Yesterday Conehead 54 saw a young Little Grebe on the Round Pond. Today I went to investigate and found three. They were right out in the middle and hard to see, but I think they were all young, with typical dark faces and dim stripes.
One of them came a bit nearer and you could see its face clearly.
These birds couldn't possibly have hatched here, as there is nowhere to nest. They must have flown in as soon as they became independent: Little Grebes are much more willing to fly than Great Crested Grebes. The Round Pond has plenty of fish but is otherwise less than ideal, as there is no cover for them to lurk under. I wonder whether they will discover the Long Water, a much better place and at the moment well stocked with small carp just the right size for them.
The Great Crested Grebe family were out of sight when I went past the island, but later could be seen from across the lake. They were passing through the territory of the pair at the west end of the island and one closed in on them ...
... followed by the other, and there was a brief altercation.This soon ended in a draw, as one side had the territorial advantage and the other had the advantage of having chicks, so they went their separate ways.
A Moorhen in the shallows at Peter Pan was carefully skirted by three carp.
The Coot nesting in the Italian Garden was turning over the eggs.
In the lake below, the resident Grey Heron was staring intently into a gap in the algae waiting for a fish to poke its head out.
Both the young herons were in the nest. You can still hear them clattering to be fed, but I don't think they will be fed for much longer. The adventurous young bird is already catching small fish, but there's a hard time ahead for the timid one.
The Tufted Duck family crossed the Vista in a line, shepherded by their mother.
The male Little Owl at the Round Pond called, setting me searching for it in the horse chestnut. It was very well hidden and I wouldn't have found it if I hadn't known where to look.
A young Blackbird in the Dell was under a yew tree picking up fallen fruit.
Mark Williams got a pleasing shot of a young Robin near the Henry Moore sculpture.
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A Willow Emerald damselfly hung from a reed at the southwest corner of the bridge.
A male Brimstone butterfly flitted around in a patch of catmint in the Rose Garden drinking nectar from the small flowers.
A Red Admiral butterfly perched on an evergreen oak in the shrubbery to drink sap oozing from a crack in the bark. These beautiful butterflies have very drab underwings and are well camouflaged when the wings are folded. This one only flicked its wings to show its colours when it was annoyed by a passing fly.
The Speckled Wood butterflies in the Flower Walk are always in the same place year after year, often on exactly the same bush.
I still think there is something unnatural in that Heron's attitude, beyond laziness. It looks listless, always skulking and crouching. As if it didn't have strength to walk around. We know its parents are feeding it well, otherwise it'd be long dead. I wonder if it is malformed in any way.
ReplyDeleteTinúviel
Yes. But I have seen it standing and walking normally, and just once out on a branch where it would have had to fly a short way to get there and back. If there really is something wrong with it, there's nothing we can do.
DeleteWell done Ralph for finding 3 juvenile Little Grebes on the Round Pond. Wonder where they originated from?
ReplyDeleteThe Round Pond, on an open hilltop, is much more visible to a bird than the tree-fringed main lake, especially at night when grebes fly. Strays often turn up here.
DeleteInteresting-thanks!
ReplyDelete