Dank but thawing

It was a dull day, both in terms of bad light and because very little was happening, and I apologise for an uninteresting post. But at least the chill is receding and the ice is beginning to melt.

The Great Crested Grebes which arrived yesterday have spread out over the clear parts of the lake, and a pair were diving under the edge of the ice on the Long Water.

One of them surfaced under the willow behind a Mallard, which looked nervous.

In the Italian Garden, a Coot thought it would be refreshing to take a cold shower. I shall never understand Coots.

A Cormorant flew in from outside and landed under the Italian Garden, where the water from the borehole comes into the lake. Since the water is at the unvarying ground temperature of 10°C, it never freezes here even in the coldest weather.

The solitary Gadwall dabbled in a fountain pool on the edge of the ice, evidently finding some tiny edible creatures.

The resident Egyptian Geese stood together on the edge.

The male Egyptian under the Henry Moore sculpture was by himself. However, the day before yesterday I saw him here with his mate. Her nesting seems to be an on-off affair, and she may not go ahead with it.

The pair's nearest rivals were making a racket in a tree up the hill.

One of the teenage Mute Swans cruised down the ice-free edge of the Serpentine, oddly accompanied by a Coot. It found a bit of wood which, sadly, proved not to be good to eat.

A Grey Heron was fishing beside one of the boathouses, a favourite spot.

Gulls squabbled over the Serpentine island.

The dominant Black-Headed Gull looked over his territory from the top of the Big Bird statue.

I hadn't seen this Coal Tit in the Dell before, but it seemed to know what was going on and came down to the railings to take pine nuts.

The usual Coal Tit ...

... and Blue Tit were waiting in the Rose Garden for their daily pine nuts. This Blue Tit is distinctive, with a little crest always sticking up in a tuft.

The Robins in the middle of the Rose Garden were close to each other, one in a bush ...

... and one on the ground below. 

Normally they would be yelling at each other, but it seems that hunger has brought them to an uneasy truce. Probably later in the year they will turn out to be mates.

However, the Robin near the Henry Moore sculpture is still keeping well away from the nearest one along the path.

Two Little Owls

Another frosty night, and the Round Pond was almost completely frozen. Gulls loafed around on the ice, which they quite like as it's safe from people and dogs.

A patch at one side was kept clear by the waterfowl moving around on it. Two Shoveller drakes rested at the edge of the ice.

But it was a sunny morning, and both the Little Owls were out. We hadn't seen the male for some time.

The female was in a different tree.

The Robin by the Henry Moore sculpture took seven pine nuts.

The male Chaffinch in the Rose Garden was waiting in a flower bed.

A Jackdaw trotted over the horse ride beside the Serpentine to get his peanut.

Carrion Crows were milling around on the frozen ground in the Dell. They must have been finding something, or they wouldn't have stayed. One of them chased off a squirrel.

A Grey Heron on the island guarded the chicks in the nest at the top right of the picture.

Pigeon Eater was by the Dell restaurant thinking about lunch.

A pair of Great Crested Grebes were displaying near the boat hire platform.

This turned out to be because more grebes have arrived on the Serpentine, probably escaping from smaller ponds that were freezing over. The residents didn't like being intruded on.

Agile Moorhens are good at walking on slippery ice, Coots not so good.

A pair of Gadwalls were puzzled at getting through the floating ice on the Serpentine. It was easier to fly over it than to push through.

The Mute Swans were also hampered. The ice is too thin for them to walk on. They can push through it, but it's an effort. However, there is always some clear water on the Serpentine and grass to eat when the crowds have gone.

The Diana fountain continues to work in frosty weather, as its pipework and pump are underground. A pair of Egyptian Geese appreciated this.

The sun was setting as I went home through Mount Gate. Several Jays were waiting.

The Coal Tit was in a treetop and seemed reluctant to fly down, but eventually it came and took some pine nuts.

How I wish I could put up a feeder to help the small birds through the winter, but it would soon be removed on the orders of the management. I have tried feeders in hidden places, but these have always been stolen by rough sleepers to sell.

Frosty weather

A Green Woodpecker probed the lawn in the Rose Garden, looking for insects and larvae. It was having to work hard as the ground was still frozen after last night's frost.

The Round Pond is largely iced over, and a Herring Gull was picking up oatmeal which someone had kindly put on the ice. Thank goodness no one is paying any heed to those stupid notices all over the park about not feeding the birds. At these times they really need extra food, especially the smaller birds.

The Long Water is also mostly frozen. The Mute Swan family were in a clear patch at the edge. They would be well advised to move on to the Serpentine, which never freezes completely, as there will be at least two more nights of hard frost.

I had expected that all the Great Crested Grebes would leave, as they are wary of being iced in on account of their need for 50 yards of clear water to take off. The pair on the Long Water have left, probably going up the river. But there were still three on the Serpentine, two of them insouciantly displaying on the edge of the ice.

In spite of the morning sunshine it was a surprise to find the female Little Owl at the Round Pond out on a horse chestnut tree.

The pair of Chaffinches followed me from the Flower Walk to the pond, requesting pine nuts all the way.

The small birds in the Rose Garden were also very hungry. A Blue Tit looked down from a tree ...

... and a Coal Tit perched on a dead plant in the border.

At Mount Gate a Great Tit looked particularly fine in wintersweet flowers ...

... and so did a Robin in a dogwood bush. (I really haven't enhanced the colours in that picture, it's just as it came from the camera.)

A Wren foraged under a tree near the Henry Moore sculpture.

The Grey Herons on the island weren't doing anything interesting, but anyway here is a picture of the pair on the middle nest.

A Common Gull and a Black-Headed Gull stood side by side on a sign.

There are two of these dark Mallard drakes on the Serpentine, presumably brothers. The pattern, which includes a broader white neck ring, is one of the commoner variations of Mallard colour, which can range from completely black to completely white.

Ahmet Amerikali was on Hampstead Heath yesterday, where he found a male Dartford Warbler ...

... and got a splendid shot of a female Kestrel.

Return of the Great Black-Backed Gulls

It was a fine sunny day. A small flock of Redwings was flying around and hunting on the ground on the west side of the Italian Garden.

They were accompanied by two Song Thrushes.

A female Blackbird foraged in the leaf litter across the path from the Buck Hill shelter. This is the patch of recently cleared ground where I've also filmed a Dunnock and a Wren foraging. It must be full of insects and worms.

A male, probably her mate, perched in a tree on the other side of the path.

A Wren was also leaping around.

The usual Robin was just along the path and flew to my hand for some pine nuts.

The Robin at Peter Pan also came out.

A Coal Tit ...

... and a Blue Tit waited in a dogwood bush in the Flower Walk.

The male Chaffinch ...

... and his mate were in a flower bed in the Rose Garden.

There were lots of Jays. This is one of four that were demanding peanuts by the Speke obelisk.

The two Great Black-Backed Gulls visited the park again today and were standing on posts at Peter Pan. 

Here is one of them preening and fidgeting.

The Black-Headed Gull with the ring Yellow 2PSN is a regular winter visitor, usually seen on the Serpentine but today near the Round Pond. It has an unadventurous history, hatched on the Pitsea rubbish dump in Kent and never seen far from London.

A Grey Heron took a table at the Dell restaurant, shooed the Feral Pigeons ...

 and enjoyed some chips.

Coots chased each other on the Serpentine.