There's no shortage of Great Tit fledglings noisily chasing their parents all over the park.
Both the adults ...
... and the young are very good at striking theatrical poses when demanding food.
Mark Williams photographed a fledgling staying on his hand while it ate its titbit.
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I had an adult near Temple Gate settle on my hand to eat five pine nuts one after the other, which took several minutes, before picking up a sixth and flying off. I must use my left hand to feed them here in the hope of getting a video.
One of the pair of Song Thrushes at the Henry Moore sculpture was hopping about the lawn.
A Blackbird collected worms near the Dell. I haven't seen any young yet but they should be coming out soon.
It rained several times, but Blackbirds are quite happy with that as it brings up the worms.
The Little Owl at the Round Pond was out on his usual lime tree minutes after the rain stopped.
Young Starlings lined up at the Lido restaurant.
A Pied Wagtail hunted from a buoy at the Lido.
Swifts tore around the Long Water.
The single Great Crested Grebe chick chased his father towards the Italian Garden.
The six Mute cygnets fed with their mother by the reed bed.
The swans on the Serpentine are down to one cygnet each. It's not clear how the losses occurred, as the killer swan has kept very much to the Long Water now that he has his own young.
The Coots on the chain by the bridge are undaunted by the loss of their first eggs and are sitting again. The nest has been built up substantially. It sags constantly off the chain and needs frequent maintenance.
One of the many kinds of Salvia in the Rose Garden attracted Buff-Tailed Bumblebees.
The Red Arrows flew over Kensington Gardens after the Trooping of the Colour.
The ceremony must have been in full swing when there was a particularly heavy downpour. The Royal Family are renowned for attracting bad weather -- unlike the German Kaiser in the late 19th century, who got sunshine on his outdoor occasions so constantly that it was known as Kaiserwetter, Emperor's Weather.
Hi Ralph, great shot of the red arrows BTW..interesting TITBIT about the kaiser.... :-) good to see the blue tits eating seed and NOT mark.w's thumb today...do people still bother to put up bird feeders ?...my book "the birds of London " did NOT arrive today, will prob get it on Monday now...regards,Stephen..
ReplyDeleteAnnoying about the book. Since it's from an Amazon reseller, not from Amazon itself, it will be coming by post with the usual delays.
DeleteYou aren't allowed to put up bird feeders in the park. I used to ignore this and put one up in a hidden place by the leaf yard, where it kept the small birds going against the parakeet invasion. But it was constantly stolen and replacing it became too expensive, so I gave up.
Is there a popular explanation for why the Royal Family should attract bad weather? It sounds like the kind of thing that would prompt the creation of folk tales and legends.
ReplyDeleteWhich are more demanding, you'd say? Grown up Great Tits, or young birds?
Tinúviel
There was certainly a feeling that the Kaiser had the devil's luck and that our royals suffered the vicissitudes of virtue.
DeleteOnce any Great Tit of any age realises that you'll feed it as often as it comes, it gets ruthlessly demanding. Luckily they're fairly sedentary so if you keep moving you're unlikely to be hit more than twice or three times. Coal Tits follow you for quite a long way.