Monday 20 October 2014

Two of the Jackdaws from Kensington Gardens have ventured into Hyde Park. They were among a flock of Greylag Geese on the flat area where the Olympic stand was, busily picking yellowish grubs out of the ground.


This is a male Ring-Necked Parakeet showing off his fine pink and black neck ring. There are several subspecies of Ring-Necked Parakeet, and to be more precise this one, Psitaccula krameri manillensis, ought to be called a Rose-Ringed Parakeet.


The Egyptian Geese on the Round Pond still have all eight young, which are growing visibly larger. They were on an open stretch of grass holding their own among the throng of Black-Headed Gulls and Starlings.


On the edge of the pond, two Canada Geese were amicably sharing an apple.


The Little Grebe was still there, fishing around the wooden platform.

The male Tawny Owl came out on top of his nest tree in mid-afternoon, ignoring the gusty wind that blew his feathers about, and also ignoring a couple of Jays squawking at him.


The male Little Owl was also in his usual place for some time, but vanished when the wind got up.


This mushroom is the Pholiota squarrosa that was shown here on Saturday. It has grown a lot during past few days.


It is slightly poisonous, though bold people do eat after soaking it in a solution of baking soda for two hours and blanching it in boiling water for three minutes before frying it, which is said to remove the poisonous substances. But even then you must not drink alcohol when eating it, or you will be as sick as a dog.

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