Two Grey Wagtails visited the Italian Garden to catch midges, a reliable source of insect food even when the weather turns cold.
Long-Tailed Tits worked through the trees on the edge of the Long Water,
The Coal Tit in the Dell is getting slightly less camera-shy, and came out on a yew branch before whizzing down to take a pine nut from the railings.
It was joined by a Great Tit, but they are fearless and will come to anyone's hand if food is on offer.
The Robin at the southwest corner of the bridge will take food from my hand ...
... and so will this one singing on the yew hedge in the Flower Walk ...
... but the Robin at Mount Gate remains nervous although I have known it for quite a while.
A young Herring Gull by the Serpentine was eating a large perch, which it certainly didn't catch. It must have found it dead and floating, and had carried it some way from the water to a quiet place under the trees where it could eat undisturbed by the other gulls.
Pigeon Eater, in his usual place on the roof ...
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... was resting after a heavy meal and couldn't be bothered to chase off this one-year-old gull when it landed next to him. He pretended to be asleep, perhaps to save face as he has a reputation to consider.
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The Great Crested Grebe family from the east end of the island were also resting, and a Black-Headed Gull that was hanging around hoping to grab a fish from them had to find its own food.
The single chick from the Dell restaurant was practising fishing, with and without its mother who was nearby.
Cormorants on the Long Water worked their way down the lake in a gang, devouring fish all the way.
The large fallen branch from the Lombardy poplar at Peter Pan provided a resting place for Moorhens, Shovellers and a single Gadwall drake. The nearest Shoveller is female, and the other two are drakes that are either immature or in eclipse. They will get their bright breeding plumage in the winter.
A colder day reduced insect activity, but the tough Buff-Tailed Bumblebees were still browsing on Michaelmas daisies in the Rose Garden ...
... and there was a Batman Hoverfly on the ivy at the back of the Lido.
I wonder if all that hair gives them insulation, in addition to the ability to load more pollen.
ReplyDeleteThe wagtail is such a graceful thing. It looks like it's walking on water.
I've read, I think it was the Spectator, an announcement asking British gardeners to put up more good for the Robins to help them through the autumn and winter. Are weather conditions worse than other years?
Tinúviel
Yes, I think being fuzzy does really help bumblebees keep warm. They can warm themselves up by buzzing their wings, as Honeybees can and do to warm their hives. I have seen bumblebees flying even in January.
DeleteThe RSPB does indeed approve of feeding small birds to keep them alive through the winter but a cynic might point out that this is because they sell bird food, and very expensive it is. I buy peanuts and pine nuts at much lower prices from Amazon.