On a warm afternoon a Wren was sunbathing in the Flower Walk. It got a bit too hot and started panting to cool down.
Then it flew to a twig, still panting, before retiring to the shade of the bushes.
The old Grey Heron by the Henry Moore statue was sunbathing with wings akimbo.
The male Little Owl at the Round Pond stayed cool in the foliage of a horse chestnut.
The female Peregrine was on the tower, but back from the edge so you couldn't get a proper view of her.
Some of the Jackdaws now plonk themselves down on the path in front of you and won't move till you feed them.
Peter Schmitt sent an interesting photograph from the Israel Museum of a Byzantine-era mosaic showing Rose-Ringed Parakeets of exactly the same species as the ones which now infest London.
These birds have been imported as pets from India along the Silk Road for over 2000 years. There's one on a mosaic from Pergamon in Asia Minor dating from the 2nd century BC -- see my video from 2016.
I was wrong about the second family of Coots in the Italian Garden having only two chicks: there are three. One got too pushy with its parent and was roughly hauled out of the way.
The other pair still have all seven.
The Egyptian Geese with five new goslings moved to the shade of the shrubbery below the Triangle car park. The path here is only a few feet wide, so they can dash to the water if someone comes by with a dog off the lead -- which happened twice during the ten minutes I was there.
Two Canada families were out in the sunshine, sticking together for safety.
These four Mallard ducklings must have been hatched on the Serpentine island, and haven't appeared till now. They basked on the sun-warmed kerb, occasionally taking a drink from the lake.
The only survivor from the earlier brood is now adult size and beginning to grow flight feathers.
The Emperor Dragonfly -- there seems to be only one at the moment -- was hunting over the pools in the Italian Garden.
Buff-Tailed Bumblebees and Honeybees browse on the enormous purple flower heads of the allium in the Flower Walk.
Duncan Campbell was in the Rose Garden and found a black bumblebee on a patch of Lamb's Ears. It's hard to identify: he thinks it might be a melanic Tree Bumblebee (normally the tuft on the thorax is ginger in this species).
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He also sent good pictures of a Hornet ...
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... and a Batman Hoverfly.
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What incredible insect pictures. I found one of the dragonfly exoskeletons in the Italian Gardens so if you look around under the reeds, you will find a few.
ReplyDeleteTheodore
You also see female dragonflies laying eggs at the bottom of the iris leaves where one has fallen down to water level.
DeleteThe Jackdaws are slowly evolving the traits of Crows and persisting what they desire.
ReplyDeleteSean
I didn't know Bumblebees could be melanic. We have lovely iridiscent black bumblebees here (actually carpenter bees), so black they almost look made of lapislazuli.
ReplyDeleteIt seems, as Sean says, polite Jackdaws are being corrupted by their laxer-moralled cousins.
Tinúviel
Would that be the Violet Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa violacea? These are bumblebee sized and black -- don't know why they are called 'violet', which would imply a fairly pale shade of purple. I've never seen one..
DeleteYes, it's Xylocopa violacea. They are black with subtle deep purple iridiscence. Gorgeous, gorgeous creatures, and quite easy to see here. I wish I could send some your way.
DeleteTinúviel
Fascinating video about the parakeets, the melanistic bumble bee is interesting too
ReplyDeleteIt's an old video now, but I don't think I've found out anything new since then.
DeleteI don't think an earlier comment l texted went through but the coot with the large brood, Italian Gds,has a leg injury. Dragged itself & the damaged foot back to the pond, but still did not move it well. This was yesterday, Ralph.
ReplyDeleteYes, I saw it standing on one leg this morning.
DeleteLovely shots of the Wrens. I was on Dartmoor yesterday morning ( a few days in Devon) & it was cool with light rain.
ReplyDeleteReally like Duncan's shots of the Hornet & Batman Hoverfly. I think the dark bumblebee may be a cuckoo, but a tricky one for sure.
I put the sunbathing Wren on Instagram, as it's the first time I've seen one do it. The picture got just one like. Philistines.
DeleteThanks for the provisional information about the dark bumblebee.
Strange that the mosaic birds have what look like tie ends behind their necks. What bird would not instantly remove a neck tie that did not strangle it? But with the birds' ability to walk upright and other features, could they possibly be African Green Pigeons, found in the Horn of Africa, or something else, decked with neck ties? Jim
ReplyDeleteI was wondering too, but maybe it's just a bit of decorative fantasy. It looks as if a lot of the colours in this mosaic have faded.
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