A Green Woodpecker on Buck Hill dug into an ants' nest and happily devoured the occupants. One sought refuge by climbing on to the bird's back. Thanks to Duncan Campbell for this video.
A Song Thrush was in good voice on a dead branch near the Italian Garden.
An immature male Blackbird flew into a tree by Magazine Gate. He has his adult black plumage, but not yet his bright yellow bill and eye ring.
A female lurked in a bush at Mount Gate.
A pair of Long-Tailed Tits hunted in the trees overhead.
The Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery dozed in the sunshine.
The male Grey Wagtail was hunting midges from a post by the bridge. Later he streaked down the Serpentine to the Dell stream, where midges are even more plentiful than under the bridge.
Ahmet Amerikali got a good picture of one of the Reed Warblers at the southwest corner of the bridge ...
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... and also of a Firecrest in Battersea Park.
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The Grey Heron sitting in the nnest at the east end of the island looked up for a moment.
We haven't been seeing much of Pigeon Eater lately, but today he was back on his home territory by the Dell restaurant.
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The Coots on the nesting basket at the Triangle were doing some housekeeping, and you could see two of the eggs. I don't know how many they have, but the Mute Swan 4GIQ on the other side of the raft has six so there are a lot of eggs on this raft.
The swan 4FUF returned to her nest in the reeds east of the Lido. I could see two eggs, but she is good at covering them up and no doubt there are more.
Two Greylag Geese were fighting at the east end of the Serpentine.
The Canada family came to the edge of the Serpentine beside three of the six Egyptian teenagers.
A pair of Egyptians cropped algae off the rocks at the small waterfall in the Dell.
A Holly Blue butterfly fed on the cockspur hawthorn tree at Mount Gate.
A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee worked over the small flowers of a heuchera in the Rose Garden.
Yesterday I spotted the first Common Swift of the year above the Royal Albert Hall! Also more news, I spotted a reed warbler in St James' park by the Pelicans in the reedbed right at the end of the lake and it was singing too.
ReplyDeleteTheodore
I've seen a few Swifts over the Serpentine twice in the past week, high but clearly enough to be sure they were Swifts. These are the only hirundines I've seen: no Swallows or House Martins, no Sand Martins though these are usually early. An odd year, it seems.
ReplyDeleteApparently it doesn't need much of a reed bed to attract a Reed Warbler. I think we have eight singing males in the park now, though you can't be sure as they move around.
About a week ago I was surprised to see Pigeon Eater get a pigeon on his very first lunge. Normally I have to hang around a while, watching any number of unsuccessful attempts and a lot of prowling about, and near misses, interrupted by temptation to go after bread cast by a Gulf benefactor instead.
ReplyDeleteIt was the classic situation – the pigeon sipping from the shore line – but there were a couple of pigeons scattered by Pigeon Eater on the way, which would normally alert the water-sipping one to shoot off. But in retrospect it struck me that the unfortunate victim did look significantly smaller than the rest. A fledgling? Could it be that this is Christmas time for Pigeon Eater? Young brought to the water hole to drink but oblivious of the danger? And he knows it. Joseph
That makes sense. I think that the older pigeons in the park have learnt about Pigeon Eater and know they should give him a wide berth -- you can see this happeninjg as he prowls on the shore. But young naive pigeons don't realise the danger. There must be a brisk turnover in the pigeon population with Pigeon Eater, the Sparrowhawks and the Peregrines all taking them.
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