A sunny day brough the female Little Owl at the Round Pond back to her usual branch in the lime tree.The leaves are fully out now, making it hard to get a picture.
A Pied Wagtail was collecting insects for its chicks on the shore of the Serpentine.
The male Robin at Mount Gate was singing in a treetop above the bushes where his mate is now on her nest.
Long-Tailed Tits are nesting in the brambles behind the Queen's Temple.
This Blue Tit in pink hawthorn blossom in the Rose Garden was the first one to come to my hand months ago. It has now brought all its friends and relations along to take pine nuts.
A Wood Pigeon was eating the flowers.
A Carrion Crow drank in the Huntress fountain, which is now working again after an electricity cable got disconnected and cut power to the whole east end of the park.
One of the young Grey Herons on the island had climbed to the top of the small tree where its nest is. They will be flying and coming down soon.
A heron in the Dell stream looked at the local pair of Mallards.
There are still a few Cormorants. Two were on a fallen Lombardy poplar in the Long Water as a pair of Great Crested Grebes cruised by.
Coot chicks preened on fallen kerbstones at the Peter Pan waterfront.
The Coot nesting at the bridge was turning the eggs.
They have brought some surprisingly large branches to the nest. I've never seen a Coot moving a really big branch and have no idea how they do it.
Whenever a Coot sees a Moorhen it is sure to start harassing it.
The Mute Swans nesting on the grassy bank at the back of the Lido seem firmly established. I sent a text to the Wildlife Officer asking him to put a temporrary fence round it, but it's a hopeless place and I very much doubt the swans will succeed.
The male swan at the east end of the Lido is still obstinately sitting on the straw that was provided for him and his mate to take into their nest in the reeds.
The Egyptian Geese at the Triangle are now down to two goslings ...
... but the survivor on the other side of the lake is still doing well.
Hi Ralph,
ReplyDeletethe problem with the swan nest is even if fenced they need to make sure she can get out to get water etc. I don't see how it should be feasible. It's too far from the bank.
Jenna
The barrier would have to have a gap at the side, of course. It would be more of a deterrent than an actual defence, to keep people at a respectful distance. And if a loose dog approached, an angry swan could probably keep it at bay in the entrance.
DeleteDarn. I wish swans were more reasonable. But once something gets into those big heads of theirs, no matter how harmful to them, they don't change course.
ReplyDeleteI can almost picture the entire Blue Tit clan following in the footsteps of the patriarch to raid you for pine nuts.
Tinúviel
A few years ago a swan nested completely in the open, on the grass a few yards from the lake. The area was fenced off with temporary barriers, leaving a gap of course. The nest was bound to fail and it did, but at any rate the swans escaped injury.
Delete