The two young Grey Herons in the top nest on the Serpentine island are now big enough to be clearly seen over the top of the nest. They are already getting their flight feathers. As they lurched and flapped about, their parents kept out of the way in a nearby nest.
The nest a few yards to the west of it is also going ahead well and it seems likely that there will be eggs soon.
On the shore below, the Pied Wagtail fearlessly ran under my feet.
A Black-Headed Gull was wondering how to swallow a large piece of cake from the snack bar in the boat hire building.
Pigeon Eater, not seen for several days, was back on his station calling to his mate.
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In the Rose Garden a Coal Tit ...
... a Blue Tit ...
... and the familiar male Chaffinch collected in a small hawthorn tree.
Hawthorns attract a heavy growth of lichen, which is populated by insects and therefore brings insect-eating birds. When I was a boy in the 1950s there was no lichen anywhere in London, as the air was too dirty for it to grow. The Clean Air Act of 1957 forbade the burning of ordinary coal in fireplaces, and since then the air has improved sufficiently for lichen to return.
A Jackdaw thought I hadn't noticed it, and flapped and called for attention.
The large blossoming paperbush in the Flower Walk made a background for a Great Tit ...
... and a Robin.
Starlings chattered on a railing near the Buck Hill shelter, where they will soon be nesting in the eaves.
Ahmet Amerikali photographed a Goldcrest beside the Long Water.
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A Coot nesting in the Italian Garden fountains carefully placed a stick in a position that pleased it.
Another pair of Mute Swans occupied the nesting basket east of the Lido. They never stay long at present, but at least they are interested in it. The other two baskets are more visible from the shore, and this seems to be putting the swans off as they have shown no interest in either of them.
The big male 4FYY was nearby, showing off to his mate 4FUF by bullying the other swans. He has staked out a nest site in the east end of the reed bed, a place which although onshore and exposed to foxes has succeeded several times.
A pair of Pochards were reflected in the calm water.
Two Japanese Pagoda trees trained to a stiff upright shape have been planted on either side of Peter Pan. Judging by the tree near the Rose Garden, they will grow quite large and pleasantly untidy. The slope behind has been smoothed out and will be planted with grass so that people can sit by the statue, quite a good idea for once.
Hooray to park management! Hooraayy
ReplyDeleteThe BHG needs a nice cup of tea to wash down that cake. It's got my mouth all watery for a divine red velvet now!
Sean
I had been reading a book on J. M. Barrie all afternoon in which I came across the following sentence about that statue: "rather niminy-piminy for a boy who struck Hook from the list of men". Thus grumbled one Patrick Chalmers. Talk about coincidence!
ReplyDeleteThe Coot is building the equivalent of a balcony, the clever thing.
Seeing the Jackdaw flutter like that, I am reminded of fluttering Magpies begging to be fed. I think it's cast you in the role of adoptive father.
Tinúviel
Yes, I always thought that statue was a bit twee. Also, Peter Pan is being upskirted by a female fairy who seems to be laughing at what she sees. The statue is of Peter Pan in the play, but the place is where Peter as a baby was said to have landed in Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, that morbid fantasy (which can be read on Project Gutenberg, with Arthur Rackham's skilled but rather sickening illustrations, by those with a strong stomach for fin-de-siècle kitsch). But can you have a statue of a baby?
Delete'Niminy-piminy' is a corruption of 'Namby-Pamby' which was the nickname of the 18th century minor poet Ambrose Philips, whose tinkly trochaic tetrameters it mimics. The insulting nickname became a common noun. The Wikipedia article on him is quite entertaining.
I wonder if Arthur Rackham was the author on an illustration of The Little White Bird I saw years ago and never found again. It was in black and white and it threw me so much I felt nearly sick. It represented a small baby sitting on a tree branch. He was huddling and alone. He looked as much a ghostly bird in posture as he did a baby. I can't recall clearly but I think it actually was Peter Pan. The expression on his little face was haunting. I remember thinking, this baby is dead. This is what death looks like. And sure enough, years later, I read that Barrie had intended for all the Lost Boys to be dead children.
DeleteTinúviel
Yes, it seems that Arthur Rackham did illustrate The Little White Bird, but no illustrated versions seem to be available online though there are several in plain text. Having seen Rackham's illustrations for Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens I can readily imagine the creepy scene. He was a perfect match for Barrie, who was born at the same time as his mother's elder son died, and was always haunted by the feeling that she thought the wrong brother had died, which led to an adult obsession with dead babies. In short, he was a sick kitty.
DeleteGood to see the young Herons prospering.
ReplyDeleteAlso a delightful shot of the Pochard pair.
I hope we'll have more young herons in due course. Only one other nest seems to be seriously under way, but the breeding season straggles on into late summer.
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