It's unusual to hear a Blackbird singing in midwinter. This one was too close to the busy traffic on the bridge for a good recording, but it was pleasant to hear it.
Song Thrushes, on the other hand, are happy to sing on a sunny winter day and the one by the Diana fountain could be heard hidden in the middle of a holly tree as I went home towards sunset.
Long-Tailed Tits moved down the east side of the Long Water ...
... and a Goldcrest accompanied the flock. You often find small warblers in these flocks as well as various species of tit.
A Coal Tit in the Rose Garden dashed around to avoid being photographed, but eventually paused in a rose bush for long enough to get a picture. It was handsomely rewarded with pine nuts.
There seems to be a small flock of Blue Tits permanently here, perhaps a family group. You see far more of them than in the Flower Walk or at the bridge where other tits abound.
The male Chaffinch turned up. I haven't seen his mate for a while, but she has always been shy.
The usual Robin was waiting in the usual rose bush.
So was the one at Mount Gate, which I missed yesterday because it was too busy singing.
The female Pied Wagtail was hunting at the Lido.
A Jay stared from a tree by the Italian Garden.
The Grey Herons in the middle nest on the island had a little display ...
... before mating again.
The pair in the east nest were also in place, hard to photograph directly into the low sun.
The dominant Black-Headed Gull at the landing stage looked out from the head of the Big Bird statue.
The trees around the Long Water were crowded with gulls.
A Great Crested Grebe rested near the Serpentine outflow, keeping an eye open for danger. This seems to be the only one left on the Serpentine apart from the pair which may be either side of the bridge.
A pair of Egyptian Geese poked in fallen leaves by the leaf yard. Worms and insects are a welcome addition to their diet of grass and weeds.
Red berries on the other side of the path came from a Stinking Iris, Iris foetidissima. It's too far back from the railings to check whether it lives up to its name.
You've got a typo in that last sentence Ralph in the plant name. I have it in my garden, one of our two native Iris species, though the flowers are easy to miss unlike some of their showier relatives. I wouldn't describe the bruised foliage as foetid. Not unpleasant; some say a bit like roast beef, but I'm not sure I agree. The fruits are certainly the most decorative part.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Whoops, I was taking such care to spell foetidissima that I missed the English word. Earlier this year there was an Austrian Copper Rose, Rosa foetida, in a flower bed and it smelt OK to me. I asked a couple of passers by to sniff it and give an opinion and they too said it smelt much like any other not deeply scented rose. Well, smell is a personal and subjective sense.
DeleteThe superlative "foetidissima" would give anyone pause, though!
DeleteHow wonderful to hear a Blackbird in mid winter. Ours are totally silent - they don't even call.
Robin was so absorbed in its singing it missed the chance for some pine nuts. Suffering for its art, it is.
Tinúviel
Yes, it was the superlative that made me want to sniff it, but it's far behind spiked railings and my climbing days are over. I think that comment about it smelling like roast beef is by Jim. It would make sense, as a meaty smell attracts flies that might be useful pollinators of the flowers.
DeleteI was amazed by that Blackbird, only the second singer in winter that I have ever heard. Haven't heard it again.
The Robin at Mount Gate was singing again today, but this time behaved sensibly and came out. It was too dark for a picture. This was the day of the earliest sunset, which occurs before the solstice because of the wonkiness of the solar system.