The Black Swan has taken to hanging around the boss Mute Swan and his new mate, retreating when confronted but coming back, and doing his best to be as annoying as possible. First he was at the Vista ...
... and got chased off, under the bridge and on to the Serpentine.
The boss swan's mate remained at the Vista. She has the ring 4DTT -- he is 4DTH, but the order in which swans get ringed is a matter of chance. She is a surprisingly mild-mannered and gentle bird, unlike the boss's late mate 4EFI who was almost as violent as him. No doubt she will get fiercer if the union progresses and they have cygnets.
The boss swan was then on the Serpentine, and the Black Swan came back several times and was shooed again and again.
He went to the middle of the lake and started chasing other swans and flapping and calling, and generally throwing his weight around. The boss seems to tolerate this behaviour up to a point, as long as the Black Swan retreats when threatened -- as he has to, for he would be mauled in a straight fight with the enormous boss.
The proceedings were watched by a young Cormorant on the nesting basket by the Diana reed bed. I haven't yet seen a swan take any interest in this basket, but a Grey Heron is often seen using it as a fishing station.
A pair of Shovellers revolved on the Long Water, the wake of each one stirring up little creatures for them to filter out of the water with the strainers inside their bills. They work in exactly the same was as Blue Whales, but on a slightly smaller scale.
Pigeon Eater and his mate had finished their lunch and were resting on the Dell restaurant roof ...
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... while another Lesser Black-Backed Gull ate the little that was left. Pigeon Eater doesn't defend his leftovers, as he knows he can get another pigeon whenever he wants.
A Song Thrush sang on the edge of the leaf yard, answering another on the other side of the lake. They were impossible to film, as the demonstration at the Iranian embassy was louder than ever.
The Robin at the Buck Hill shelter struck a pose as grand as the Monarch of the Glen before flying over to take several pine nuts.
The one in the Rose Garden came out under a bush ...
... with Blue Tits ...
... and both Coal Tits waiting on the twigs above.
The Robin in the Dell was in a bossy mood, standing on the railings and shooing away the tits.
One of the Coal Tits had to retreat to the yew tree on the corner, but it still managed to fly down to the railings for a few pine nuts. They may be tiny but they are good at devising strategies for getting fed.
A premature daffodil has come out in the Rose Garden.
It is interesting to see that Black Swan wants to ruffle some feathers! This is not his usual style. This is a tell tell sign for me that he has nothing left to lose anymore and will do whatever he can to succeed with a mate, and that even comes at the cost of his life. All that lonesome time at the Round Pond has left him pondering his future and mastered a cunning plan. I hope there is something good to come out of this for him.
ReplyDeleteSean
He doesn't have a death wish, right? What we're seeing isn't depression being acted out, I hope?
ReplyDeleteSigh. Fewer protests, more birdsong, and the world would be a better place.
Tinúviel
He just likes a bit of advnture, I think. With no mate, he has no other interest in his life.
DeleteI support the Iranian royalist cause, though I don't think much of the Pahlavi candidate. Anything would be better than the present mad Muslim demonocracy. But the protesters have become a major nuisance. There was a small riot this afternoon with 14 arrests and 4 policemen injured, though it's quite likely it was deliberately started by the police.
Hi Ralph & Partner,
ReplyDeleteWe were the couple that had a great chat with you whilst you were catching the picture of the Young Comorant. Great shots and a pleasure reading your blog. Will be back!
Conor & Sophie
Thank you. Hope you see you when you next visit the park.
Delete