A pair of Egyptian Geese on the Round Pond have brought out eight new goslings. They are attracting a crowd of human visitors but the parents are used to that and don't worry.
The Black Swan was touting for food on the edge of the Serpentine, with several Mute Swans. There was a good deal of pushing and chasing.
A young Mute Swan on the Long Water picked at the Coots' nest on the post at Peter Pan, probably looking for snails which swans are very keen on. The Coots were furious, but there was not much they can do against the huge intruder.
The dead iris leaves in the planters in the Italian Garden have been cut down, disturbing the local pair of Coots which have now started building a new nest in a different place.
There is still a little group of Shoveller drakes on the Long Water long after the others have left.
An Egyptian Goose stood on top of the Little Owls' tree at the Round Pond. I don't think they have ever tried to nest in this tree, as there are no side entrances to the hollow interior large enough for them to get in.
The owls themselves were both out enjoying the sunshine in the horse chestnut trees, the female to the north ...
... and the male to the east.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker looked for insects in the bark of a tree on the Parade Ground.
There is usually a pair of Jays near the Serpentine Gallery, and probably they will nest here. They usually build twig nests like Magpies, but occasionally use tree holes like Jackdaws.
A Blackbird dug for larvae in the Dell ...
... where a Coal Tit was waiting in the corkscrew hazel for me to put some pine nuts on the railings for it.
A Coal Tit followed me around the Rose Garden, taking pine nuts and flying away to cache them in cracks in the bark of trees.
A Blue Tit ate a pine nut on the twig.
A Robin waited in the bushes.
Long-Tailed Tits are nesting at the northwest corner of the bridge, and four can be seen here. There are probably two nests, but these sociable birds will help their relatives with raising young if they have lost a nest of their own.
A young Grey Heron in the nest at the east end of the island was flapping its big new wings. They haven't started climbing out of their nest yet. When they do, hopping from one branch to another teaches them how to fly.
The herons in the west nest were fussing around busily. They look as if they were really starting to nest, but we've seen lots of false starts with this pair.
That video of the swan/coot face off is almost dramatic. One can feel the Coot's dying to pick up a fight but restraining itself. Not even they in their glorious madness would fare well against a hulking swan in what is clearly a bad mood.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you're having sunshine. There's rain and even snow in Spain right now, and all our recently arrived swallows have made themselves scarce.
Tinúviel
Just when you think winter has finally given out, it leaps up and kicks you in the face. In 1975 it snowed here on the first of June, succeeded by a long hot summer that was beaten the following year when it got seriously torrid. We haven't had anything like that since.
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