tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post1954339165975209000..comments2024-03-27T19:59:10.159+00:00Comments on Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park birds: Ralph Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-69327303284607270972019-10-12T01:59:28.534+01:002019-10-12T01:59:28.534+01:00Interesting idea. See also Tinúviel's observat...Interesting idea. See also Tinúviel's observation above.Ralph Hancockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-75918031946748821012019-10-12T01:58:39.873+01:002019-10-12T01:58:39.873+01:00That bit of the Serpentine shore is a gathering pl...That bit of the Serpentine shore is a gathering place for Coots, and they regard it as theirs. But Coots tend to bully Moorhens anyway.Ralph Hancockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-12257951323206949182019-10-11T23:57:18.438+01:002019-10-11T23:57:18.438+01:00Had an idea. I wonder if the Pied Wagtail is chasi...Had an idea. I wonder if the Pied Wagtail is chasing pigeons as a kind of flocking behaviour. It seeks to reduce the danger from smaller raptors as it flies off, and by chasing a pigeon it gains a companion and can also fly faster in the larger bird's slipstream as you have observed. It might have come up with this as a variation on jostling a conspecific to move on with it. JimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-12382414847088393252019-10-11T23:44:27.839+01:002019-10-11T23:44:27.839+01:00Fun to see the smaller Gulls buzzing the feckless ...Fun to see the smaller Gulls buzzing the feckless Heron. Perhaps they do it for fun (i.e. because they can).<br /><br />Wagtails will chase, or at least attempt to, anything on two legs here!<br /><br />Good to see the Moorhen parent seeing the indelicate Coot off. I wonder why it would wish to barge in on the Moorhens.Tinúvielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04794275230697959519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-28942392469954662532019-10-11T19:58:59.626+01:002019-10-11T19:58:59.626+01:00Herons are not just predatory, they annoy other bi...Herons are not just predatory, they annoy other birds by using their nests or favourite branches as fishing platforms. And they make themselves open to persecution by being large and obvious and standing in exposed places.Ralph Hancockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-85631048318776053752019-10-11T11:37:46.474+01:002019-10-11T11:37:46.474+01:00I'm intrigued as to why ALL other birds should...I'm intrigued as to why ALL other birds should dislike herons. Surely gulls take as many chicks, without attracting like levels of generalised opprobrium...HarryGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09523424632142627975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-11801085147699019412019-10-11T01:31:44.989+01:002019-10-11T01:31:44.989+01:00Today the Pied Wagtail was in such close pursuit t...Today the Pied Wagtail was in such close pursuit that it must have been slipstreaming, enabling it to keep up with the swift pigeon for about a minute. There may be have been an element of fun in this.Ralph Hancockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-78717495942841109422019-10-10T23:52:59.519+01:002019-10-10T23:52:59.519+01:00I wonder if that's the same Black-Headed Gull ...I wonder if that's the same Black-Headed Gull I saw chasing a Heron yesterday over the bridge? It always looks strange to see a big bird fleeing a small one, but I suppose the bird at the rear always has the advantage.<br />I remember reporting some time ago a Pied Wagtail chasing a Black-Headed Gull at the Round Pond and wondering why. Your response was classic - pond rage?Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10529596094957534682noreply@blogger.com