Saturday 28 February 2015

A pair of Egyptian Geese are nesting on one of the floating rafts of reeds at the east end of the Serpentine.


A pair of Mallards were also wandering around in the reeds looking as if they might be thinking of nesting.

In the tiny pool in front of Rima, there are often Mallards at this time of year.


Possibly they nest in the bushes behind the Epstein relief, but if they do it is a terribly long way for them to walk their ducklings down to the lake. Ducks are not noted for their skill at forward planning.

One of the pairs of Gadwall had come in to the edge and were chewing the algae off the concrete: grey ducks on a grey day.


There were two pairs of Mandarins at Peter Pan. These were standing on the submerged plank at the edge of the tray of gravel which makes a shallow area in front of the statue.


There is a new Coots' nest in the dead willow tree near the Italian Garden. It is in a dangerously exposed position and unlikely to succeed.


Of the three Coot nests visible on the Long Water, only one, at the right of the Peter Pan waterfront, offers any shelter from hungry gulls. But there may be others out of sight, and it is these that are the most likely to succeed.

Both Grey Herons' nests are still in business. A heron was sitting in the left one. Here, in the right one, one of the pair reaches to break off yet another twig to add to the huge pile.


A Jay was singing in the leaf yard. It doesn't sound much like a song, more like a formless chattering, but to a Jay it is music.


The male Tawny Owl was in his usual place throughout the day, and was even awake when I passed.

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