Most of the songbirds have fallen silent by the beginning of July but a Song Thrush behind the statue of Peter Pan was still in good voice, though having to content with the calls of Black-Headed Gulls.
The Wren I photographed yesterday in the Flower Walk was still having trouble with Magpies near its nest. It zigzagged around scolding loudly. Here it is on one of the gateposts.
We've also seen this young Robin before, but there's no harm in another picture.
An adult Robin in the Dell perched on a gardener's bag, waiting for a worm to be turned up. Worms are in short supply in the hard ground, and a bit of rain this morning hasn't made much difference.
It's hard for the Little Owls too, as worms are a normal part of their diet. The male at the Serpentine Gallery could be seen in the nest tree, but I couldn't find the owlet.
The two young Carrion Crows on the grass below are still nagging their parents unmercifully.
An exceptionally stupid young Feral Pigeon perched on the Peregrines' ledge on the barracks tower. The male Peregrine had been there shortly before and can't have been far off.
Quite a few Black-Headed Gulls have now returned to the Long Water. There are no young ones with them, and probably the gulls that have bred are still at their breeding grounds.
One of the three young Grey Herons in the newest nest on the Serpentine island could be seen. The nest extends some way to the right behind the leaves, and when the young birds sit down there they can't be seen from the shore.
At the other end of the island the Coot in the nest on the chain seems to be untroubled by the Cormorant higher up the chain. I think the Cormorant that usually stands here is the same one every year, since most Cormorants prefer to stand on the posts and several of these were free.
The Coots on the Mute Swans' nesting island on the Long Water exercised their strange privilege of being left alone by the swans, which were cruising nearby.
The Mandarin family were on the edge of the Round Pond, with the Mallards cruising not far away.
A Small Skipper butterfly drank nectar from a cranesbill flower in the Flower Walk.
There was also an unidentifible small bee, maybe a Colletes species.
A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee climbed up a purple loosestrife flower in the Italian Garden.
A Marmalade Hoverfly browsed on a Black-Eyed Susan flower behind the Lido ...
... and there was another in a clumb of phlox in the Rose Garden.
There are few things more agreeable than the livery of a young Robin first getting its red (orange, rather) feathers.
ReplyDeleteThe Wren looks like it's about to go ballistic.
That pigeon isn't going to be long for this world, it looks.
Tinúviel
That Wren really was going ballistic. It was hurling itself around like a squash ball bouncing off a wall. When they get furious they do it thoroughly.
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