A Carrion Crow bathed in ants from a nest on the lawn at Mount Gate. Other birds also do this. It seems that the formic acid exuded by the ants reduces the number of their feather parasites, though it's not clear how this works.
Above it, a Blackbird sang in a treetop. It's near the end of their singing season, a pity as their song is one of the glories of an English spring.
A young Robin came out under a tree in the Rose Garden.
A Jay appeared in the trees at the southwest corner of the bridge. This isn't one of their usual places, and the Jay didn't seem eager to be fed, so it's probably a new arrival.
The male Little Owl at the Round Pond was in the lime tree again. I do hope this is a sign that his mate is nesting in their usual dead tree, which is only 30 feet away and on this perch he is facing it. The Stock Doves remain in the tree but they aren't a threat to the owls, though maybe a slight nuisance.
Pigeon Eater was back on the Dell restaurant roof with his mate. They are spending less time here, probably because the local Feral Pigeons are wise to his behaviour so it's easier for him to catch them elsewhere.
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I finally managed to find the Great Crested Grebes with two chicks at the Lido. I arrived just in time to see a chick being given a fish ...
... which seemed too large but the chick did manage to swallow it.
The family crossed the lake to the island and amused themselves by ousting a Coot from its nest. Usually the Coot wouldn't bother to move, but birds with chicks are known to be aggressive.
The Coot family from the Mute Swans' nesting island in the Long Water fed in the reed bed on the other side of the lake.
The female swan was preening on the island with her cygnets following suit.
There are new cygnets on the nest by the Diana fountain landing stage. I was told there are three, but I only managed to get a picture with two of them.
The swan at the other end of the reed bed by the Lido restaurant was on the nest with her three.
With the killer swan out of the way looking after his family on the Long Water they are temporarily safe, but we saw him yesterday only 50 yards from the restaurant nest.
The Canada Geese with three goslings were passing the Lido. One of the goslings was recently seen limping, but when they got out it proved to be only a very slight limp and it seems that it's recovering.
A pair were on the raft in the Long Water, which is now rapidly falling to bits.
A Holly Blue butterfly fed on a deutzia blossom at Mount Gate.
The catmint in the Rose Garden is now in flower and was full of Buff-Tailed Bumblebees.
Hello Ralph,
ReplyDeletethe cygnets at the landing stage are 2 and have been 2 for several days now.
It was the youngest greylag gosling that started limping two days ago. We had a look and he is improving but if he deteriorated he would need to be taken away from the parents and off to the sanctuary sad as it is.
Thank you for the information.
DeleteNot sure if it'd be feasible, but could the killer swan be removed and placed somewhere else? Kind of what they did with the original Mr Asbo.
ReplyDeleteI love the tiny feather on the young Robin's breast getting its first tinge of orange.
Tinúviel
Yes, it really is beginning to look as if the only way out of the swan problem is to take the killer far, far away beyond the possibility of him finding his way back. The big trouble, though, is that this is quite an expensive operation and the parks management wouldn't be prepared to pay for it, and they don't care what happens anyway.It would have to be done after the cygnets have become independent, as they would be killed by any resident swans where they are taken. Killer and his mate would have to fend for themselves wherever they go, but that's what being a swan is about.
DeleteIf only we could get rid of all despots this way!!
ReplyDeleteWhen that happens with humans they are usually replaced by worse despots; Louis XVI with Robespierre, the Tsar with Stalin, The Shah with Khomeini and all the Middle Eastern strongmen with the hideousness of radical Islam. But I doubt whether there could be a swan as murderous as our killer.
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