The whole Great Tit family at the bridge arrived to take pine nuts. It didn't take long for the young ones to get the idea. They are greener than the adults and their heads are dull, while those of the adults are glossy.
The Feral Pigeons in the Rose Garden were in a belligerent mood, probably males fighting over a female.
A male Chaffinch in the Rose Garden was expecting to be fed with a pine nut thrown into the air for him to catch. I don't know how he got the idea, since the Chaffinch I feed in Kensington Gardens is over a mile away.
Ahmet Amerikali found a female Blackcap ...
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... which was chasing off a Chiffchaff in the dead hawthorn tree near the Henry Moore sculpture.
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A Wren at Mount Gate carried a cricket and a small white larva to feed its young.
I didn't see the owlet at the Round Pond, but its father was active, nattering angrily at a Magpie and flying into a horse chestnut tree.
His sharp eyes spotted a beetle on the dead tree and he swooped down and pounced on it ...
... and ate it.
A Grey Heron in the nest on the Serpentine island was looking after the chicks.
A closer view of the chicks, growing fast but still looking punky and primitive.
The first Black-Headed Gulls have returned to the Long Water.
Another picture by Ahmet: a Great Crested Grebe catching a small fish near the Lido.
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The youngest Egyptian goslings on the Serpentine are now reduced to six. They were preening on the edge as their mother charged over them to repel an intruder.
A Red-Crested Pochard drake was catching midges flying low over the surface of the Long Water. He's looking tatty as he is going into eclipse.
A male Emperor dragonfly rested on a reed under the Italian Garden.
Plenty of Meadow Brown butterflies were flying over the long grass between the Serpentine Gallery and the Queen's Temple. They wouldn't stop to be photographed, but I got one later on Buck Hill.
The giant pumpkin has turned out to be a disappointing 15 ft tall. To be fair to Yayoi Kusama, she only describes it as a 'Large Scale Pumpkin'. It's not clear what's in the many large canvas bags on the lorries.
Hi Ralph, some lovely pics of the little owl, especially the second one....what an intriguing notion that male chaffinches can "tell" one one another about a friendly human food source !...that pineapple structure is a very strange looking thing...it is a shame that people (i.e. park users) can't have more of a say on things, regards,Stephen.
ReplyDeleteIf you asked park users what they wanted, I fear the results wouldn't please any of us. Look how popular the dismal Winter Wasteland is.
DeleteAh, I see.....I guess there is no accounting for not only poor taste, but a complete disregard for the wildfowl/animals..(case in point, foxes)..oh, well it was only a thought....I still owe you some long overdue barn owl/general pics.but have limited PC availability...regards,Stephen.
ReplyDeleteI now must ask myself how that Chaffinch got the memo that there were pine nuts aplenty to be had courtesy of the kindly tall man friends with owls and grebes. The Chaffinch grapevine must be prodigious.
ReplyDeleteTinúviel
I'm simply baffled. They certainly aren't the same bird. Both have virus-damaged feet but in different ways.
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