The female Mute Swan 4GIQ and her Black mate were on the raft together, both very interested in the eggs. It looks as if these are about to hatch.
The five Mute cygnets were at the east end of the Serpentine with their mother.
The Canada family crossed the lake by the bridge.
The Egyptian Geese by the boathouses still have nine goslings, which were straggling along the edge. They are not as strongly imprinted on their mother as with big geese, and are constantly wandering off and having to be called back.
The Gadwall x Mallard hybrid drake was trotting along the path between the Vista and the bridge. He may have been chased ashore by an aggressive Mallard drake at the Vista. Later: Or not a hybrid? See Marianne's comment below.
The Gadwall pair we saw yesterday in the Huntress fountain in the Rose Garden were preening on the edge of the pool.
A Coot in the Italian Garden carried a water lily leaf to a nest in a clump of irises.
The Coot nesting in the silly place on the south shore of the Serpentine is stubbornly sticking to its nest.
The Great Crested Grebes on the chain at the east end of the island were both at the nest. The male was sitting, and stretched his wings.
Above them, the sitting Grey Heron got up to stretch.
A Great Tit fed a fledgling at the southwest corner of the bridge.
At the other end of the bridge a young Blue Tit waited to be fed.
A Wren appeared beside the path near the Italian Garden.
Starlings stayed in the shade under the tables at the Lido restaurant.
A Carrion Crow panted in the heat by Temple Gate.
The Wool Carder Bees in the stachys in the Italian Garden were incessantly chasing the Buff-Tailed Bumblebees, not giving them a moment's rest. One stayed on a leaf for just long enough to be photographed.
It's not all that bad for the Buff-Tails, as the Wool Carders are found in quite a small area.
A male Common Blue Damselfly perched on a salvia flower east of the Lido.
These caterpillars hanging from a silk thread in the bushes at the southwest corner of the bridge seem to be those of the Spindle Ermine moth, which has the daunting scientific name of Yponomeuta cagnagella.
What does Yponomeuta even mean? Seriously. There's something seriously disquieting in how they cluster together. Some sort of very ancient genetic memory, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteLet's cross our fingers for the hybrid babies. I don't know what the Black swan is going to be like as a father. I hope he'll be attentive and careful.
Tinúviel
Wikipedia explains, more or less:
Delete'The word Yponomeutidae comes from the Ancient Greek ὑπό (ypo) meaning under and νομός (nomós) meaning food or dwelling, thus "feeding secretly, or burrow".'
So it should have been 'Hypo-', which might have made it a bit clearer.
I hope the Black Swan isn't going to attack the cygnets at the other end of the lake. He is drunk on power.
The duck you say is a male Mallard x Gadwall is (IMHO) a female Mallard developing male-like plumage features, sometimes known as intersex. This happens with older females, whose hormonal balance is changing. I've seen and photographed several (and here's some more info: https://birdhybrids.blogspot.com/2015/01/intersex-birds-and-their-confusion-with.html). I don't see any Gadwall features in this bird - and would also say that male hybrids between Mallard and another species typically show a straightening of the tail curl.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I had heard of this phenomenon but never seen it.
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