The whole Hobby family could be seen today hunting around the Queen's Temple and the Physical Energy statue, where there were still a few House Martins to interest them. The two young ones perched together in the top of a plane tree ...
... with a parent in the next tree ...
... and after I had gone I distantly saw the other parent flying in their direction. The tree in the background is the big black poplar at the back of the temple where they often perch when they aren't in the planes by the statue.
I couldn't see the Little Owl at the Round Pond at first and was going away, but then she considerately called a couple of times and I managed to find her well hidden in the horse chestnut tree.
Probably this was a coincidence. It seems most unlikely that she wanted to be photographed, and she probably thinks my daily visits are a nuisance.
A Chiffchaff flitted about in a bramble patch near the Henry Moore sculpture.
A Jay perched in the insect-damaged horse chestnut nearby.
The adult Grey Heron had regained possession of the sculpture, and the young one that had tried to claim the territory was nowhere to be seen.
A heron fishing under the Italian Gardens fountains accidentally grabbed some twigs, but then got a couple of very small fish.
A Robin sang in a tree anemone behind the Albert Memorial.
A Great Tit came out in the buckthorn tree at Mount Gate to take a pine nut.
Looking up the Dell from the lower end, I got a distant glimpse of the usual Grey Wagtail on the edge of the waterfall.
It had gone by the time I got round to the top, but later it reappeared by the Lido restaurant terrace, where it found a small white larva.
A young Black-Headed Gull played with a fallen plane leaf in the Serpentine.
A Great Crested Grebe managed to feed a chick while they were dodging out of the way of an advancing pedalo.
The other chick got fed a couple of minutes later.
It was also feeding time on the Long Water.
The Black Swan has returned from the Round Pond. He was under the bridge in an aggressive mood chasing some Mute Swans. He's probably lost status while he was away and needs to regain it.
God, how I love Robins. Their song is as necessary as daily food.
ReplyDeleteI have long suspected that the female Little Owl is very, very fond of you. You try to play it down as coincidence often, but it's remarkable how she keeps appearing or calling or posing when you're around.
Tinúviel
I always talk to her kindly and praise her beauty and thank her for appearing. Heaven knows whether any of this gets through. At any rate she tolerates me, while others make her flee.
Delete