Bill Haines found a first-winter Mediterranean Gull on the Serpentine. I went looking for it with binoculars and eventually found it too far away for a photograph, but fortunately Bill saw it closer and provided a good picture.
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They're hard to spot among the hundreds of Black-Headed Gulls that come to the lake for the winter. One of these was playing with a plane leaf ...
... and the dominant one from the landing stage stood on the Big Bird statue.
The grooved planks on the boat hire platform collect bird droppings when these are swept up, and these attract insects, so it's a good hunting ground for a Pied Wagtail.
More Jays are appearing, and two followed me down the east side of the Long Water demanding peanuts.
Ahmet Amerikali found a Song Thrush by the southwest corner of the bridge, where a pair bred earlier this year.
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Two Coal Tits aprrived, one in the corkscrew hazel in the Dell ...
... and the other in the little hawthorn in the Rose Garden ....
... where the usual Robin was also waiting.
The male Chaffinch perched in a rose bush.
The Robin at Mount Gate came out when called, in front of an unseasonably blossoming hypericum.
A Grey Heron by one of the boathouses waited for a fish to emerge from under the wall ...
... and another looked out over the Long Water from a dead tree.
A Great Crested Grebe fishing along the edge of the Serpentine was mildly curious. The shore is another world for them, seen but never visited.
A pair of Gadwalls browsed in the shallows.
A band of Mallards from the Vista visited an oak tree to look for insects and worms in the fallen leaves.
A single Little Japanese Umbrella mushroom emerged in the grass by the Serpentine Gallery. These tiny frail things last less than a day, wilting and drooping by evening.
Good spotting on the Med gull. Usually I scan the rear looking for all white and no black BUT young Med gulls have black wingtips and are easily overlooked.
ReplyDeleteIt was Bill who spotted it and told me. The only feature that's absolutely unmistakable from a distance is the black legs.
DeleteHayao Miyazaki could write a scene based on one of those mushrooms, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention it: have you ever seen a Grebe walking or standing on the shore?
I actually see almost as many Mediterranean Gulls as I do Black-headed Gulls in winter; they're fonder of fresh water courses than other gulls. When they're in breeding plumage they're easy to tell apart because their black hood reaches lower, down to the neck. When they're not, it's a pain in same.
Tinúviel
I have a feeling that there's something pretty similar in Princess Mononoke. Haven't watched this for years, must do again.
DeleteI have seen a teenage grebe walk a few steps up the shore before deciding it's a bad idea and going back.
Mediterranean Gulls are decidedly rare here. I've only ever seen two in the park here, and one in St James's Park. But surprised that you get them so far from the sea.
Good to get the Med Gull! I remember seeing one in the park many years ago on the Round Pond. I can't remember its age for sure but possibly another first-winter bird?
ReplyDeleteBack in possibly March earlier this year I was very excited to find an adult in full breeding plumage on my regular Sunday patch when it was loafing with many other gulls (often over 100 Common Gulls at peak) on the rugby pitch at Yeading Brook meadows- a patch lifer for me.
I remember an adult on the pond a couple of years ago. As soon as I saw it, it flew off down the hill. I found it later perched on a boat in the middle of the Serpentine. If it had been a first-year this would probably have been impossible to spot among the Black-Headed Gulls.
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