The park reopened after yesterday's closure because of the wind. It was really a pointless scare: the wind wasn't as strong as forecast and no trees have been brought down. Today was sunny with a beautiful golden winter light and there were a reasonable number of birds to see, but they weren't doing much and the pictures are very static.
One of the effects of feeding Great Tits is that the other small birds notice and come out with them, though few of these will come to your hand. The regular Great Tits in the Rose Garden ...
... have gathered Blue Tits ...
... Coal Tits ...
... Robins ...
... and a pair of Chaffinches.
Long-Tailed Tits, which are indifferent to humans, stay away from these gatherings (though exceptionally, Mark Williams has one in St James's Park that will take bits of suet from his hand). This one was bouncing about in the trees beside the Henry Moore sculpture.
The wind was still quite gusty and the Little Owl at the Round Pond didn't feel like coming out.
On the way up the hill to the pond a pair of Jays arrived to demand peanuts.
The Magpies at the Triangle, two parents and a young one now grown up, are regular customers.
The young Grey Herons now all look much alike, but going by past habits I think this one on the gravel strip in the Long Water is one of the most recent brood.
Pigeon Eater was in his usual place against a background of fallen leaves.
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Yesterday's wind brought down a lot more leaves and the water here is covered with them. They give the Moorhens a productive place to poke around for insect larvae.
There have only been Coots in central London for a century. They were deliberately introduced in the early 1920s by putting their eggs into Moorhen nests in St James's Park. Like almost all introductions it was a mistake. They have proliferated vastly and now outnumber the Moorhens by at least ten to one. Pointlessly aggressive, they will attack any bird and I have even see one go after a Mute Swan.
Leaves on the Long Water by the Italian Garden also improve the fishing for the visiting Cormorants by giving cover to small fish. I haven't seen a Cormorant with a larger fish for some time and it looks as if most of these have now been eaten.
One of the young Great Crested Grebes was also trying its luck here.
A group of five Red-Crested Pochards rested under the trees on the far side of the Vista.
Pigeon Eater's head is almost fully striped now. I wonder why LBBs get those stripes in their heads in their winter plumage. They go the opposite way to Black-headed gulls.
ReplyDeleteWhyever would anyone decide more Coots are needed in any one place.
Tinúviel
He is less conspicuous with his dark winter head, but has few predators and has no reason to hide. Evolution can go in opposite directions with success if it does no harm, I suppose.
DeleteIt is a great shame that coots were reintroduced into central London sooner or later they would have come back on their own - which would have been very interesting. Some reintroductions are a good thing e.g the Glanville fritillary in Hutchinson's bank means it is much more likely to survive in the UK.
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether Coots would have established themselves in central London without intervention. They bully the Moorhens, but sometimes weaker species gain the ascendancy. Look at the Jackdaws in Richmond Park, which almost completely exclude the larger Carrion Crows -- while here crows bully the smaller corvids unmercifully.
DeleteThe example of the Glanville Fritillary at Hutchinson's Bank is more like a reintroduction, like the admirable work with Great Bustards, Common Cranes etc. elsewhere. A counterexample from the insect world is the Harlequin Ladybird, deliberately brought in to control pest insects but becoming a pest itself.