A Kestrel perched in a tree at the top of Buck Hill, and surprisingly it turned out to be male. We're used to the resident female who hunts here, but as far as I know she hasn't had a mate since 2018.
The sky over the hill was full of House Martins. This would have just been a visiting party, as August is too early for them to be massing for migration.
A Wren appeared in the bushes at the bottom of the hill.
A female Blackcap flitted around in the brambles near Peter Pan.
It's impossible to get past the south end of the bridge without being mobbed by the large family of Great Tits living in the bushes.
When you see Stock Doves they're usually in trees, but this one had come down to forage on the grass near the Queen's Temple.
A Carrion Crow stood on the wall in front of Zaha Hadid's giant plastic excrescence and gave it a critical look.
Most of the Pied Wagtails at the Round Pond are young and still in juvenile grey plumage. Evidently they've had a good breeding year, nesting in holes in the masonry of Kensington Palace.
It was quite windy and the female Little Owl was staying in her hole.
The sun-warmed woodland of the park creates strong upcurrents of warm air, and gulls assemble here in the late afternoon to gain as much height as possible before gliding off to their roosts for the night. These are mostly Black-Headed Gulls with a few larger Herring Gulls.
The Black-Headed Gull who owns the landing stage by the Diana fountain was late to return this year, but he was there today looking around with a lordly air.
The timid young Grey Heron at the island was still lurking in the nest. Its sibling was out of sight, probably exploring the bushes below.
A thick and smelly carpet of algae covers the north end of the Long Water. A heron wandered through it hoping to see a fish in a gap.
The bits of clear water at the edge are covered with duckweed. This Moorhen is often seen under the dead willow tree.
The Great Crested Grebe chicks at the island are growing fast and getting loud.
This drake on the Serpentine is a hybrid between a Common Pochard and a Tufted Duck. It looks superficially like a Pochard, but note the two-tone grey of the body feathers with the same pattern as the black and white of a Tufted drake, the colour of the head which is brown rather than ginger, and the orange eye halfway between the red of a Pochard and the yellow of a Tufted. This is quite a common hybrid and we've had several in the park over the years.
A Speckled Wood butterfly rested in the dappled sunlight of the Rose Garden shrubbery.
A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee hung from a scabious flower at the back of the Lido, holding on with its anchor-shaped feet.
I think you have a male kestrel in that picture Ralph. anyway, good to know kestrels are out and about.
ReplyDeleteYes, will change text. Very surprised as we haven't had a male Kestrel here since 2018 -- which is why I never bothered to check.
DeleteI wonder what is the limiting factor re kestrels. I somewhat doubt it's a shortage of male kestrels, as the territories around eg. St Paul's and Regent's Park are almost always occupied by a pair (though you may not see both birds). The Regent's Park birds have been provided with a nest box, which may have helped, but one would imagine that there would be natural sites in Hyde Park and the adjoining areas.
DeleteThere are certainly suitable sites, as the regular female did manage to breed a few years ago. I wonder whether they have been having trouble with the Peregrines or the Sparrowhawks.
DeleteHi Ralph, great news about the male kestrel..very encouraging..also very good to see some house martins...lovely pics of the grebes.....I have been assisting the local wildlife team up here, with an upsetting incident RE. The barn owls, I'll spare you the details ..as previously mentioned the REAL nature lovers FAR outnumber the scumbags who will harm it !!..regards,Stephen .
ReplyDeleteIt would be a surprise if this male Kestrel paired with the resident female. She must be pretty elderly now, though still functioning. She was seen on Buck Hill on 14 July.
DeleteWe should have the housemartins around for more than a month, happily. I estimate their usual departure date is around September 14th, but have seen them gracing the skies a week later than this: fabulous birds. :)
ReplyDeleteThere were too many for it to be the little colony on the Kuwaiti Embassy. So just a strolling flock and an abundance of midges.
DeleteSigh, ours are gone.
ReplyDeleteHoping against hope that we shall have a match and little baby Kestrels sometime next year.
Tinúviel
She did manage to breed six years ago. That's a long time in a Kestrel's life, but birds don't have the menopause.
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