The dominant Robin in the Flower Walk could hear another Robin just down the path, but wasn't in a mood for singing so the two just ticked irritably at each other.
A Coal Tit looked for insects in a bush ...
... and a Great Tit hunted among fallen leaves.
A pair of Pied Wagtails dashed about the Parade Ground. This is the female, with a lighter coloured back.
There was a female Chaffinch in the Dell. I don't think I've seen one there before.
A Jay was flying up and down among the trees near the Queen's Temple. These include several oaks, so it was probably collecting and burying acorns. It was very wary, as a Carrion Crow or a Magpie might have been watching to see where it buried them with a view to stealing them.
The female Little Owl at the Round Pond was out on her usual branch.
A Robin in the next tree observed her warily, not wishing to end up as her lunch.
The female Peregrine was by herself on the tower. I still haven't managed to get a proper sight of her plastic ring to read the code.
A Lesser Black-Backed Gull with distinctive pale legs at the Triangle car park is the leading candidate for Pigeon Eater Number Two, though it isn't nearly as skilled as the original gull and only catches a pigeon every few days. Today it had been successful and was eating its prey in the water. A young gull came down next to it, not its offspring as it hasn't bred and doesn't seem to have a mate. It was just hoping to do a bit of scavenging, but it wasn't given a chance.
The Black-Headed Gull on the landing stage was in sole possession of his territory.
However, I still couldn't find the Mediterranean Gull reported two days ago, although I looked around the Parade Ground and both lakes. There aren't many Black-Headed Gulls at the moment, so if it was in sight it would be conspicuous by its light colour. I think it's moved on.
There were 15 Cormorants on the fallen poplar in the Long Water, quite hard to pick out against the leafy background, and one Grey Heron.
The heron that usually perches on the planter at the island looked suspiciously at a Cormorant that had got too close. The heron had a tussock of grass to stand on, but the Cormorant was uncomfortably perched on the edge of the weldmesh. It had no choice, as all the posts were occupied.
A Moorhen in the Dell rested on the usual rock. I haven't seen the other one recently. They don't seem to be a pair, though they are quite civil to each other and sometimes share the rock.
The ferocious Mute Swan was with his family at the bridge.
Two delicate Little Japanese Umbrella mushrooms could be seen under a horse chestnut near the owls' tree.
I don't usually notice mushrooms (either than to collect them to eat them), but those are really beautiful, shape-wise. The kind of thing you'd find Hayao Miyazaki would take delight in depicting.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I was happier before I knew the Robin was in danger of providing lunch for the Little Owl. Why can't we all get along.
Tinúviel
Yes, perhaps in Princess Mononoke. There is a deeply worrying moment in this film where one of the human characters plucks a leaf off a plant and we see little wood spirits lamenting over the damage. It makes me feel like a lumbering oaf lurching around smashing things.
DeleteThat's oddly close to the concept of a Hamadryad. I wonder if that was the reflection of a traditional Japanese spirit, or Miyazaki took it from the West.
DeleteTinúviel
Hard to tell with Miyazaki. He has incorporated so much western myth in his films.
DeleteMaybe you could give names to the pigeon-eaters and the dominant swan. I guess maybe it might get complicated?
ReplyDeletePeople do give names to some birds, but different people use different names. I stay out of this.
Delete[Posting here today again. It's getting to be an annoying habit. And yandex had been doing so well]
ReplyDeleteWow, an olive tree in the middle of London! A little bit of the Mediterranean inside the cooler climate of Albion.
What an oddly contortionist scratch the Cormorant is having.
Tinúviel
There has been an olive tree in the Chelsea Physic Garden, sheltered by high walls, since the 17th century. It survived the Little Ice Age of the late 17th to late 18th century. It is now enormous and bears fruit reliably, but again I don't think this ripens.
DeleteVery annoying about the comment block. I too thought that Yandex would get through. Have you tried accessing the blog via a VPN?
I can almost hear that Wren from here! Lovely shot.
ReplyDeleteA few more Common Gulls starting to appear here, locally. I had 4 on Sunday-the first recently.
When I was at Kew yesterday there were quite a few queen Buff-tailed Bumblebees foraging. The ivy flowers were dominated by Vespula wasps. Did manage 3 red Admirals & a Speckled Wood too.
The number of wasps here seems to be down, but that impression may simply be due to the weather this year not having suited the fatsia bushes, their favourite place, which have few flowers.
ReplyDelete