Tiny squeaks from a cedar tree in the Flower Walk revealed two Goldcrests chasing each other.
A Robin came out in the flower bed below to collect some pine nuts.
A young one by the Speke obelisk ...
... shared a branch amicably with a female Blackbird.
The family of Greenfinches north of Peter Pan were in a yew tree. This is a female. The yew fruits aren't ripe yet but brambles growing up inside the tree provide plenty of blackberries.
A Wood Pigeon eating elderberries was on the point of falling out of the tree again.
Feral Pigeons at the Triangle enjoyed a communal wash and an opportunity to socialise.
The pigeons at the Dell restaurant had a choice of fish and chips or pizza.
Two Herring Gulls by the island called affectionately to each other and made the upward nod which shows that they are a pair.
Pigeon Eater was away, but his mate was minding the territory and there wasn't another big gull within a hundred yards.
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One of the young Grey Herons on the island had climbed out of the nest and was exploring the branches below.
A slightly older heron posed in a clump of purple loosestrife.
Another was fishing in the collapsed willow by the bridge, a good spot ...
... which is also used by the Great Crested Grebes nesting on the outside of the tree. A young Black-Headed Gull passed by but wasn't considered a threat.
However, there was no grebe on the nest at the landing stage. There was a Coot on it, but Coots will stand anywhere and I don't think it had chased the grebe off -- a nesting grebe would easily win such an encounter. So I don't know what happened, but let's hope it was only temporary and the grebes soon returned to their eggs.
The Mute Swan family had returned from a bullying session on the Serpentine and were at the Vista hoping for food from the Saturday vsistors. The young swans' wings are now developing but it will be quite a while before they can start flying.
Another family of Greylag Geese has arrived after nesting outside the park away from the gulls. Teenage Greylags have distinctive butterscotch-coloured feet and a slightly different feather pattern from that of adults.
A worker Honeybee and a drone shared an Indian Blanket flower in the Rose Garden.
I think that's why pigeons have done so well as a species, with their large social groups and an appetite for anything consisting of matter.
ReplyDeletePigeon Eater is such a character! It's like he's having an affair and disappears for days on end! What's he getting up too and where's he going... He rules his manor and you would think he would flaunt it.
I witnessed at my local park a few years back Coots reclaiming their old nest site, when GCG took it and the Coot came back few days later and predated their eggs. The Grebes a week later abounded the lake.
Sean
Coots predate eggs? There's some things I wish I didn't know!
ReplyDeleteTinúviel
I don't think Coots predate eggs, though I'm far from sure. I think the Coot was just occupying the area. The egg seemed to be intact, which it would not have been after a fox attack.
DeleteIt's weird to think of two Herring Gulls as a romantic couple. And yet here we are.
ReplyDeleteI had read "bullying season" rather than session and I thought maybe they were nuisances seasonally.
Tinúviel
Gull couples of all species seem to be quite affectionate and you often see these displays, all the year round. And they are nuiusances all the year round too.
DeleteA little bit of pedantry from me Ralph, but that Heron is amongst Purple Loosestrife rather than Rosebay. Nice shot though.
ReplyDeleteThank you as always for the correction. Careless of me, not for the first time or the last.
DeleteYes, I vaguely recall the same last year. Not to worry-I just enjoy the photos!
Delete