Another day of drizzle and showers, some heavy enough to require taking shelter under a tree. A female Blackbird near the Lido was glad of it, as it softened the ground and made it easier to dig up larvae and worms.
There was also an immature male, still without the adult's smart yellow bill and eye ring. Many of the immature Blackbirds we see here are winter migrants.
A Song Thrush was eating sloes in a blackthorn tree but I couldn't get a clear shot of it, so here is another beside the Long Water.
A Robin was eating the sloes too.
In the Rose Garden another female Blackbird perched on the edge of the Huntress fountain.
The Great Tits ...
... and Blue Tits came out of shelter for their pine nuts.
A flock of Long-Tailed Tits worked along the south shore of the Serpentine.
A Grey Wagtail paused on a post at the bridge ...
... and a Pied Wagtail hunted along the edge.
The Czech Black-headed Gull had no picnickers to beg from and was having to find its own food. Its usual method is to stare at people on the benches until they produce a bit of sandwich.
A Cormorant at the island looked down disapprovingly as another jumped on to the chain beside it.
The young Great Crested Grebe from the nest by the bridge was fishing by itself. No doubt it still needs to be fed by its parents, but it's showing signs of independence.
A young Moorhen trotted along the shore looking for small edible creatures among the fallen leaves.
The solitary Shoveller drake was feeding by the edge.
By the time I got to the last stop on the way home, the Robin at Mount Gate, the weather was clearing up. Too late.
I spent a while watching Cormorants fishing by the ramp used by swimmers at the Serpentine Lido. I was pleasantly surprised to see them fishing so close to the edge of the lake.
ReplyDeleteI also made my way to a rather wet and windy Round Pond and found a couple of Common Gulls.
I think they're fishing by the edge because they have eaten most of the larger fish in the middle and are having to go for the smaller ones that cluster under the concrete lip. The grebes are doing the same. The Cormorants will be leaving early this year, it seems.
DeleteGood to know that more Common Gulls have arrived
I can imagine the scene: Czech gull arrives, bats non-existent lashes in its lovely dark eyes, looks appealingly at picnickers and makes a plaintive call. They have emotional blackmail down to a science.
ReplyDeleteTinúviel
It's quite challenging. It marches up to you, stands quite close and stares fixedly at you. I think people feed it to make it go away, not because they think it's sweet.
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