The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull had been at work, and a young Herring Gull was finishing the remains.
Pigeon Eater stood on the roof of the Dell restaurant, where he was constantly pestered by his son.
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So he flew down and got his second pigeon of the day.
He wasn't very hungry and was content to share it at once. Normally the young gull would have to wait till his father had eaten his fill.
Great Crested Grebe parents are begged at by their young for more than three months. They endure the constant squeaking with great patience.
The oldest teenagers now have fully grown wings and could fly if the idea occurred to them. With grebes it seldom does.
The Mute Swan in the Italian Garden stood on the kerb with the resident pair of Egyptian Geese.
There are now five young swans on the Round Pond, and the total population has gone up to 50, which is overcrowded. This is probably due to the activities of the ultra-violent swan who is gradually chasing all the others off the lake.
The group of Shovellers on the Long Water includes at least two females.
Two young Grey Herons stood on the landing stage at the Diana fountain, just far enough to avoid a fight breaking out.
It was quite windy at the Round Pond, and the female Little Owl was staying in her hole.
I heard a Green Woodpecker laughing on Buck Hill, looked up, and indistinctly saw a bird climbing a tree. Surprisingly it turned out to be a Great Spotted Woodpecker. The two must have been quite close together.
The holly berries are ripening, attracting a Magpie ...
... the inevitable Wood Pigeon ...
... and a flock of Long-Tailed Tits which were hunting for insects in the tree.
A Song Thrush preferred yew fruit. Thanks to Ahmet Amerikali for this picture.
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Occasionally princesses stray from Kensington Palace, but they are soon rounded up and returned to their pens.
Two pictures from outside: a Puffin and a Guillemot at Bempton Cliffs in East Yorkshire, photographed by Joan Chatterley ...
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... and Black Storks in Extremadura, taken by Tinúviel's bird guide Jesús Porras.
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I wonder if Pigeon Eater ever has Wood Pigeons on his menu or just plain old Feral ones..I’ll be the princesses Prince Charming!
ReplyDeleteSean 😃
Always delightful to see Puffins. I wonder what sort of conversation a Puffin and a Guillemot maye be having.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Grebes' easygoing temper and remarkable ability to handle conflict without undue violence is an offshoot of the exemplary patience they show while bringing up their offspring.
Tinúviel
I get the impression that the conversation is not entirely cordial.
DeleteGuillemot: Do you know the way to the Farne Islands?
Puffin: Yes, but I'm not telling you.
Hi Ralph,
ReplyDeleteAny Mandarin sighting in Hyde or Kensington? I went to Regents park yesterday...usually you see 10-20 pairs but to my surprise didn't see a single Mandarin in the lake.
Best regards
Jayanta
Haven't seen any recently, but they spend a lot of their time on land out of sight in the bushes. There is a permanent population on the Regent's Canal between the two parks.
Delete