The male Little Owl at the Round Pond hadn't been seen for some time, but today he was on a branch of the dead tree where the pair nest.
Alerted by Belinda Davie, I went to the Serpentine Gallery to look for an owl in the lime tree. The female was there, but not showing well.
A Jay waited on a branch in a nearby tree.
Another was searching for worms and insects in the fallen leaves beside Rotten Row.
Feral Pigeons bathed in the new marble bowl of the restored Huntress fountain.
The dominant Robin in the Flower Walk posed grandly on a stump ...
... and the male Chaffinch looked out of the leaves.
The Grey Wagtail was back on the edge of the Serpentine by the Lido restaurant terrace.
The Peregrines were on their ledge on the tower.
The old Grey Heron stood on the lawn under the Henry Moore sculpture.
Cormorants vied for places on the posts at the Peter Pan waterfront. A Common Gull was evicted.
There were nine on the raft in the Long Water ...
... and nine Shovellers were revolving in a group.
The Mute Swan family were preening at the Vista while they waited for some mug to turn up with a bag of bread.
The Egyptian pair in the Italian Garden made the most of the sunshine on a chilly day. They are a long way from the warmth of their native Africa.
A monk stood with his staff in silent meditation on the worldly folly of the Winter Wasteland.
Nine Shovellers is amazing! The Little Owl picture is truly amazing, especially with the light in the background. I cannot foresee myself in the park until after exams...
ReplyDeleteI really like the funny monk picture and all the other strange things you sometimes see in the park!
Theodore
There were actually ten Shovellers but one of them wouldn't come into the frame. But that's nothing to the numbers we had ten years ago, usually 50 and once 200. I don't think this is sinister: they just prefer to go to the more recently created reserves along the river such as those at Barnes and Walthamstow.
DeleteLittle Owls are a bit like guardian angel. Always there even when least expected.
ReplyDeleteThe swan family does indeed look like a group of con artists idling the time away while waiting for a chump.
I wonder whether the owls at the Serpentine Gallery have been in the tree all along when I thought they'd moved. Easy to hide in the still dense foliage of a big lime tree.
Delete