Morning found the stranded Canada goslings on the Long Water still stuck on the raft without food or water.
Finally, after 36 hours, the cumbersome wheels of park bureaucracy began to turn and they were rescued. Their parents sensibly took them to the other side of the bridge to get away from the killer Mute Swan.
There's now another brood of five Canada goslings at the Lido.
And more Greylag goslings have emerged. At the Lido there were broods of three, two and one. The one is larger than the others and I think it belongs to the pair that I've already photographed farther along the lake ...
... where the two already seen were with their parents, having just taken refuge from an idiot's dog left to run loose.
A new brood of eight Egyptian goslings has come out on the Round Pond. They were startled as a gull passed overhead but then settled down with their mother.
The Egyptians at the Triangle have lost one and are down to six ...
... but the four different-sized ones are still all right despite frequent parental neglect.
The Great Crested Grebes with one chick on the Long Water have managed to keep it alive for a week in spite of a lack of small fish, so it has a chance.
A Coot building a nest in a silly place on the edge of the Serpentine shooed off an inquisitive Greylag.
Starlings are nesting in the former Little Owl hole by the Speke obelisk, which the owls abandoned after the ancient chestnut tree was killed by the drought. A parent brought a bit of a bun it had scavenged from somewhere, not good food for chicks though it also had a larva.
But the next time it arrived it had a more wholesome collection of mixed insects.
A Dunnock perched on a tree by the Rudolf Steiner bench beside the Long Water.
Ahmet Amerikali caught a pair of the Reed Warblers at the Diana fountain above their nest in the reeds. There are three pairs in this reed bed and another on the Long Water.
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A patch of buttercups by the Round Pond had two tiny yellow Fourteen-Spot Ladybirds and a fly I can't identify, notable for having thick femurs on its back legs.
I wish I'd noticed the ladybirds when I was there so I could take taken a close-up shot.
A Box Tree Moth caterpillar danced on a thread of silk from a branch of the box tree by the bridge.
Good news about the rescued goslings. Perhaps the Park should donate the tern raft to a nature reserve where it is more likely to attract terns than geese
ReplyDeleteIt's falling apart and sinking. Don't think anyone would want it.
DeleteHi Ralph, I tried your suggestion re. The flammulated owl, it turns out it was more than likely a common or garden tawny owl.......good news about the goslings, there needs to be a real rethink from the management, it looks like !!..regards,Stephen....
ReplyDeletexeno-canto is an excellent resource. A surprising number of birdwatchers are unaware of it.
DeleteUnfortunately the yearly aren't the problem, the problem is many good people left the park. Even a guy Billy has moved on and he was apparently helpful. So you are stuck with someone who doesn't know or doesn't care.
ReplyDeleteI cannot even imagine what would have happened to those little things if we ( or Ralph ) hadn't noticed they hatched. They would have died there and all it takes is to cut a small hole or two into the plastic sides so whatever hatches can get out. I wouldn't be at all suprised if the park indeed disposed of the raft to save themselves any future 'hassle'...........
Almost everyone hired by the park who's any good moves on when they find they're underpaid, overworked and treated like dirt.
DeleteI wouldn't be sad if the raft was abolished. As I said above, it's disintegrating. It's used mainly by various gulls and Cormorants, and they can find other places easily enough.
It was Tony Duckett's idea. But he ruined it by not putting down white shingle and a shelter, both of which are necessary to attract terns. Soon after it was installed I saw a pair of Common Terns fly around it, decided it was no good, and leave, never to come back to it. Tony said he would put down shingle and a shelter 'when the terns came', which was the logic of the insane. He did have some fairly wonky ideas. He thought the gravel strip would attract waders, but they want mud not gravel. The all-time total of waders seen on the strip is, as far as I know, two Common Sandpipers, one Green Sandpiper and one Sanderling. Yesterday morning Vinny saw two Common Sandpipers and they weren't there, they were on the fenced-off bit of shore on the other side of the bridge. I've seen two Dunlins and they weren't on the gravel either, they were at the edge of the Serpentine looking for insects in the algae.
One has to wonder, where does he get those ideas from?
DeleteThe path to hell is paved with good intentions.
DeleteThe saying, "It is better to do something rather than nothing," is responsible for a great deal of harm.
DeleteJenna you paint a bleak (but realistic !) picture, I take heart that there are enough people left who care enough...to make a difference.,regards (to all) Stephen..
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephen. It's just how it's been for many moons. We are basically looking after the wildlife there for the parks. Nick is limited with time and has to attend several other parks. The parks have no idea about any problems with the birds including the swans. Because we know about the yearly raft nesting, we just give it a month and then watch closely day by day otherwise I can imagine they would just be dying on the raft every time they hatch, either lack of water or abandoned by their mother as she already went 35 days without food and wants to get out. She is a good mother and stayed but another day we would have been pushing it. Just a shame everything had to go thru so many layers, we basically killed the whole afternoon by negotiating with the boathouse and it came to nothing. There are also many other things that need doing. Nick has to also cut holes into the Italian Garden fountain rafts because the babies get trapped there as they get older and can't fit thru the holes to get out anymore. Yesterday there was one coot chick stuck and we couldn't get him out. He was safe and well fed but trapped inside the raft too. Just that at least he had access to water and food and sheltered by the reefs.
ReplyDeleteYou and Ralph are doing the Lord's work. You are everything humankind ought to be.
DeleteThose Italian Garden planters that have been used by Coots have holes in them already. In others usually the irises are so thick that nothing that can't fly can get into them. However, there seems to be an invisible Coot nest buried in the middle of the irises in the southeast planter of the northwest pool, and heaven knows how any chicks are going to get out of that. It wouldn't be just a matter of cutting a hole in the netting.
DeleteHow are the goslings rescued, does someone have to grab each one to drop over while getting pummelled by the adult geese? Jim
DeleteCaught one by one in a net on a pole. No fun for them, but they aren't hurt.
DeleteA microcosm example of this once great country...scores of unpaid people who REALLY care shaming so called "professional" people who do NOT care about anything but short term economic gain, to hell with the environmental & moral consequences....regards,Stephen..
ReplyDeleteToo true.
DeleteThank God. Thank God. It was a miracle that the poor things survived.
ReplyDeleteTinúviel
Oh there are at least 10 others and everyone works hard- but if it wasn't for the volunteers there would have been lots of suffering ( of the birds ) as the parks have no idea what goes on. It used to be much better 15 years ago but times change I guess.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if the park management catch the volunteers at work they stop them.
DeleteAt the Cromwell Road tower there were no Peregrines despite the lovely weather yesterday however there was a Buzzard flying high up and being mobbed by two crows.
ReplyDeleteTheodore
Thanks. I'll be keeping an eye on the tower to see if they turn up. Recenrly it has been the female alone, and not till about 2pm.
DeleteThere was one flying around this morning
DeleteNone in the afternoon.
DeleteEven more interestingly, at around 6:45, a small flock of House Sparrows were chirping around just north of the park!
DeleteTheodore
Where? 'North of the park' is a big area and includes Inverness.
DeleteSomewhere in Bayswater. There was a small garden with a hedge going round and one of those trees which are cone shaped which looked perfect for sparrows. A female was chirping from the top of it
DeleteSort of
DeleteBrilliant news about the Canadas goslings , made my day , my favourite
ReplyDeleteA great relief.
Delete