The Great Crested Grebes have survived the last freezing night trapped in the ice on the Long Water, and it's now beginning to melt. Meanwhile, they should be able to catch some fish in the clear water under the bushes.
A Coot preened in the reeds in one of the Italian Garden fountains.
The sixth teenage Mute Swan which was missing yesterday has turned up. One was still on the Long Water ...
... and the other five in a clear patch on the Serpentine.
The single teenager was also there with its parents. In the background you can see the open water where the remaining ducks have assembled, many of them from the Long Water.
There are still about 20 Common Pochards left, from over 80 for much of last year ...
... and two Red-Crested Pochard drakes.
It's so good that've they pointed this out -- you might not have noticed otherwise.
A grisly video: a Grey Heron had caught a rat in a reed bed and proceeded to kill it. Drowning didn't work, so it resorted to stabbing it.
Pigeon Eater and his mate were calling together by the Dell restaurant.
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A Dunnock looked for insects and worms in fallen leaves at the foot of Buck Hill.
A male Blackbird found a small larva in a flower bed in the Rose Garden.
A female fussed in a tree near the Italian Garden.
Both the Coal Tits were waiting in the Dell.
A Robin at Peter Pan came out on a bench to be fed.
The male Robin at Mount Gate ...
... and the female were lined up on the railings as I passed on my way home.
I suppose that's one less Rat in London. The Heron was not letting it get away whatsoever.
ReplyDeletePigeon Eaters mrs looks like she is making the expression of an overreaction head and eye roll. I can't tell if they are arguing or singing together.
Sean
Poor rat. Herons are savage.
ReplyDeleteThank God the Grebes are all right. Is the weather going to be less for the next few days?
I hope we'll see a scene of the father swan making his best impersonation of a nuclear icebreaker, clearing a path through the ice for his family,
Tinúviel
If the weather forecast is right (a fairly big if) there will be no more frost for the time being, and temperatures will climb slowly and sulkily up to the usual winter level, with westerly winds and rain. So the swan shouldn't need to do his icebreaking work. It's a strain for them and they only do it if they really have to.
DeleteSo glad to see the grebes faring well after the freezing night! Also great photo of Pigeon Eater and his chortling mate!
ReplyDeletePigeon Eater and has mate are doing the 'Great Call' together, a loud assertion of gullhood and not just a pair-bond ritual, as gulls often do it alone. It's the same call as Herring Gulls make, but pitched lower as Lesser Black-Backs have contralto voices.
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