The young Grey Herons in the nest on the island never stop fidgeting. Soon they will start climbing around in the tree, a perilous game as they can't fly yet, but they never seem to fall out.
No wonder their parents are keeping at a distance.
The killer Mute Swan's mate flapped aggressively at a heron on the gravel strip in the Long Water. It took no notice.
It was reported that the pair of Egyptian Geese on the roundabout at Marble Arch had hatched eight or nine goslings, but by the time I got there only one was left.
Jenna said she had seen a lot of herons there shortly before, so we have a fair idea of what happened to the poor little creatures. This is in fact the second Egyptian brood in the park: one that appeared a few days ago vanished almost immediately.
But dogged persistence wins in the end and the number of Egyptians in the park is steadily increasing. There were at least a hundred scattered around the north end of the Parade Ground where the Wasteland didn't reach.
This area of bare earth has now been covered with turf, but that hasn't budged the Fieldfare from its place under the trees. The new turf must come with worms already in it so it remains a suitable feeding place.
The bird didn't mind a passing squirrel, but something else caused it to fly up to a branch.
Pigeon Eater may not take Moorhens, but this one was scared of him and scuttled off as he strolled up.
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A Wren climbed nimbly down the railings at the Triangle.
The familiar Hyde Park male Chaffinch saw me from a long way off and flew into the Dell to be fed.
The wattle bushes in the Rose Garden were full of waiting Great Tits ...
... and one of the Coal Tits, which saw a gap in the constant traffic of larger birds and managed to take a pine nut from my hand.
Its mate was on the other side of the garden checking a branch for larvae.
One of the Coal Tits at Mount Gate also came out.
The Robin at the southwest corner of the bridge is now a regular customer ...
... but this one in the Flower Walk remains shy and was shifting around nervously on a twig. It did eventually fly down to collect a pine nut from the ground.
I passed the new Bulgarian church on my way home and the door was open. The interior is nearing completion. Of course the vaults are dummies, but they will look rather fine. It's a most unexpected thing to see in a small London mews house.
Orthodox churches still keep the aura of sacredness, even if they're not consecrated yet. It's something about the play of light and space.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder how the small birds organize their constant flights to and from your hand without need for air controllers!
Tinúviel
Often two birds come out at once and hiss angrily at each other. The loser does a quick circuit and lands a couple of seconds later. It's lucky they can stop quicker than helicopters. There's never an actual collision.
DeletePigeon Eater is a master of feigning indifference, let us not forget.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to an update when those fake vaults have been illustrated, or does that lighting preclude the possibility? Jim
Yes, it is going to be painted, with a proper picture of the Pantocrator on the inside of the dome. I found an artist's impression of the interior, with a 3D image of how it has been fitted into a small two-storey mews house.
DeleteNow I understand why my Russian teacher says she can read and understand Bulgarian with no problem!
DeleteTinúviel
The use of those odd italic-style letters seems to be from an effort to look traditional. The notices on the embassy are in ordinary cyrillic letters.
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