A surprisingly young Robin perched on the railings at Peter Pan. It must have been hatched very late, as the other young Robins are now completely adult in appearance.
The Robin at Mount Gate is now completely restored to its usual smartness.
A Robin lurked in a bush on the edge of the Diana fountain with spindly mauve flower spikes.
I didn't know what the plant was, so ran PlantNet on it and was told that it was a Lilac Chastetree, Vitex agnus-castus. This called for investigation, which revealed that it was sacred to the virgin goddess Hestia or Vesta. It is also said to be an aphrodisiac, so chastity requires extra effort. The agnus in its name doesn't refer to a lamb but to the Greek ἁγνός, chaste, so it's chaste in both Greek and Latin. Differently accented, ἄγνος is the name of the tree, and also -- somehow inevitably in ancient Greek -- of a kind of fish and a bird.
The Coal Tit in the Dell was also lurking. Usually it's quite happy to be photographed, but it was in a skittish mood.
On a grey day with occasional drizzle there weren't many people at the Lido restaurant, and a Magpie reclining on a table looked bored. But it jumped up eagerly enough when I threw it a peanut.
A Jackdaw was much more alert.
A Herring Gull pecked at an apple and carried it off to a quiet place to eat it in peace.
The single Great Crested Grebe chick from the nest at the Dell restuarant was squeaking non-stop.
A young Cormorant with a very white front perched on the big fallen poplar in the Long Water.
An adult seemed to be preaching to a congregation of Pochards.
A Greylag Goose washed, flapped, picked up some preen oil from the gland on its behind, and settled down to a good preen. The oil keeps its feathers both smooth and waterproof.
One of the six teenage Mute cygnets was near the Lido socialising with two of last year's young swans. Probably they are brothers and sisters, but do they know it?
Swans sprawled across the narrow path at the Triangle, making a smelly mess. Sometimes they block the path completely and people have to go over the top of the bridge.
In spite of the drab weather there were plenty of Common Carder bees on the stonecrop flowers.
Whenever I go past the flowering ivy hedge at the back of the Lido I look for an Ivy Bee. I photographed a striped insect but it turned out to be just anothe Batman Hoverfly.
The pomegranate tree by the Big Bird statue has both flowers ...
... and fruit.
The Magnolia grandiflora tree at Mount Gate has produced large fruits slightly like the fireball on top of the Monument to the Great Fire of 1666.
I've never ever seen a Magpie sit down before, and I've also noticed they are not as tame like the Jackdaws or Crows and more skittish and alert. I've never been able to get close to one for a portrait shot.
ReplyDeleteSean
I have never had any difficulty in making friends with Magpies. But they are discerning creatures. I suggest several months of fasting, prayer and beautiful thoughts to purge your soul of impurity.
DeleteWell, going to the same place every single day for over 12years, I suppose you're going to make at least one friend.
DeletePoor Magpie looks miserable; it must have been quite the spectacle to see it perk up when it saw you. I remember going birding during a very cold winter day, years ago. We were having a picnic in the ruins of a small abandoned church when we saw a Magpie huddling (I can't describe it in any other terms) and looking at us with longing. It looked miserable and listless. We were having cold ham, so we tossed some bits to the poor thing. Sure enough it shook off the exhaustion, made a beeline for our lunch and promptly absconded with way more ham than we had allotted to it!
ReplyDeleteAmazing that there should be a young Robin still in its pied feathers when it's almost the turn of the season. I like a lot to be surprised, speaking personally - it proves that they go about their secret business and carry on with their lives even when I don't see them doing so.
Tinúviel
Yes, I think Magpies have a way of looking sad and neglected as a way of begging from humans. That Magpie changed in a moment from looking tatty and derelict into a perfectly normal bird when it jumped off the table to grab the peanut on the ground. It makes you realise how intelligent they are and how adept at manipulating us.
DeleteP.S.: Does the raised wings of last year's young swan mean aggressiveness, or recognition, I wonder.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about the attitude of those swans, but I think it was a sign of a cautious and defensive approach on both sides. This year's cygnets have been going around in their own private gang of six since they were hatched, and now they have to take their place in the wider community -- and fight their way up the pecking order.
Delete