Mistle Thrushes are now quite scarce in the park, so it was good to see that this one hunting near the Diana memorial car park is one of a pair. They have nested successfully in this area in recent years.
It found a worm.
A Blue Tit perched in a small olive tree behind the Cavalry Memorial ...
... and a Long-Tailed Tit paused briefly on a twig.
The Robin pair in the Rose Garden have now relaxed enough to stay on the same twig, but they are still uneasy with each other.
There are Robins every few yards along the east side of the Long Water. This one was near the Buck Hill shelter.
A spell of weak sunshine in the afternoon was not enough to tempt the Little Owl at the Round Pond out of her hole.
When the Peregrines are away from the barracks Carrion Crows like to perch on the aerials on the top. The bizarre shape of Sir Basil Spence's pompous brutalist building generates strong updraughts when there is the slightest wind, and the crows enjoy playing in it.
Pigeon Eater hasn't been spending much time on his home turf of the Dell restaurant, but today he ...
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... and his mate were on the roof, both looking splendid in their new summer plumage.
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The three young Grey Herons in the nest at the east end of the island preened their scruffy feathers.
One of the older chicks in the upper nest was on the edge, a prelude to climbing around in the tree.
A Cormorant was reflected in the Long Water under the Italian Garden. The water is calm because the marble fountain has gone wrong for the umpteenth time since the new electric pump was installed in 2011.
A pair of Great Crested Grebes admired each other on the edge of the Serpentine.
A Moorhen on a post called to its mate on the next post. Perhaps this is as near as Moorhens get to singing.
The killer Mute Swan and his mate had chased off their teenagers and were swaggering around near Peter Pan.
Someone gave a swan the stem of a lettuce which it pecked at, didn't like, and abandoned.
Two male Egyptian Geese fought beside and on the Serpentine, egged on by their mates' loud quacking.
Hi Ralph,
ReplyDeleteI take it as crows don't suffer from vertigo.....
Jenna
They love being thrown about by the wind. The next time there's a gale, go to the Thames between Battersea Park and the Royal Hospital garden, and watch them joyously bucketing around in the gusts.
DeleteThe Moorhen is becoming an engrossing characteristic bird, with its behavioural traits. You often walk past them and overlook them for the common bog standard dull waterbird but more than meets the eye.
ReplyDeleteSean
There is no such thing as a bog standard waterbird. All are interesting in their own way.
DeleteThe way we're going with Moorhens, I wouldn't bat an eyelid were a Moorhen to deliver itself of a Song Thrush-worthy aria.
ReplyDeleteStrange that the Swan didn't like the stem of lettuce. They certainly gobble far more unpalatable vegetables.
No wonder the English say "silly goose" to people who behave like, well, geese, Egyptian in this case.
Tinúviel
Probably if the swan had been given some lettuce leaves it would have eaten them happily, but the stem is a tough and unpromising lump and hard to tackle with just a beak.
DeleteEgyptian Geese are not proper geese, they are halfway between geese and ducks, having some features of both. These features do not include intelligence. Real geese may get overexcited at times but they are quite rational.
Good to see Mistle Thrushes again Ralph. I struggled to see one at the start of the year but have seen a few since including a pair in my local park. Definitely scarcer than they used to be.
ReplyDeleteIn a couple of places I've visited they are more of a mountain bird, though not in the UK.
We used to have several breeding pairs in the park, but this is the only pair I've definitely seen this year. There is also one singing male on Buck Hill, but always high in a tree and hard to observe.
DeleteSad to see another species in retreat.
Delete