Thursday 28 June 2012


The Mistle Thrushes near the Serpentine Gallery have at least one young bird -- half grown but still dependent on its parents. It was sitting in a lime tree waiting to be fed. 


I heard one of the parents dive-bombing a Carrion Crow and went over to have a look. The intruder disposed of, the thrush was strolling around unconcernedly a few feet away from some picnickers. These shy birds are not bothered by people if they see that the people are quietly getting on with their own affairs and taking no notice of them. But before I could take a picture, a woman talking on her mobile, blind and deaf to the world, blundered on to the scene and frightened it away. It flew into the lime tree, so I went to have a look, and found the young thrush.

Some of the Greylag Geese on the Serpentine have almost completed the growing of their new primary feathers.


Three cygnets, younger than those in the Lido Mute Swans' first brood of seven, have just grown large enough to drive off Coots without help from their parents. Someone was feeding them on the edge of the Serpentine, and they clearly enjoyed seeing off the intruders and grabbing the food for themselves.


There is a family of Goldcrests in a cedar tree at the southeast corner of the Dell. They were loudly audible but wouldn't come out of the shadows to be photographed, and why should they?

1 comment:

  1. I was amused by the irony of the nuisance of the women with the mobile leading you to the baby thrush! Support for a non-dual outlook on the world - which I am trying to foster. I took one step this wekk and modified my antagonism to the Olympics in 'our' Park by inviting my godson and his family to come in from Bristol to view an event. The first person plural here includes us and our bird friends.

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