The Robin in the Rose Garden shrubbery sang quietly to itself.
The one by the Henry Moore sculpture came out to be fed.
A Wren at Peter Pan was perfectly camouflaged among dead leaves.
It's quite unusual to see a songbird, even one as common as a Great Tit, on the rocks by the pool at the top of the Dell waterfall. The pool used to be flanked by bushes with berries, and all kinds of birds would come out to drink and bathe. But then they grubbed up the bushes and put in boring herbaceous border plants which were of no interest to birds whatever.
Something alarmed a Blackbird in the Rose Garden, and with a great clamour it flew up into a treetop. They are very nervous birds.
Both the Peregrines were on the barracks tower. The female is on the right.
When you see a bird pecking at a plate, it's almost always mayonnaise it's after. That and chips are the two favourites with the birds on the restaurant terraces.
The young Grey Heron that was scared away from the Lido restaurant has crept back and was waiting on the edge in the hope of a snack.
One of the nesting pair on the island waited patiently to relieve its mate on the nest.
I'm afraid the Little Owl has permanently gone from the hole by the Round Pond. When owls are frightened away they usually don't come back to the spot -- though this is the pair's nest tree used for two years and they might return in the spring. The squirrel that caused the trouble was perched complacently on the tree.
The recent storms have blown a lot of twigs off the trees into the lake. A young Herring Gull poked around to see if anything edible had come with them.
The Black-Headed Gull EZ37301 was back on its favourite sign by the Dell restaurant.
The youngest Great Crested Grebe was busy fishing by the reed bed at the lake outflow.
A Pochard drake cruised past the Vista.
A bush in the Rose Garden has managed to put out a few slightly tatty roses, not bad going for January.
A clump of little Yellow Fieldcap mushrooms has appeared by the Albert Memorial. They last only a day, losing most of their pristine yellow colour in a few hours, turning grey and withered by the evening.
The debaubling crew were busy removing Christmas ornaments from a gate at the Winter Wasteland.
That pesky rodent has no remorse for its cause! You would like to think a Little Owl, regardless of the size could intimidate a squirrel with them big sharpe talons they possess. Let’s hope a return is on the cards.
ReplyDeleteSean
We've had the mother of all windstorms here yesterday as well. It must have been something coming out of the Atlantic.
ReplyDeleteIs the foolhardy camellia from a couple of days past still on this earth, or did it pay the price levied by courage without thought?
Sad to read about the Little Owl. If anyone wants to start a squirrel hunting party in retaliation, you have my axe.
The camellia flowers are still there. The Rose Garden is a sheltered spot, especially from a west wind.
DeleteIt's wrong to hate any animals, but I have no fondness in my heart for Grey Squirrels. When I was a boy we still had Red Squirrels in southern England but they were being quickly wiped out by the invading grey pests and everyone was deeply sorry to see them being overwhelmed.