A Great Spotted Woodpecker called from a treetop in the Rose Garden. It's a male, as you can see by the red patch on the back of its head.
Although it was slightly warmer than yesterday the small birds here were still ravenously hungry, and I was accosted by a mob of Great Tits in the dogwood tree before I even got through the gate.
A Blue Tit ...
... and a Coal Tit waited in a rose bush with new red leaves.
Long-Tailed Tits worked over a winged elm near the Italian Garden ...
... where there was also an expectant Jay.
Another Jay appeared at Mount Gate ...
... where the unpaired Robin was singing quietly in the dogwood bush.
This is the Robin that lives in the yew hedge in the Flower Walk.
Pigeon Eater is spending a lot of the time with his mate now.
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The male Grey Heron on the nest at the west end of the island felt like mating, and was prodding the female encouragingly.
He even climbed on her, but she wasn't in the mood and he gave up.
There was a row of herons on the posts below ...
... and another one contemplated a squirrel by the bridge.
Surprisingly the Egyptian Geese on the south side of the Serpentine still have their original eight goslings. They are quite obedient and stay with their mother -- adventurous ones soon get eaten. She was pattering her feet to bring up worms. I've never seen a goose doing this. Did she learn it by watching a Herring Gull?
This is the Egyptian pair that for years has lived by the Albert Memorial, whose fine gilded railings by Francis Skidmore you can see in the background. They are a long way from water, and it's a puzzle how they manage here.
The Black Swan was with 4GIQ, who now seems quite content to stay with him. This is hard luck on her Mute mate, who gets chased off if he tries to reclaim her.
The Mallard pair are still in possession of the nesting basket at the Triangle. The female was perfectly camouflaged against the withy fence.
If I was that squirrel, I'd hightail it out of there. Murder is in the air.
ReplyDeletePerhaps there is something especially intelligent about that Egyptian mother. To be able to keep eight goslings so far, and to have learned the worm dance from observation - that's no mean feat for a goose.
Tinúviel
I think the heron decides that the squirrel was too large to swallow. They can't dismantle their victims, so there is a size limit.
DeleteYes, that is a remarkably bright Egyptian Goose. But it will be a miracle if she manages to keep her goslings alive in that killing zone.
Maybe you could interest a bird behaviour journal in that Egyptian Goose video. Jim
DeleteYes, it is indeed remarkable and if I had not seen and filmed it I would not have believed it. As far as I know the worm dance is a creation of Herring Gulls, and they are still the ones most often seen doing it. But I have also seen, less often, the three other usual species in the park doing it. That is not surprising, as gulls imitate behaviour they see as successful. But I've never seen it go out of the family before.
DeleteI can just picture you getting mobbed by a flock of hungry little birds coming through the gate! Appreciate learning from you how much the weather affects availability of food for birds. The woodpecker is stunning and good on that Mother Goose!
DeleteThe woodpecker was way up in a tall tree and I was holding the heavy camera up at a barely possible angle, so it was lucky to get a picture at all. They do sometimes make it a little easier, but not much.
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