Tuesday, 26 November 2024

Making the most of the sunshine

A sunny day brought the Little Owl at the Round Pond out on a branch of her nest tree.


Several winter hunting flocks of Long-Tailed Tits were going around the park. This one was by the Speke obelisk ...


... where Jays ...


... and Jackdaws arrived to demand peanuts.


A female Great Spotted Woodpecker searched over a fallen tree.


The male Chaffinch in the Rose Garden appeared in a bush.


The Robin by the Henry Moore sculpture was waiting beside the path with a background of fallen leaves.


Another one perched on the huge withered leaves of Chilean rhubarb by the Italian Garden.


I thought the Cormorants had eaten all the medium-sized fish, but Ahmet Amerikali got a good shot of one with a perch under the Italian Garden.


A Grey Heron was using the deserted Coot nest at the bridge as a fishing platform.


The Black-Headed Gull on the landing stage had cleared out all rivals and gave the camera a challenging stare.


There are now plenty of Common Gulls at the Round Pond.


It looks as if the Black Swan may have a new friend.


The female Wigeon wanted to come ashore to graze, but the path was too busy with people for her to walk across. Then she remembered that luckily she can fly.


A pair of Gadwalls hurried across in the evening light.


A Tufted drake at the Vista was looking very smart.


I think this fungus is a Dryad's Saddle, Cerioporus squamosus.


It was dark by the time I headed home, just making it before the gates of Kensington Gardens were locked. There was a view of the floodlit St Mary Abbots church beyond the Speke obelisk.

7 comments:

  1. Oh wow, that picture of St Mary Abbot church looks like something straight out of a Lord of the Rings movie. Amazing.
    Could the Wigeon really have forgotten that she can fly? She really did look at a loss about what to do.
    Tinúviel

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    1. It looks to me like a Russian rocket for launching satellites, surrounded by boosters. The building is by Sir George Gilbert Scott, who also designed the Albert Memorial. (Years ago I saw a picture of the Memorial, with Albert sitting in the middle, captioned 'Britain prepares to launch its first man into space.)

      Ducks are, shall we say, not given to forward planning.

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  2. It was a gorgeous day yesterday (even recorded 2 butterfly species!).

    Delightful shots of the Little Owl (I was pleased to see one yesterday too) & the Jay. Good to watch the Wigeon video-looks a little incongruous on the path there.

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    1. Yes, a Wigeon really isn't at home on tarmac, and she had to run a gauntlet of Egyptians and people to walk across. She has a great liking for the good short grass on the other side, and I have several times seen her grazing there alone, completely away from the other ducks which would rather dive and dabble for algae.

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  3. Has the Wigeon really been on the Round Pond this whole time? I thought she left after the first two days! I really must go and see it some time soon
    Theodore

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    Replies
    1. Yes, or at least one of the two first seen. There today. She often grazes on the north side of the pond, surrounded by Egyptians.

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