Both the adult Little Owls at the Serpentine Gallery could be seen, the male in his usual lime tree ...
... and the female in the big plane tree.
I haven't heard any more from the owl north of the Flower Walk. It will only be possible to find it in this well wooded area if it's calling.
The male Peregrine was by himself on the barracks tower.
A Jackdaw near the Lido came trotting over for a pine nut.
The tatty state of the Jays at Temple Gate hasn't diminished their appetite.
More Great Tits are coming out at at the foot of the steps.
Two Cormorants stood on the fallen tree at the far side of the Vista.
It's hard to see into this year's fifth Grey Heron nest on the Serpentine island, as it's high in a treetop. But as the young birds grow they become more visible, and it's now possible to see that there are three of them.
Two herons regularly visit the Dell, the adult seen yesterday and this young one. It's surprsing that it can see any fish in the filthy water.
The swimming area at the Lido has just been closed, not before time. The local Canada and Greylag Geese promptly took it over as a place to hang out, and there was also a Grey Heron.
A pair of Egyptian Geese have brought out some new goslings at Fisherman's Keep. You can see three here, but it's quite likely that there were more sheltering under their mother' wings.
The Black Swan rested in the shade of the willow tree at the Triangle.
The three Mute cygnets sprawled behind the fence at the boathouse. The bits of stick littering the ground are the remains of an attempt by another pair to nest here.
There is no sign of progess at the Great Crested Grebes' nest on the island, and I'm beginning to worry that the eggs may be infertile.
The shire horses had just finished a stint on Buck Hill and were being led away for a rest and a feed.
In the Rose Garden a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee climbed from one sea lavender flower to the next.
The Cootamundra wattle at the north gate has delicate blue-grey leaves.
Lastly, an exotic rumour. I spoke to a man who regularly goes through Hyde Park at night after a late shift. He had several times seen a creature on the south edge of Hyde Park, near the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, that he was fairly sure was a Serval. These are considerably larger than domestic cats, so it couldn't have been one of those expensive spotted Bengal Cat hybrids. Here is Thomas Bewick's wood engraving of a Serval, from his General History of Quadrupeds, 1800. Whatever this creature may be, it's definitely something to look out for.
Would a serval survive in the English climate? I know there has been rumours going back decades that there are big cats in the English countryside. I've seen blurry pictures of animals that looked like black panthers, but others say they're just large house cats in distorted pictures. I hope to God you'll find the serval!
ReplyDeleteI discovered that there is a Serval x domestic cat hybrid called a Savannah Cat, quite large and Serval-like in appearance, and bred as a very expensive pet. Could one have escaped from a billionaire's flat in the hideous apartment block of 'Number One Hyde Park'?
DeleteAlthough servals are primarily nocturnal and crepuscular, the park is so busy that I find it difficult to believe it would not be spotted at all in hours of daylight. Surely it is more likely to be a domestic cat, or possibly even a fox, mistaken in low light. Good story though!
ReplyDeleteI checked at One Hyde Park to see if any of their billionaire residents had lost an exotic pet such as a Savannah Cat. They hadn't.
DeleteI'm sure that my informant, who walks through the park at night five times a week, would be familiar enough with foxes not to make a simple mistake.
I'm finding it hard to believe there is a "big cat" roaming around Central London. More than one person would have reported this in such a cramped area.
ReplyDeleteSean