Thursday 8 March 2018

The newly laid topsoil on the Parade Ground is full of worms, and a Mistle Thrush was finding one every few seconds.


There was also a flock of Redwings doing equally well.


But there weren't enough insects for the Pied Wagtails, which were hunting on the grass beside the Serpentine.


Wrens are usually very shy. This one in the Rose Garden was twenty yards away, and flew off when I took a step nearer.


Yet the remarkably bold Wren in the Flower Walk hopped around almost under my feet.


While I was feeding the Robin in the corkscrew hazel bush in the Flower Walk, a Coal Tit turned up too.


There used to be a pair in a large and beautiful yew tree in the Flower Walk, but this has been destroyed to make room for a lot of boring bedding plants, and I don't know where the Coal Tits have moved to.

A Jackdaw also turned up in the bush and gave me the intense stare that means 'Feed me.'


A Jay did the same beside the Serpentine.


But when it comes to staring, nothing can beat an owl. This is the female Little Owl near the Albert Memorial.


A Carrion Crow preened, showing that its feathers are black only on the outside. That black pigment seems to be expensive to produce, as you can see in crows that have been bleached by a poor diet.


The young Herring Gulls on the Serpentine find the plastic buoys fascinating, and enjoy tugging the mooring ropes.


When there are few people in the Diana fountain enclosure it is a place of resort for gulls, which wash and drink and squabble around the fast flowing stream.


A pair of Mandarins stood side by side at Peter Pan.


The gusty wind blew away the spray from a Mute Swan washing next to the Serpentine island.


The filter bed at the outflow of the Serpentine clogs up regularly and has to be cleaned out. A fleet of lorries had arrived to do the work, displaying some remarkable art.

2 comments:

  1. I really like the idea of a resort or spa for gulls. I am sure they'll need their relaxation after a long hard day of Being Public Enemies. Perhaps the facilities might be improved by providing them with a few plastic toys to relax the mind as well as the body.

    What is going on in those lorries?!

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    Replies
    1. Perhaps we could add a tiny sauna and massage parlour in the corner of the Diana enclosure, and play them soothing recordings of New Age music.

      Paul said that some tractor units are privately owned and haul trailers on a freelance basis, which might explain the blue cab. But the orange vehicle is a non-articulated custom drain service unit in the livery of the drainage firm. Perhaps they are trying to Make Drains Fun.

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