Tuesday 7 January 2014

The Jackdaws appeared again today -- four of them.


Paul Turner was feeding Charlie the Carrion Crow on the bench near the Tawny Owls' nest tree when they turned up, and one of them dashed in and stole Charlie's biscuit from under his beak. They have started as they mean to continue. Their headquarters seems to be a hole in a tree near the Speke obelisk. I hope these entertaining birds establish themselves in the park.

The male Tawny Owl was present as usual on the balcony in the nest tree.


He was rather restless, watching a large dog that was prowling about under the tree -- though why he should worry about a dog when he is 40 ft up a tree baffles me. The small songbirds in the trees are also upset when a dog passes underneath, though they too are perfectly safe where they are.

The Little Grebe -- the only one at the moment, I think -- was fishing in the reeds near the Italian Garden.


There was a brisk Coot fight at Peter Pan. Here one of them kicks its opponent squarely in the belly, lifting it right out of the water.


As usual, there were several Pied Wagtails running around the Round Pond. Here is one on the edge of the water, caught a few minutes before sunset.


There was a brisk breeze and the bird was working its way downwind. But it couldn't turn its tail to the wind, as its feathers would have been blown about and it might even have lost its footing. So it was running sideways, often at some speed.

No comments:

Post a Comment