Some strange and exotic ducks have flown on to the Serpentine.
Enquiries via WhatsApp established that four of them are White-Faced Whistling Ducks and two seem to be hybrids of these with Fulvous Whistling Ducks. Both original species are natives of Central and South America and sub-Saharan Africa. It's thought that these are offspring of birds in the Regent's Park collection.
They are not worried by humans staring at them, and it's clear that they are experienced park birds.
Two Mandarin drakes were picking midges off the surface of the lake, but one of them fancied an easier meal of sunflower hearts and came over.
The Gadwall drake in the Italian Garden was with his Mallard mate, but there was no sign of the Mallard drake which has been the third member of the trio. The Gadwall has been rather aggressive towards him recently and may have given him the push.
Two Mute Swans had a brief but furious fight at the Lido ...
... and the loser got chased away.
The Coots in the Italian Garden fountain have built a second nest of iris leaves and were feeding their eight chicks.
The Little Owls at the Round Pond were together in their new lime tree home, making small affectionate calls to each other.
A Pied Wagtail on the Serpentine was collecting insects to take to its nestlings. They nest in holes in walls and trees.
Ahmet Amerikali photographed a Long-Tailed Tit doing the same by its nest at the southwest corner of the bridge.
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He also got a close-up shot of a Blackcap near the Henry Moore sculpture.
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A male Chaffinch caught a midge, but ate it on the spot.
A Dunnock in the bushes near Peter Pan clung to a stem and occasionally answered the song of a Robin. You can also hear a Blackcap and a Great Tit.
A Great Tit in hawthorn blossom was getting impatient at being photographed and wanted a pine nut now.
A Blackbird stood proudly near the Speke obelisk. He has a mate in the brambles.
A Speckled Wood butterfly in the Flower Walk was in mint condition for a change. All the others I've seen so far have had damaged wings from fighting.
Bluebells and cowslips have come out together by the leaf yard.
It's amazing that a Dunnock and a Robin should answer each other like that. Normally I find that small birds tend to ignore other species.
ReplyDeleteThose are very handsome ducks. I have never seen their like before.
I can't begin to express how happy the picture of the two Little Owls together makes me.
Tinúviel
I do sometimes hear songbirds of different species appearing to answer each other. or at any rate singing alternately.
DeleteI was completely at a loss trying to recognise those ducks, but at least I know whom to ask for help.
It would have been pleasing to have made a video of those owls, but the rather primitive autofocus of the small camera would not have held them in that very dim place, and by the time I had fixed the distance with manual focus -- not easy in a hard-to-see place -- the exposed lens would have put them off. They don't mind the big camera as it has a very deep lens hood and they don't see the glitter of the glass eye looking at them.
Interesting new arrivals. I recognised the White-faced Whistling Ducks as I've seen a fair number in the wild as well as more recently at the London Wetland Centre but didn't recognise the hybrids, but the parentage looks right.
ReplyDeleteA few months back a flock appeared in Herts, which I suspect were different birds.
There were four White-Faced in Regent's Park. Four here only two miles away. Surprised they could all fly. Don't know about the hybrids, but the same origin seems likely.
DeleteThanks for the information.
ReplyDelete