A Wood Pigeon fed in a bramble patch on the west side of the Long Water.
A Song Thrush fed in a bramble patch on the east side of the Long Water.
A family of Wrens bounced around in an alder across the path. One of the young ones appeared for a moment.
A Blue Tit looked for insects in an ash.
It wasn't a good day for seeing Little Owls, but the owlet at the Serpentine Gallery was distantly visible in the lime.
A Grey Heron looked through the reeds in the Dell stream.
The Great Crested Grebes nesting in the willow by the bridge were feeding the chicks.
All three chicks of the other family were visible on their father's back.
The Coot family at the bridge are all grown up but still clinging to the nest.
The single Tufted duckling on the Long Water, which I had long ago given up as lost, reappeared triumphantly and much larger at the Vista. No wonder its mother looks so pleased with herself.
The Mute Swans with five cygnets on the Serpentine had given up their invasion of the Long Water for the time being. Their mother brought them to the edge for a bit of begging.
A young fox asleep in the Dell ...
... was briefly roused by the sound of a jazz band in the garden of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, decided it wasn't a threat, and went back to sleep.
A pair of Willow Emerald damselflies mated in the Italian Garden, the first I've seen this year.
A closer look at the iridescent green and bronze splendour of the male.
Common Carder bees were all over the park, in the Great Willowherb next to the damselflies ...
... and in a clump of Agapanthus in the Dell ...
... which also attracted Honeybees.
A crop of small white mushrooms has come up under the yew by the bridge. I've not seen mushrooms here before. Their species may become apparent if they get the chance to grow a bit bigger.
I am currently in a love-hate relationship at the moment with my local foxes. They are frequently destroying my bird feeders! But I seem to find myself photographing them at the light of dusk, instead of cursing wildly among them.
ReplyDeleteSean
The reappearance of the Tuftie duckling makes me so happy, not only on its own account, but also because it shows that I need not presume a favourite bird is dead just because I haven't seen it in a while.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it's a stupid question, but how can someone tell that's the father Grebe?
Tinúviel
You can usually tell the sex of a grebe by looking at the black top crest. If it's a broad V it's a male, and a narrow V means female. There is a certain amount of overlap between sexes.
DeleteI also learnt this recently off of Ralph! Not something I’ve seen elsewhere on the internet.
DeleteSean
Where the comings and goings of birds are concerned, can say that the pair of coal tits and the pair of dunnocks often disappear for months at a time, which causes me to fret quite a bit. Obviously, they have found a regular source of food elsewhere, but where it is remains a mystery to date.
ReplyDeleteLike that disillusioning moment when you discover your cat has a second household at a neighbour's.
DeleteGood to see the Willow Emeralds, especially if I remember correctly you failed to find them last year after David & my sightings there. I did see one with a kinked abdomen above the Lily Pond in Kew Gardens yesterday.
ReplyDeleteIn the park they seem to be present only at the north and west side of the Long Water. But when I was in Richmond Park last year, one landed on my head. i was with Tom, but even he was too surprised to get a picture.
DeleteGood story Ralph. I think Richmond Park may have been the first place I saw Willow Emerald in the London area.
DeleteThe last time I visited Richmond Park, last summer, a Willow Emerald landed on my head. Even Tom wasn't quick enough to get a picture before it realised its error and flew away.
DeleteNice to see some of the Willow Emeralds. I took a picture but am not able to identify them due to the fact that I have not photographed the parts needed to identify them.
ReplyDeleteTheodore
As far as I know, Willow is the only species of emerald damselfly found in the park.
Delete