The familiar Robin in the Rose Garden posed prettily before accepting some pine nuts.
When it had finished eating it started singing, and was promptly answered by this one in the lime hedge.
The Robin at Mount Gate has no nearby rivals and is rather quiet, but when it sees me going by it hops out of the bushes and calls for attention.
One of the Coal Tits in the Dell was in the corkscrew hazel bush.
Several Great Tits appeared in the bushes ...
... and a Wren emerged from the undergrowth.
Long-Tailed Tits were busy at the Triangle.
A Jay flew down to a railing by the leaf yard.
When Pigeon Eater isn't hunting he stands either on the restaurant roof or in a little fenced-off area on the edge of the water. The fence was put there in an attempt to make people stop feeding the birds, but it has made a convenient nook for him, from which he rigorously excludes other gulls.
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Ahmet Amerikali photographed a Grey Heron under the Italian Garden with a small ruffe.
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Cormorants are crowded all around the Serpentine island.
They are oddly fond of picking up dead leaves. Maybe the colour interests them.
One of the Great Crested Grebe chicks at the east end of the island hurried to collect a fish from its father.
This is the family from the other end of the island. All the six chicks on the lake are roughly the same age, and learning to hunt by diving alongside their parents.
If a pair of grebes is separated for even a few minutes, they always exchange courteous greetings when they are reunited.
The Moorhens with two chicks at the Vista were running around the edge. Their nest was under a bush at one end of the waterfront.
The Egyptian pair in the Italian Garden who lost all their goslings in one day are still looking gloomy.
The big Shasta daisies in the Rose Garden are much visited by Buff-Tailed Bumblebees.
Cormorant city at the moment! The small fish the Heron has caught looks like a Perch, as you can just about see the distinctive tiger stripes.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I adore GCGs! Not only are they fabulously elegant gorgeous looking birds, but they share unconditional love for one another.
Sean
I can almost picture Saint Francis having similar experiences with the Robins: one singing for him, another one waiting in the path for him to pass, a third one coming down to collect a pine nut.
ReplyDeleteHeadbanger should take a hint from the well-behaved, orderly, civic Jays. They're as much of a corvid as he is, so that's no excuse.
Tinúviel
I wonder what the birds thought of St Francis. They would have had to listen to a long sermon in Latin before they got any food.
DeleteThe best behaved corvids are Jackdaws, which land in front of you and simply give you an appealing look with their pretty silver eyes.
There seem to be some big numbers of Cormorants about at the moment. A couple of days ago had over 70 at Ruislip Lido & yesterday did my Putney to Barnes WeBS & as I arrived at Putney Bridge there were 28 sitting on the shore & had over 50 on the entire length-more than normal.
ReplyDeleteI've read that more Cormorants are nesting inland, away from the coast, than formerly. Perhaps the increased number in the park is a result of that.
DeleteThat's certainly true though has been for some years. It was quite spectacular watching them all.
DeleteWe also watched one of the Little Egrets eventually swallowing a Perch that had its dorsal fin erect.
Perch have to be turned round to swallow head first so that the spiny dorsal fin folds down. I've seen Grey Herons toss the fish into the air and catch it neatly facing the right way, no doubt a move learnt through experience.
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