tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post9129567504987030102..comments2024-03-28T20:29:39.377+00:00Comments on Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park birds: Ralph Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-43978776362433569482019-04-20T03:00:41.499+01:002019-04-20T03:00:41.499+01:00Foxes do what they like and quite often kill adult...Foxes do what they like and quite often kill adult swans, so safety is relative.<br /><br />The Little Owl had just flown into that tree. She must have been disturbed by something elsewhere. I didn't hear a Magpie, the usual cause. It might have been a Carrion Crow -- often they land close and threaten silently.Ralph Hancockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-3508020865883410922019-04-20T02:55:27.437+01:002019-04-20T02:55:27.437+01:00I think there's always one female in these dem...I think there's always one female in these demonstration flights. But it's very hard to tell which it is in a picture that is nearly a silhouette, even in the large original photograph. Yes, that is the usual white drake. We only have one here.Ralph Hancockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-31974722237499700182019-04-20T00:40:52.188+01:002019-04-20T00:40:52.188+01:00By the way, isn't the lowest bird in the duck ...By the way, isn't the lowest bird in the duck flight a duck not drake, and is the white Mallard still seen in the longstanding trio? JimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-86367256670336538382019-04-19T23:20:29.906+01:002019-04-19T23:20:29.906+01:00A fox would need to get past a grown Black Swan, a...A fox would need to get past a grown Black Swan, a difficult proposition, and the cygnet is too large for gulls now. Are we out of danger now?<br /><br />I wonder what made the Little Owl so restless. Maybe she was seeing something we don't.<br /><br />The Coot's refusal to back down in front of full frontal Swan aggresion is a sight to behold. David vs. Goliath.TinĂºvielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04794275230697959519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-45023072977938362942019-04-19T01:50:23.209+01:002019-04-19T01:50:23.209+01:00Thanks for the identification. It was only about 1...Thanks for the identification. It was only about 150 yards, though on the wrong side of the road, from some alders.Ralph Hancockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-68813583933708350222019-04-19T01:28:34.693+01:002019-04-19T01:28:34.693+01:00Think I've found it: Alderfly. According to B...Think I've found it: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alderfly" rel="nofollow">Alderfly</a>. According to Buglife and NBN Atlas there are three species in the UK but <i>lutaria</i> is by far the commonest and is associated with slow moving waters. JimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com