Sunday 12 March 2017

A Chiffchaff sang in a plum tree in the shrubbery opposite the shelter at the bottom of Buck Hill.


A Dunnock was singing in a place where I haven't seen one before, in the wide area of trees and scrub on the west side of the Long Water near the bridge.


This is also where the Cetti's Warbler can be heard and occasionally glimpsed. He's still there, but hasn't yet started singing frequently.

The female Dunnock in the Rose Garden was under the bushes at the north edge of the enclosure. She took some pine nuts that I threw on the ground for her.


In the middle of the Rose Garden a Robin was having a very loud song duel with another on a nearby bush.


A Blue Tit near the bridge called quietly to attract my attention so that I would feed it.


A Green Woodpecker can often be heard calling from a tree near the southwest corner of the leaf yard. Its sardonic laughter carries for a remarkable distance.


The Egyptian Goose family on the Round Pond retreated to the edge of the water as yet another idiot let his dog run around.


For several days this pair of Mallards have been on one of the boxes of water plants in the Italian Garden. It looks as if they are planning to nest here. Usually they would choose a place on land, sheltered under a bush but not safe from foxes. This site in a pond is probably foxproof, and there is probably just enough cover from the more upright plants to make them feel sheltered.


Coots are building nests all around the Long Water. This one is bringing an ambitiously large twig to a nest beside the Vista.


There was a fight and chase on the Serpentine near the island.


This pair of Great Crested Grebes on the Long Water have built two nests near the bridge, and don't seem to have decided which one to use.


The Sunday model yacht race was in progress at the Round Pond. The Mute Swans have seen all this before, and only move out of the way at the last moment.


The female Little Owl near the Albert Memorial was in her hole sheltering from the drizzle.

2 comments:

  1. What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Or in other words, I think Swans know they'd win that one.

    Lovely that the Blue Tit should call to draw your attention to its presence. What sort of call does it use?

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    Replies
    1. Just a mild chirp, the equivalent of a human 'uh-huh'.

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