Wednesday 20 September 2017

A Sparrowhawk often passes through Kensington Gardens, and Virginia got a picture of it high over Buck Hill.


But it was definitely a Kestrel that I saw from Buck Hill, at a great distance, being chased by a Carrion Crow.


Virginia also sent me this splendid picture of a crow with a fish that is well past its sell-by date.


There were two Black-Headed Gulls with plastic rings. This one, ringed by Paul Roper of the North Thames Gull Group, has probably never been farther away than a rubbish dump in outer London.


But this one was ringed by Adam Olszewski at Truskaw in Poland. It returns every year.


The rowan trees on Buck Hill were busy again, full of Blackbirds ...


... and Mistle Thrushes.


The fruit is beginning to wither, which concentrates the sugar and makes them sweeter, just what the thrushes like.

A Long-Tailed Tit perched against a background of the reddening leaves of an American oak near the Albert Memorial.


A Blue Tit clung to a holly twig among the ripening berries.


The Little Owl at the leaf yard stared down from her usual branch.


When you see a lot of Rose-Ringed Parakeets on the ground, it's almost always because they are eating dandelion leaves, which they are particularly fond of. By now the leaves have become tough and bitter, but they don't mind.


The Black Swan was preening, but looked up when I approached and came over for some birdseed. It's just ordinary wild birdseed for putting in feeders, but he likes it a lot.


An Egyptian Goose on the Serpentine had a thorough wash, scratch and flap.


Canada--Greylag hybrid geese are very variable. This one has turned out a dull brown with pinkish feet, and diluted Canada head markings among the white speckles that most of these hybrids have.


The white Mallard has gone yellow again. This is the time when Mallard drakes are regrowing their breeding plumage, and I think the feathers come out creamy yellow and then fade. The last time he went yellow was when the Mallards are growing their eclipse plumage. But his breeding and eclipse feathers are the same colour, so the only sign of the change is this temporary yellow tinge.


A Cormorant sprawled on a post near the island.


A female Garden spider ate a fly in the middle of her web.


This web, which was near the bridge, looks just like the unoccupied web I photographed in the Dell on 14 September, so probably that was also made by a Garden spider.

5 comments:

  1. Your first video could be sub titled, "Pests in the park" as you managed to get parakeets, feral pigeons and grey squirrels all at the same time.

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    1. But I am uncomfortably aware of belonging to the world's number one pest species.

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    2. I thought 'moving still life', again- splendid. I don't believe in the concept of 'pest', or 'weed', for that matter. Seems to be applied when another living organism is in a place we don't want them to be.

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    3. If weeds could speak, what would they call us?

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    4. Genocidal occupiers, no doubt.

      Lovely picture of the Long-tailed Tit. Such a pretty bird!

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