Wednesday 15 March 2017

This is the tree under which Abigail found the Tawny Owl pellets. It's a horse chestnut in a small fenced enclosure on the northwest corner of the Diana playground. You can see part of one of the Orme Square Lodges at the far left of the picture.


It's an old tree and well provided with holes, but we couldn't see which hole Abigail was referring to.


Anyway, this is certainly a place to keep an eye on.

Update: Abigail says that it's the right hole. It faces roughly southwest.

The Little Owl at the Albert Memorial was looking down from her hole. From this angle you can see the split in the top of the branch, which is becoming increasingly rotten. It did, however, survive the recent gale, so it's not going to collapse immediately.


The Egyptian Geese at the Round Pond were in a protective mood, lunging at a Coot which had come too close while the goslings were drinking ...


... and chasing away a Carrion Crow, which posed a real danger.


Many crows from the large colony at the Round Pond are spending their days on the Parade Ground, where there is an abundance of worms in the newly laid turf. The trees on the edge of the Serpentine are full of them. Here one rattles crossly at another which has displeased it in some way.


A pair of Red Crested Pochards cruised around together on the Serpentine.


On the Long Water, a pair of Herring Gulls called affectionately to each other.


Unlike the Black-Headed and Common Gulls, which are now preparing to leave, many Herring Gulls remain and breed in London. One colony is on a flat roof in Church Street, off the Edgware Road.

A Grey Heron was wandering through a patch of daffodils beside the Vista. It was not having a Wordsworth moment. It was looking for rats.


A pair of Long-Tailed Tits were bouncing around in the trees below the Triangle car park.


There was also a Wren looking for insects in cracks in the bark.


The gorse blossom is attracting bees. This is a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee.


A Peacock butterfly was drinking nectar from a hyacinth in the Rose Garden.

6 comments:

  1. Yes, that is the hole under which the pellets, a feather and some scat-stained leaves were seen. Not an easy for any owlets to reach a branch, but at least if they fall they will be in a dog-proof enclosure!

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    1. Thanks. We shall all be watching it.

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    2. Great news about the Tawnies!
      Hopefully they return and stay like before!

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    3. It's probably not the well known pair. See the last paragraph of Tuesday's blog.

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  2. What lovely pictures of the Bumblebee (which might easily be my favourite insect) and the hyacinth with the butterfly. Stunning colour composition.

    Great to see that this pair of Egyptians know how to look after their babies.

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    1. These Egyptians look after their brood well most of the time, but they have lapses, and that's when gulls and crows strike. They may chase other Egyptians off their supposed territory (though there is no room for territories on the Round Pond), leaving the young unprotected. Or sometimes they just forget what they are supposed to be doing and wander off.

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