Someone had put down some Weetabix for the Feral Pigeons at the Vista and it was attracting considerable enthusiasm. A Carrion Crow stole one and flew away with it.
A Wood Pigeon preferred a dandelion. They are serious eaters of leaves, which Feral Pigeons are not.
When pigeons bathe a greasy, powdery coating comes off their feathers and spreads over the water.
There used to be places in the park where you could hand feed Great Tits -- especially the Flower Walk -- and others where they weren't interested. Recently, though, they have been emerging from the bushes everywhere. It isn't just the onset of colder weather: the word is definitely going out and has even reached the Rose Garden at the far end of the park. This one was waiting near Peter Pan.
Robins are much more choosy and you have to make friends with them gradually. This is a regular customer in the Flower Walk.
If you start feeding Starlings they will never give you a moment's peace. They're perfectly capable of scavenging their own food, and there was a crowd of them all over the umbrellas at the Lido restaurant.
A Pied Wagtail hunted in the Italian Garden. There are always some midges to be had at any time of year -- I've seen them here in December and January.
The female Little Owl at the Round Pond came out on a branch during a sunny spell in spite of the brisk wind.
The female Peregrine looked out from the barracks tower. Her mate was facing the other way, and from the way his wings and tail bobbed up and down you could see that he was eating a pigeon. He didn't offer her any.
The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull was still being incessantly pestered by his spoilt brat.
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In contrast to the video on Tuesday 10 October of a Cormorant struggling to keep its balance on a chain, here is one at Peter Pan having no trouble at all and even preening. Birds are individuals and you can't expect them to be all the same.
There was a line of them on the posts at the bridge.
The pair of Great Crested Grebes at the bridge are in different stages of plumage. The male, on the left here, is still in summer plumage but his mate has already gone into her plain winter outfit.
This is one of the four teenagers from the other family on the Long Water.
Sad to say, the Canada Goose with a speckled head has been taken by a fox. He never really recovered from his trouble with the fishing weight and was still lethargic, which made him easy prey. Having heard this, I thought this was him at the Lido, but it turned out to be one of the Canada x Greylag hybrids.
Also on Tuesday, I put up a picture of two Chinese Rice Paper plants in the Dell, one bearing what looked like big woolly catkins and the other with globular flowers similar to those of Fatsia, to which it's related. I wondered whether they were male and female plants, but Mario told me that the species, Tetrapanax papyrifer, is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by bees. Here are closer pictures of the details.
Update: see the explanation in the comments below.
That must be some force applied to the chain that the Cormorant is balancing on, to keep it stiff. It does look ridiculously absent-minded by the situation and concentrating on another task. Quite remarkable to his mate.
ReplyDeleteSean 😃
Poor thing. I hope at least its life till then was a happy one.
ReplyDeleteNow you mention it - I have always wondered if birds differed in abilities and capabilities as humans do. Within the same species, I mean. I mean, are there clumsy birds and graceful birds? Bashful birds, and cheeky birds? Friendly birds, and others aloof?
I also wonder what was the female Grebe thinking to lose her summer finery while her mate is still in its lovely summer feathers. Who knows what goes in their heads.
Tinúviel
If you hand feed birds you soon realise that they have different habits and personalities. They're just as various as people.
DeleteAlso, the times when birds moult into and out of their breeding plumage is quite variable among individuals. You notice this particularly in Black-Headed Gulls, if only because they're so numerous and the difference is so obvious. Their timing may differ by more than a month, maybe even two.
Peregrines do. If you watch the young of the year as they develop their flying and hunting skills you'll often see differences in how quickly they become confident in the air, and how deft they are. The adults, too, differ in temperament and habits. The female of the pair that sit up on the Tate Modern chimney is very tetchy with buzzards.
DeleteSlightly surprised that she sees all that many Buzzards in that place.
DeleteWith their eyesight they'd have no trouble spotting the many high fliers on passage, even if few become a challenge. Jim
DeleteYes. A good point. I think those people who go up that tall building in the City with spotting scopes see a fair number.
DeleteThe first photo of Tetrapanax papyrifer shows the new shoots and leaves covered by a lovely brown indumentum, while the second shows the white flowers that typically emerge in autumn and winter and are produced in panicles to 50cm long. If these get through the winter they will produce clusters of small, spherical fruits, similar to those of Fatsia
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for this interesting information. Remarkable how the two plants, planted side by side at the same time, differ in their timing -- just like the birds discussed above.
DeleteI have a theory that more brightly coloured bird species, where the sexes look similar, tend to have some special talent. Thus you have Jays with their caching and memory feats, Robins which exploit the disturbance of ground by large animals and in the case of Woodpigeons, their ability to digest plant leaves (and unripe fruit?), unlike many others in the genus Columba. Also Goldfinches seem to have manifold ingenuity versus many other small seedeaters. Jim
ReplyDeleteIndeed. There does seem to be a correlation.
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