The young male Little Owl in Hyde Park was visible for the third day running. He is becoming resigned to being photographed, but you still have to approach the tree carefully pretending not to be interested.
A Cetti's Warbler was calling in the scrub east of the Lido. When a small brown bird appeared in a tree there was just time for one hasty shot, but it turned out to be a Chiffchaff ...
... which was passing through with a flock on Long-Tailed Tits, as small warblers often do.
There were more Long-Tailed Tits and another Chiffchaff in a treetop beside the Long Water.
The two Coal Tits were whizzing about in the yew tree in the Dell.
A Blue Tit looked out of the rose bush where I saw the Robin yesterday.
The Robin was underneath looking for insects among the fallen rose hips.
The beans on the catalpa tree in the Rose Garden ripen later than the one in Kensington Gardens, and the Rose-Ringed Parakeets are still eating them. One had to work hard to extract the small seeds from a pod.
The Robin at the soutthwest corner of the bridge was waiting in an oak.
A Starling at the Lido restuarant made off with a chip.
A Carrion Crow near the Lido was eating a drowned squirrel, and when a young Lesser Black-Backed Gull tried to claim a share it was driven off. But it was probably the gull that hauled the squirrel out of the lake in the first place.
Pigeon Eater was in his usual place preening. He would have won against the crow.
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A Jay flew over the Cormorants on the fallen poplar at the Vista.
A Great Crested Grebe chick at the west end of the island had just been given a fish, so of course the other chick wanted one too.
The single chick at the east end of the lake was preening after a session of fishing practice.
Two Mute Swans flew high over the Serpentine heading east.
A clump of yucca in the Dell is in flower. The large strong rhizomes from which the leaves and flowers emerge are striking.
I thought that was a Penguin! on the far bottom left of the fallen tree. If Cormorants do walk (haven't seen before) would imagine they waddle similar to a Penguin, with their large clumsy webbed feet and tall body overhanging and counter balancing their stance.
ReplyDeleteSean
The Grebe teen's belly is as shining white as that of its parents. I wonder what evolutionary purpose does such blindingly white colour serves.
ReplyDeletePigeon Eater would take on an entire murder of crows if it suited his fancy.
Tinúviel
A white underside makes the grebe less visible from below when it's on the surface. From below the surface looks like a shining mirror, so white blends in best.
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