The elusive Mandarin drake turned up at the Triangle, looking very fine.
Even when a Great Crested Grebe has been away from its mate for ten minutes, when the two are reunited they have a little greeting ceremony.
A Coot's life: build a nest, go out and have a fight, come back and carry on building.
The nest on the post at Peter Pan is growing at a tremendous rate.
Every year a pair builds against the net surrounding the patchy reed east of the Lido. Holes have been cut in the net so that the Coots can go in and build a well protected nest in the reeds, but they persist in making it on the outside of the netting, exposed to predators and passing boats.
Ahmet Amerikali got a good picture of a Moorhen in flight over the Long Water. They are not graceful but they get where they want to.
%202025%201a.jpg)
Yesterday I thought there were only two young Grey Herons left in the upper nest on the island. But today, looking from the shore side, I could see all three.
However, looking from the other side later, I could see only two. Herons do have a tendency to vanish inside their large nests when they sit down.
The young heron from last year was in the Dell stream as usual. The natural-looking rocks were brought in when the Dell was landscaped in the 1880s, transforming the back of an earth dam into a picturesque scene.
The female Little Owl was out in her favourite horse chestnut tree.
I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the leaf yard, but it was right inside and there was no chance of a picture. However, Ahmet found it in a better position.
%202025%201a.jpg)
He also got a fine picture of a Long-Tailed Tit in the Rose Garden carrying a bit of fluff to add to the lining of its nest in a bush.
%202025%201a.jpg)
One of the Blue Tits perched on a verbena stem ...
and a Coal Tit stayed for a brief moment on a teasel.
Another could be seen in the Dell on the corkscrew hazel bush.
A Starling shone in the sunlight on an umbrella at the Lido restaurant.
A Coot's Life sounds like a great title for a reality TV show.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what time perception is like, for a Grebe. I wonder if ten minutes for them feels longer than it would for us. After all, for a bird everything goes at a much higher speed than it does for us.
Tinúviel
I guess that for a bird everything seems to pass perhaps eight times slower than for us. I throw a pine nut up in front of my familiar Chaffinch perched on a twig. He sees it drifting down gently, and quite casually flies out and takes it as it reaches his level.
DeleteEven so, grebes are strangely and wonderfully ceremonious.