Christchurch Gardens, an attractive little park off Victoria Street in Westminster. The park is often full of pigeons. I looked up to see one being eaten by a Herring Gull! I don’t whether the gull had killed the pigeon or found it dead.
ReplyDeleteFrom observation in the park I can say that Herring Gulls do sometimes at least try to kill pigeons, but less often than Lesser Black-Backs do.
DeleteGulls can do more than just screech with that large mouth, but swallowing a squirrel whole!! Gee whiz.
ReplyDeleteSean
It does seem that some Gulls are more outside of the scavenger gene pool than others.
ReplyDeleteSean
Nope, not clicking on that one, even if I don't like squirrels.
ReplyDeleteI take it that the Grebe was flying en route to somewhere else and crashed? What happened to make it crash?
Tinúviel
Wise decision not to watch.
DeleteGrebes are not good flyers. Fast on small wings, not much control. Think F-104G and you get the idea.
"Widowmaker".
DeleteI'd agree the first is Halictus tumulorum. The second is unlikely to be Clarke's Mining Bee as it's a very early species (should be over by May) that specialises in sallow pollen., but looks like an Andrena sp.
ReplyDeleteYou are close with the other. As you suspect not Colletes succinctus, but that genus. Not really separable from photos but will be C. daviesiana or C. fodiens; the former probably more likely. Both species favour Asteraceae as in your photo. I did see a couple at Kew Gardens on Monday.
I'm afraid I did look at the video. Presume squirrel must have been already dead beforehand.
Thank you very much for the identifications. You were wise to avoid the video, though it has technical interest.
DeleteThat's one Mandarin "Tiger Mummy"! The fishing grebe is lovely
ReplyDeleteDuckling still alive this afternoon.
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