A young Green Woodpecker flew up into a tree near the Speke obelisk. You can already tell it's male from the small red patch under its bill. On a female it would be black.
A female Blackcap ...
... and a young one appeared in the trees north of Peter Pan.
There were two Robins in the Flower Walk. This one was in the corkscrew hazel bush.
There was also a pair of Coal Tits.
A young Great Tit on the spiked railings by the bridge demanded a pine nut.
Someone had given a Carrion Crow two Cheesy Wotsits in the Italian Garden. I was surprised to discover that these alarmingly artificial-looking things actually contain cheese and that the bright orange colour comes from natural paprika extract and annatto.
The female Little Owl at the Round Pond was in her usual lime tree, but I couldn't find the others despite visiting twice.
One of the young Grey Herons had come down from the nest again to wander around the island. The other didn't feel like joining it and was staying put.
There are now two Great Crested Grebe chicks on the nest at the island. This was apparent when the parent stood up and they nearly fell out from under its wing. They are holding on with their own wings, which at this stage function as front legs.
Here is one of them crawling across the nest, and you can see how it uses its wings.
A Mute Swan near the Lido was preening and finished by flapping its wings. Its flight feathers haven't grown back yet, so it's still grounded while all the geese are flying around trying out their new wings.
The Tufted Duck family, still with nine ducklings, had come under the bridge on to the Long Water. They weren't in a good place for a picture and the ducklings were diving like fury, so I could only get four into this picture.
There are carp of different sizes in the Italian Garden pools. The returning Cormorants have noticed, of course, and are visiting to hunt the smaller ones.
A lovely Banded Demoiselle fly rested on an ivy leaf at the back of the Lido.
A Speckled Wood butterfly perched on a leaf in the Flower Walk in a place where there are Speckled Woods every year.
Two Buff-Tailed Bumblebees shared a thistle.
There were several Hornet Hoverflies in the buddleia near the bridge, but I didn't see another Pellucid.
It's almost like a little baby turtle. Almost that kind of four-limb movement, right? Grebes never cease to amaze.
ReplyDeleteTinúviel
It looks very reptilian -- not dinosaurs but something more primitive. But I think the important thing here is that even adult grebes have difficulty walking on their hugely modified legs, and small chicks can't do it at all. If you can't be a biped you have to be a quadruped.
DeleteGood to see the juvenile Green Woodpecker. A little while back I was wondering whether I was seeing fewer of them locally? However the last couple of weeks I've seen some juveniles & heard a couple, so perhaps they just went under the radar for a bit?
ReplyDeleteSome fine insect shots again. I'm presuming the Banded Demoiselles don't breed in the park?
There aren't many Green Woodpeckers in the park but they are breeding regularly and juveniles are quite often seen. It would seem safe to say that Banded Demoiselles aren't breeding here, as they are seen seldom and always singly.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ralph. As I expected.
ReplyDelete