Saturday 30 March 2024

Green Woodpecker excavating a nest hole

A Green Woodpecker pecked vigorously at a tree near the Italian Garden.


It was probably enlarging a nesting hole, of which you can just see the edge in the video.


A Carrion Crow held a tattered object which I think was the decayed corpse of a bird. Whatever it was, it was too rotten even for the crow, which gave it a few pecks and dropped it.


A female Magpie fluttered her wings and called to her mate. This display means 'Feed me.' She was making sure that he would bring her food when she was sitting on the nest, which they have built in a tree at the northwest corner of the bridge.


The old Grey Heron was back at his lookout post on the Henry Moore sculpture.


A Greenfinch sang on the other side of the path. It was hard to see through the twigs, but I got some kind of a picture.


There was a Wren in the same tree ...


... and another near the Buck Hill shelter.


The Long-Tailed Tits aren't too visible at the moment, since they have finished building their nests and are now sitting on eggs, and the chicks haven't hatched yet. But there was one in a tree by the Serpentine Gallery.


A Coal Tit at Mount Gate wanted to be fed, and was getting very impatient with being photographed.


Pigeon Eater and his mate were on their favourite spot on the roof of the Dell restaurant.


A Moorhen looked for small edible creatures on the lower waterfall in the Dell.


The Coots' nest in the dead willow by the Italian Garden is getting larger every day.


A Greylag Goose on the Serpentine had a vigorous wash and a flap.


The Egyptian Geese by the boat hire platform are now down to five goslings ...


... but the last survivor at the Lido is still holding on.


The Black Swan passed by with his girlfriend.


There's a young female Mute Swan in the Italian Garden, who has been there for three days. She may have been chased off the lake by the killer swan. She may in fact be one of their offspring from last year; the code on her ring is 4GIK but I haven't recorded the codes of the five cygnets. She can climb out when she sees a chance, but has to wait till the killer and his mate have gone away from the nesting island, which they are still doing as she hasn't laid any eggs yet. Meanwhile she can subsist perfectly well on the algae in the pool.


2 comments:

  1. She does look a bit harried. I would too, if confronted with the possibility of having a dangerous encounter with a known killer.
    A couple of days ago we saw a female Greenfinch doing the exact same thing as the female magpies is doing, down to fluttering and piping.
    Tinúviel

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    Replies
    1. I've never seen a Greenfinch doing that, though I have seen female Great Tits and Robins doing it to their mates, and also young nestlings. It seems to be a universal appeal display.

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