The male Blackbird near the Speke obelisk, looking for food for his nestlings, graciously accepted some raisins I threw down for him. It's quite hard to make them realise that you're throwing things to them rather than at them, but once they get the idea they become quite trusting.
Young Starlings realise immediately. But if you start feeding Starlings you will by mobbed by them for ever. They can do their own scavenging very efficiently.
It took several years for the returning Jackdaws to get used to people, but now they are politely demanding.
Wrens remain very shy, and flee if they see you looking at them.
So do Chiffchaffs, which will fly out of a high treetop if you approach on the ground below. But Ahmet Amerikali got a good shot of this one at Russia Dock Woodland.
%202023%201a.jpg)
The male Little Owl at the Round was out on a branch of the dead tree this morning and I managed to take pictures without alarming him. He's staying on (or inside) this tree or in a tree nearby, as his mate is certainly nesting.
Lesser Black-Backed Gulls and a Herring Gull wandered through the newly raked soil in the border in the Rose Garden, which is being replanted. They were looking for worms that had been turned up, which are in short supply in the current dry weather.
The pigeon-eating gull at the Dell restaurant had larger prey on his mind. This is his hunting attitude, ready to rush at an incautious pigeon.
%20in%20hunting%20attitude%202023%201a.jpg)
Great Crested Grebes often come to fish around the Coots' nest at the bridge, annoying the occupants.
The Mute Swans' nesting island on the Long Water was occupied a a pair of Egyptian Geese, a Coot and a Grey Heron.
The swans evicted most of them but the heron stood its ground.
Blondie preened her ash-grey wings beside the Serpentine. The feathers look new, so probably she has moulted already while the big geese are only just starting.
A pair of Pochards rested on the edge.
A Grey Squirrel snarled irritably at an invisible enemy, maybe a Magpie from the large family near the Henry Moore sculpture.
A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee browsed on the big white flowers of a Carpenteria, or Tree Anemone, behind the Albert Memorial.
There were more in the poppies at the back of the Lido.
The starlings were on top form at the Serpentine cafe today, annoying the hell out of the customers. Got a lovely shot of a juvenile boldly sitting on a table, will send it on Friday.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, blackbirds do take a while to learn the meaning of trust. One of my regulars at St James's (Little Blacky) jumped up behind me on a bench today to let me know he was there: so far, having any blackbird within a foot of me is as good as it gets.
ReplyDeleteI had a very tame female once who tried to jump on to my hand. She missed her footing and fell off and was most annoyed. So by common consent we went back to putting raisins on the railings.
DeleteLastly, we had a bit of an incident at the top of the Long Water today, where one of a pair of cygnets got dragged under the water twice by an unseen assailant. Am very happy to report that the little one survived the ordeal, and that the adult male swan dished out a heavy dose of retribution to the predator: will give you the full story on Friday, hopefully.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been a pike. There are some 4ft long at the top of the Long Water. I'm amazed the cygnet got away. This must have been the reason for the loss of two cygnets earlier.
DeleteWow had no idea there were pike in there probably should have figured it wasn't a carp!
DeleteWhat a gorgeous picture of the flying teddy bear happily nestled in the flower's heart.
ReplyDeleteI've never been able to convince a Blackbird that I was throwing things to them and not at them!
Tinúviel
Bees aren't usually all that keen on poppies when there are other flowers around. But the wildflower patch behind the Lido is a poor show this year and there isn't much else. At least the bee here was managing to wriggle around, much as I have filmed them doing in roses, to pick up as much pollen as possible.
Delete