A young Herring Gull on the boat hire platform picked crumbs of chocolate cake off a cardboard wrapper and amused itself by throwing it around. Chocolate is bad for birds and all animals because they are sensitive to the stimulant theobromine in it, but there really isn't much chocolate in chocolate cake.
On another part of the platform a Pied Wagtail examined bird droppings to see if there were any insects on them.
The young Grey Wagtail stood on a rock in the Dell.
Two Redwings were visible to the west of the leaf yard, one in a tree ...
... and the other on the ground looking for worms.
The dominant Robin in the Flower Walk came out for his daily treat of pine nuts and took seven.
This Robin on the path near the bridge is still shy, but accepted one thrown on the ground.
Another sight of a Coal Tit at Mount Gate, where there's a pair.
The Little Owl at the Round Pond could be seen at the back of her hole.
Feral pigeons have a noticeable preference for mates of the same colour. A grey and white male pursued a female beside the Dell.
The Winter Wasteland has encouraged more and more people to feed parakeets in the nearby Rose Garden, and now it's really getting out of hand. It seems harmless to amuse yourself by feeding these pretty green birds, but they are invasive pests and when their numbers build up they drive the small native birds out of the area. In Kensington Gardens a fair-sized area south of the leaf yard has been completely ruined both by banishing the songbirds and by hundreds of feeders trampling the ground into a swamp. It is now fenced off.
The young Grey Heron that used to beg at the Lido restaurant has been keeping away, and although the terrace was busy on a holiday with reasonable weather it was staying in the cut reed bed. I think the restaurant staff have been scaring it off.
The mate of the sitting Grey Heron on the island stood on another nest. There are a lot of disused nests in the trees here which provide comfortable places to hang about.
Black-Headed Gulls lined up on the roof of a boathouse, and of course there was one playing the game of knocking another off. They kept a tactful distance from the three young Herring Gulls at the end of the ridge.
The Black-Headed Gull EZ73301, who likes to perch on this sign, had been evicted by a Common Gull, who stood on it in a haughty attitude. I think it's always the same Common Gull that claims the sign.
The pair of Egyptian Geese that live in the Italian Garden, standing on a nearby tree, saw another pair intruding on their territory on the ground below and staged a noisy display, which sent the intruders off without a fight. Sorry about the noise from the six fountains, but that's what it's like there.
Dunno. I like the sound of the fountains, Certainly better than the nattering of the Egyptians.
ReplyDeleteI get the appeal of feeding tame and docile birds. Really, I do. But these are pests. I wonder if the Park management wouldn't be better served posting notices about the consequences of feeding them.
Usually when I put up a video shot near the Italian Garden I turn the volume down to 25 per cent to make the sound less overwhelming, but here I wanted the Egyptians' clamour to be heard.
DeleteThe park management are very down on feeding any birds anywhere and there are notices all over the place -- like so many inefficient organisations they delight in notices. But they haven't put up any here, where it matters. And if they did, no one would pay any heed to them, and there would be no attempt to enforce the ban.
Love the Winter "Wasteland"! Ashamed to say I didn't know chocolate was toxic to birds (fortunately we see few - birds should be free flying, not caged) so I had to check. That's interesting about the pigeons - larger scale studies needed
ReplyDeletePeople quite often accidentally poison their pet dogs by giving them chocolate as a treat. Theobromine is similar to caffeine. Humans seem little affected by it, but it stimulates other creatures fiercely and can even be fatal. This is why they sell indulgent owners special 'doggy chocs' which contain none. Incidentally, I've also seen special ice cream for dogs, though I don't know what the problem is here, if indeed there is one. But people do give their pets the most awful rubbish out of mistaken kindness.
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