The aggressive Robin in the Flower Walk who attacks all the other small birds had been away for some time looking after chicks. Today he was back in a flower bed, and flew up to my hand and ate six pine nuts.
One of the fledglings looked down from a twig. With luck it will be coming out soon, following its parent's example.
A Jay farther along the walk also came to be fed.
Five Little Owls were visible at various times. At the Serpentine Gallery, both the father ...
... and the mother ...
appeared and there was a view of an owlet. The last two were both in a lime tree where I haven't seen them before.
At the Round Pond the father was in his usual place in the small lime ...
... and one of the owlets was on the horse chestnut branch which has been used by the whole family from time to time.
Both Peregrines were on the tower, some distance apart. This is the female. Her mate wasn't showing well.
On a warm afternoon a Wood Pigeon went for a cooling dip in the Serpentine.
The Black-Headed Gull who owns the small landing stage by the Diana fountain has returned from his summer break.
He saw a rival on the shore nearby and had a confrontation with it.
The Mandarin and her duckling (shown here) were also on the landing stage, but the gull was tolerating them for the time being.
Yesterday evening Virginia found a Tufted Duck with two ducklings near the bridge and took this lovely picture.
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One of the Coot chicks in the Italian Garden preened under a clump of Great Willowherb, which wasn't part of the intended planting but has seeded itself.
The Batman Hoverfly, Myathropa florea, is named for the black mark on its thorax resembling the Batman logo. It enjoyed browsing on a thistle beside the Long Water until an aggressive Common Carder bee chased it away.
Nearby a female Blue-Tailed Damselfly basked on a sun-warmed railing. They are vary variable in colour, unlike the uniformly blue and black males.
A Red Admiral butterfly perched on a girl's rucksack and hitched a lift from Peter Pan to the Italian Garden.
I was at the Wetland Centre today and a Green Sandpiper turned up for a while as did two kestrels and plenty of Sand Martins. No Terns however or any other things. There were quite a lot of Reed Warblers visible and plenty of young Songbirds
ReplyDeleteTheodore
Haven't been there for years. Good birds but much too organised for my taste.
DeleteHow easy is it to find the little owls now? Could I please have directions?
ReplyDeleteI don't publish locations on this blog, for obvious reasons. Please email me.
DeleteGosh, the little Tufties. Dying of the cuteness!
ReplyDeleteVery warm welcome back to the aggressive Robin. He may be a bully, but he's our bully.
Tinúviel
He behaves just like that terrible swan on the Serpentine, but we excuse him because he's only little.
Delete