A Blackcap sang on a branch at Mount Gate. They generally sing in cover and it's unusual to see one out in the open.
It was a hot day and most of the small birds were staying in the shadows. A Robin by the Henry Moore sculpture lurked under a bush.
A Wren in the Rose Garden scolded a Magpie in the tree above.
A Feral Pigeon cooled down with a bathe in the Huntress fountain ...
... and a Carrion Crow had a drink under the Bulgarian fountain at Mount Gate.
The Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery came out on the lime tree in the afternoon.
A Great Crested Grebe at the Serpentine island had a thorough wash ...
... while its mate dozed on the nest.
The young Coots under the edge of the Italian Garden fountains are getting quite large. Two of them were preening on the nest.
The two chicks under the Dell restaurant balcony could be seen while their parents were bringing twigs to repair the nest.
The Mute Swans 4FYY and 4FUF have abandoned their nesting attempt in the reeds east of the Lido. The site is now vacant, and 4FYG and 4FYX were having a look at it. This is the pair that usually nest on the island, and the male 4FYG is high in the pecking order.
Egyptian goslings stayed cool in the shadow of their mother.
The solitary Red-Crested Pochard drake at the Lido was diving for waterweed.
This is what happens if you leave a rucksack with peanuts on the railings.
A Painted Lady butterfly on the Rose Garden lawn took nectar from the daisies.
A Marmalade Fly, Episyrphus balteatus, browsed on buttercups.
Two beetles: a Soldier Beetle, Cantharis rustica, in the grass near the Italian Garden ...
... and a Reed Beetle, Donacia clavipes, on the stonework of the parapet. There are reeds for it on the other side.
What a treat, to see the Blackcap sing in the open! I always found their song so cheery and funny. They sometimes sound as if they were telling someone off!
ReplyDeleteNow that it's warmer, does the female Great Tit continue her successful emotional manipulation?
Tinúviel
Yes, I was occupied by her this afternoon.
DeleteHi Ralph, your Red Admiral is a Painted Lady. Have just returned from just over a fortnight in Albania & on my penultimate day there was a steady stream of these migrant butterflies.
ReplyDeleteYour beetle should say Donacia.
Good to see the Red-crested Pochard.
Thank you. 1. Sheer carelessness. 2. Fat finger.
DeleteThe movements of Red-Crested Pochards are random and mysterious. For a long time there were ast least 20 in St James's Park by Duck Cottage, but the last time I went there I couldn't see any. We have had up to 8 for a few days at a time in past years.