A Green Woodpecker by the south shore of the Serpentine searched for worms brought up by the rain.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker probed the bark of a tree at the northwest corner of the bridge ...
... where a pair of Great Tits were waiting for service in an oak.
The pair of Coal Tits at the Serpentine Gallery picked me up when I was looking for the owl, who was sensibly staying in her hole to keep dry, and followed me to the bridge.
The female Coal Tit in the Dell could be seen in the yew.
The Robin at the southwest corner of the bridge emerged from the shelter of the bramble patch.
A brief glimpse of a Wren, a Chiffchaff, and another Wren in various parts of the park.
Pigeon Eater took advantage of the rain to preen, which is more effective with slightly damp feathers.
A Grey Heron was fishing from the swan nesting island at the top of the Long Water ...
... where one of the young Great Crested Grebes was looking for fish among the reeds.
The other of the two was fishing by the bridge.
Its father was nearby under the bridge and caught a perch, but despite his offspring's entreaties ate it himself, as if to say 'You're old enough to catch your own fish now.'
The Egyptian Goose pair from the Italian Garden were drinking from a puddle, which they and most birds prefer to the borehole water in the lake.
The mother at the Diana fountain was sheltering her goslings. Two came out ...
... so she stood, showing that she still has five of her original seven after losing one to a Herring Gull yesterday.
Although there are plenty of Shovellers on the Long Water there is just one drake on the Serpentine, which was preening at Fisherman's Keep. There was a flash of its bright green secondary feathers.
The Wollemi pine in the Dell has produced two saplings from fallen cones, which have been carefully staked. There are dead leaves on both these and the parent tree, and it seems that the English climate doesn't suit this rare Australian species. The first Wollemi pine planted here died, and this one is a replacement.
The fruit in the arbutus tree at the southeast corner of the bridge is ripening prettily. It's also known as the Strawberry Tree: the fruit doesn't look particularly like strawberries but it does have an insipid strawberry-like taste. The birds are not particularly keen on it. Humans sometimes make it into an uninteresting jam. Its botanical name, Arbutus unedo ('eat once'), also conveys a lack of enthisiasm.
The Wollemi Pines (not a pine at all!) seem to be doing well at Kew Gardens.
ReplyDeleteStrawberry Trees are amongst my favourite trees & look magnificent as both the flowers & fruits are there simultaneously. The former are popular with bumblebees. In southern Europe this tree is the larval food plant of the exotic looking Two-tailed Pasha, the only European representative of a family of butterflies more widespread in Africa. I believe the European species is moving north with warming temperatures-wonder if it will ever reach the UK?
Some other Arbutus forms have stunning cinnamon coloured bark.
Perhaps the gardeners at Kew are better at Wollemi Pine husbandry. The ones here have already lost one tree, as I said. It died after a spell of wet weather.
DeleteThere is an arbutus in the Rose Garden which has quite bright bark. I must have a look at it and see how different it is from the one at the bridge, and photograph the bark if it seems usefully distinct. This also has flowers and fruit at the moment, but is not as well fruited as the other.
Dunno, Spaniards will eat arbutus and even make jam and, I'm told, pretty hard liquor out of it! I remember that it tasted somewhat sweet; maybe it's a different tree? Also when I was small I was always cautioned not to eat it when it was ripe because small children will get drunk eating it.
ReplyDeleteI've eaten it, and it's quite sweet and the flavour is like a poor commerical imitation of strawberry, as found in cheap pink ice cream. Not surprised that the fruit tends to ferment on the tree, it's been there for a whole year.
DeleteIt will be A. unedo as that is the species present throughout most of southern Europe but is replaced in far south-east Europe by A. andrachne. The hybrid between them, A. x arachnoides, occurs in overlap areas & horticultural strains occur with fine bark.
DeleteThere is another species on the Canaries & a number of species from the Americas, which apart from A. menziesii, are generally seen in the UK.
I forgot to photograph the other tree as I was hurrying round in the rain, but will try to do both of them today.
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