Monday 13 July 2015

The Great Crested Grebes nesting on the island have three chicks.


Their parents were having to work hard to feed them. There are plenty of small fish in the lake, but the island seems not to be a good place for them. However, their useful arrangement of one parent carrying the chicks and the other feeding them allows them to range around, even when the chicks are tiny.

On the shore of the Serpentine, a male Pied Wagtail was also feeding his two chicks, which were rushing after him twittering.


Young Pied Wagtails are irresistibly charming.


On the dead willow tree near the Italian Garden, a male Blackcap was also feeding his family, and had just collected a couple of caterpillars.


Blackcaps nest between this tree and the path every year.

There was a good deal of hunting going on. One of the Hobbies, I think the female, was chasing Swifts over the Round Pond.


And the pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull had caught his latest victim near the reed bed under the Diana memorial, and was carrying it off to a convenient dining area.


These teenage Greylag Geese were not hatched on the Serpentine. Their parents have brought them in as soon as they were able to fly.


The male Mute Swan who has taken possession of the little island in the Long Water is moulting, and the island is strewn with his shed wing feathers.


The abandoned egg was left by the previous pair who nested unsuccessfully. It looks as if it has a hole in it, but a photograph taken from closer shows that it's just a bit of mud.

The Little Owl was in his nest tree, and turned round when he heard people talking underneath.

7 comments:

  1. Good blog. I work near exhibition road where is the best place to take photos at lunch time? Also if you have a camera with a long lens do you get funny looks?

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  2. If you don't have much time, start at the Lido and walk under the bridge and up the west side of the Long Water to the Italian Garden. On the way, make a detour to the left along the south side of the leaf yard – the enclosure behind Peter Pan – for small songbirds. It's OK to use a long lens as long as you aren't a professional photographer on an assignment, for which you need a permit.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If you don't have much time, start at the Lido and walk under the bridge and up the west side of the Long Water to the Italian Garden. On the way, make a detour to the left along the south side of the leaf yard – the enclosure behind Peter Pan – for small songbirds. It's OK to use a long lens as long as you aren't a professional photographer on an assignment, for which you need a permit.

    ReplyDelete
  4. If you don't have much time, start at the Lido and walk under the bridge and up the west side of the Long Water to the Italian Garden. On the way, make a detour to the left along the south side of the leaf yard – the enclosure behind Peter Pan – for small songbirds. It's OK to use a long lens as long as you aren't a professional photographer on an assignment, for which you need a permit.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for that I took some photos on Friday
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/14586608@N08/sets/72157655584213329

    What is the best way to find the little owls?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some of the pictures on the Flickr page have gone missing -- you'd better put them up again. For directions to the owlets, see the comments on the blog post for Sunday 19th. The owlets or the adults may also be in one of two sweet chestnut trees 50 yards to the south of this tree. One of these trees has brambles round its base, the other is immediately next to it on the uphill side.

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  6. Thanks for the directions, BTW the flickr photos are back up (it is not 100% reliable I didn't do anything to put them back)

    ReplyDelete