A Little Grebe, not seen here since March, has returned to the Long Water. It preened and stretches under the marble fountain on the edge of the Italian Garden ...
... and dived for small fish under the spray.
There are three Great Grebe chicks from the nest in the willow at the bridge, not two as I thought. A parent brought a fish for one of them.
The three chicks of the other family could be seen near the Vista.
The Mute Swans' invasion of the Long Water has resumed, and the intruders seem to be in possession of the lake for some distance north of the Vista, where they were touting for food.
The two cygnets of the original residents were at Peter Pan, while their parents hung around not knowing what to do.
The old dominant male, now sadly dead, would never have stood for this. The female should have remarried a tougher swan, though that might have meant a serious fight with the big bully from the Long Water.
So there was only one cygnet on the Serpentine, belonging to the pair that nested on the island. They were behind the railings on the small boathouse, no doubt relieved that their persecutor was the other side of the bridge.
Just as I was about to give up looking for Little Owls at the Round Pond, one of the owlets flew down on to the family's usual branch in the horse chestnut.
The owlet at the Serpentine Gallery looked down from the lime. They are both beginning to get adult white spots on their head, which emerge gradually and not suddenly at the first moult when they get darker brown plumage.
The male Peregrine was on the barracks, disarranged by the wind.
A Magpie stared challengingly from a tree at the Vista, wanting a peanut.
A young Blackbird appeared at the Diana fountain car park. It's been a good year for breeding Blackbirds.
For those missing the House Sparrows, here's a picture from the Tower of London by Mark Williams of a female ...
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... and a young Starling, both scrounging at the open-air café..
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A caterpillar climbed its own thread on a bush near the bridge. I think it's a Small Tortoiseshell.
Red Admirals and Meadow Browns are the commonest butterflies in the park at the moment, and have been constantly visiting the buddleia bush near the bridge.
When they had flown away a Hornet Hoverfly visited the same flower.
Fairy Ring mushrooms and fallen leaves at the Round Pond: autumn is approaching. It would be pleasing to have a bit more summer first.
Nice to see a flourishing amount of Grebes in the park.
ReplyDeleteSean
Psst, Ralph - am sure it's a juvenile starling in the second photo 😉
ReplyDeleteFantastic news about the little grebe! 😀
Whoops, I misread your message sent with the pictures and didn't bother to check. Thought it looked a bit dark. Text changed.
DeleteSecond one doesn't look like a house sparrow to me,
ReplyDeleteIs the fact that the invaders have five cygnets proof that they are stronger or at least more aggressive than other birds? I assume being able to keep their cygnets well fed and safe will have as much to do with size as it does with owning territory.
Welcome back ot the Little Grebe! It was missed.
Tinúviel
The swans on the Long Water originally had four but lost two, we think to pike which are abundant at the north end of the Long Water. The swans on the Serpentine island had four as well, but lost three and we think the big bully killed them. Having cygnets makes parents more aggressive and, all other things being equal, a pair with more cygnets will probably win a territorial dispute. But the big bully is boss and would win any fight if it came to that.
DeleteLovely to see a Little Grebe again there. Remember the daily soap of one with Gadwall & perhaps Tufted Duck in the Italian Garden earlier in the year.
ReplyDeleteGood news about a successful breeding season for Blackbirds. A decidedly scarce bird here now, sadly.
The Hornet Hoverfly seems to be having an excellent season with daily sightings now & a regular in my garden.
Impossible to tell whether this is the same Little Grebe returning to its old haunt. The original one was seen on the Long Water as well as in th fountain pool.
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