The female Little owlet in the chestnut tree by the Serpentine Gallery missed her footing in the wind, but saved herself from falling by grabbing the branch with her beak. The rotten wood broke but it was enough to get her up again.
Her father, some way off in his usual lime tree, didn't see the undignified spectacle.
A Green Woodpecker was followed up a tree tunk beside Rotten Row by a fledgling, recognisable by its speckled feathers.
They flew on to different branches.
The male Peregrine was on the barracks tower by himself, ruffled by the wind.
A Grey Heron in the Italian Garden saw a fish ...
... dived in ...
... and got it.
All three young herons were down from the nest at the east end of the island. They found the moored boats a fine adventure playground.
Two young Cormorants, still with pale fronts, wrestled with a twig. It may have been practice for courtship behaviour, or just simple play.
The three Coot chicks in the southeast pool in the Italian Garden were in a comfortable huddle with a parent. This is a second nest, not where they were hatched. Coots often make extra nests to rest in.
A Great Crested Grebe splashed down on the Long Water. It's more like a crash than a tidy touchdown.
The Mute Swan 4DVT and her three cygnets ate algae under the Dell restaurant balcony, with the grebes' nest in the background.
4DTT was under the Italian Garden with her two cygnets.
Unattached swans rested at the Triangle. They tend to collect here when they are moulting, often blocking the narrow path.
A Comma butterfly drank nectar from sea lavender flowers in the Rose Garden.
Yes, the Little Owlet definitely got taken back by the unexpected wind. That is the first I have ever seen any interaction behaviour between Cormorants, they normally just do their solo thang. You can always tell when a Grey Heron is about to strike when they have that slightly extended neck and focused look.
ReplyDeleteSean
Well, who's going to tell them to move over? And most importantly, to whom would they pay any need?
ReplyDeleteI had a moment of anxiety about the owlet, but then I thought, if Wood Pigeons don't fall flat on their faces, neither will the Little Owl. But her father does look embarrassed.
Hoping today's comment goes through - yesterday's didn't.
Tinúviel
I think the swans block the path deliberately. It happens when they're moulting, which makes them irritable, and also they know that humans are afraid of them and enjoy exploiting that.
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