The little Mandarin on the Round Pond was having a quarrel with a Carrion Crow. Its tough early life has made it unusually aggressive.
The Great Crested Grebe on the nest under the Dell restaurant balcony was shouting at Pigeon Eater, though he had only come close to pick up a bit of pizza crust someone had thrown to him.
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He was on the water with his mate and offspring -- he's on the left in this picture. I'm not sure whether there is one young one or two, since two have been seen begging. One of these may just have been trying it on
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All was quiet at the nest on the island ...
... and at the landing stage. Waterproof grebes don't mind the drizzle.
One of the off-duty grebes preened, ate a feather that had come loose, stretched a leg and went to sleep. But their leisurely life will be overturned when they have chicks to feed.
A Wood Pigeon was not enjoying the rain but had to put up with it.
A female Great Spotted Woodpecker on a dead tree on the island was preening and making chippy calls.
The cooler weather has brought out more small birds in the Rose Garden. A Great Tit applied for a pine nut in an elaeagnus bush ...
... and a Blue Tit waited in a catalpa.
A Magpie posed elegantly on a stump.
A young Grey Heron climbed over the collapsed willow at the bridge.
A Moorhen was climbing on the outside of the tree. They nest in a hole here but I have never managed to find where it is.
Both Peregrines were on the tower when I arrived, but by the time I got round to it the female had flown off.
The hemp agrimony bush in the Dell is a magnet for insects. There were several Hornet Hoverflies, which are among the more realistic hoverfly mimics. Its colouring makes it less likely to be eaten by a bird -- though not all that much, as birds have sharp eyes.
There was a Jersey Tiger Moth here again ...
... and of course, several of the ubiquitous Buff-Tailed Bumblebees.
There are a lot of Jersey Tigers around at the moment. This one was in the Rose Garden.
The colouring of these moths is also protective, though in a different way from that of hoverflies that mimic bees in what is known as Batesian mimicry. The mimicry of tiger moths is Müllerian: all are foul-tasting and they have evolved a common signal to make this apparent to birds. It isn't the stripes, though these may work as dazzle camouflage. It's the bright red, orange or yellow hindwings that are the warning.
The park is looking healthy for Grebes, I must try and get a spare day to see them close in with nest activities.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say that the Weeping Willow tree is my favourite of all trees. The long saggy overhanging branches and relationship with water.
Sean
The almost simultaneous decision by three pairs of grebes to start nesting does support the theory that they are motivated entirely by the supply of small fish suitable for feeding chicks.
DeleteThe angle at which it sticks out a leg is so funny. Like a ballet dancer performing his stretch exercises.
ReplyDeleteI knew the little Mandarin was a tough customer, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought he'd make a Crow back down.
The nesting Grebe knows Pigeon Eater is very dangerous. He may be pretty, and we all love him, but he's murder on (yellow) legs.
Now I cannot get out of my mind the image of a Great Tit filing a report petitioning for an increase of pine nut provisions.
Tinúviel
Grebes' legs are very odd. To accommodate their unique swimming action all the angles of joints have been changed. No wonder they can hardly walk.
DeleteIn bird confrontations the degree of fury makes all the difference, not size or armament, An angry thrush defending a nest can rout a crow.
Pigeon Eater is death to ducklings, goslings and Coot chicks. But I think that a grebe might be better placed, at first carrying the young and then when the slightly older offspring can crash-dive in hundredths of a second. I hope I'm right.