The male Little Owl at the Round Pond was preening on a high branch in his usual horse chestnut tree.
He had had to move up from his favourite branch because a young Magpie was cheekily perched on it.
The owls at the Serpentine Gallery had also been displaced by a Jay -- it looks like another young bird -- which was perched right in the middle of their usual places.
I couldn't find where the owls had gone. When I came back later, although the Jay had gone, the owls hadn't returned.
A flock of Long-Tailed Tits worked through an oak tree by the bridge.
At the other end of the bridge there was loud twittering coming from a hawthorn. A family of Chiffchaffs ...
... and some Blue Tits could occasionally be glimpsed, but it was impossible to get good pictures because the only viewpoint was looking directly into the sun.
The Reed Warbler at the Italian Garden was dashing around in the reed bed as usual.
A Rose-Ringed Parakeet looked dubiously at an apple that was thronged with wasps, but greed overcame fear and it started eating, driving off all the wasps but two.
A Grey Heron took over a Coot nest on the Long Water to use as a fishing platform. The Coots had decorated the nest with a bit of aluminium foil. They love shiny things.
The Great Crested Grebes were under the bridge with two of their chicks ...
... while the third rested under the willow.
I don't know where these chicks on the Serpentine came from, since no nests have been visible here. They may be two of the four chicks from the north nest on the Long Water, but that's quite a long way off.
Their father gave me a severe stare.
The big bully Mute Swan from the Serpentine was standing possessively on the gravel strip on the Long Water, having driven the resident pair up to Peter Pan.
His point made, he went back under the bridge to his family and they all begged for food.
The Mallard with one teenager was having a faceoff with the Coots nesting at the bridge. She's moulting and flightless, and the young one's primary feathers haven't grown yet.
A patch of ragwort was visited by an Orange-Spined Dronefly, Eristalis nemorum. I think everybody refers to this species by its scientific name.
I do love the Coots interior design creativity!
ReplyDeleteSean
Everything about Coots is admirable.
ReplyDeleteOnce more Aristotle was right when he remarked on the enmity between owls and corvids. For centuries it was believed that it was a Greek folktale and there you go, right once again.
Tinúviel
On matters of natural history folkltales should always be taken seriously. It is the folk who actually observe creatures, while philosophers and churchmen sit in their fine houses and prattle about doctrines.
DeleteAre wasps seriously a threat to parakeets?
ReplyDeleteThe parakeet seemed to think so. It looked nervously at the apple for several minutes before daring to peck at it.
DeleteI presume the Reed Warbler is a juvenile here as it has a fluffy look to it.
ReplyDeleteYour hoverfly could well be E. nemorum. Did you see its face as this is the important feature to distinguish from E. arbustorum? Both species are quite variable & overlap in general appearance. The critical feature is a plain dusted front to the face in the latter species, while E. nemorum has a black stripe down it. Worth trying to catch that feature for ID. Lovely shot though.
I wondered about the Reed Warbler. If it was out the front it's a good sign that they're beginning to hunt for themselves.
DeleteYes, I know about the facial stripe (or at least, I found out on the identification page).. I got just one picture of it head on, in flight and badly out of focus, and it did show a stripe.
So definitely then! I've been getting a few E. arbustorum recently.
Delete