Another odd gull couple

A Carrion Crow had a brisk wash in the Serpentine before flying off to dry in a tree.

A Grey Wagtail hunted along the edge of the Lido restaurant terrace.

The Blue Tit pair in the Dell are now regular customers for pine nuts. One waited in the corkscrew hazel bush.

A Great Tit perched in a pyracantha bush in the Flower Walk. Most of its abundant berries have now been eaten.

The male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in the plane tree.

Both the Peregrines were on the barracks tower, but by the time I got round to it the female had flown away.

The Lesser Black-Backed Gull here is the one we saw eating a Feral Pigeon it had caught at the Triangle. It was having a flirtation with a Herring Gull. There are several of these mixed pairs, and I suspect that some of the lighter coloured gulls we take to be Lesser Black-Backs are in fact hybrids.

A Grey Heron stood on the swan nesting basket west of the Lido. Although no swan has even been on it, the flimsy structure is falling to pieces by itself.

The basket at the Triangle where the Black Swan and 4GIQ nested has been thoroughly trashed and is beginning to sink. It's now a hangout for various Mute Swans and Coots.

The pair were together on the other side of the lake.

A Little Grebe and one chick threaded their way through a crowd of Coots on the Long Water.

The female Great Crested Grebe checked out an abandoned Coot nest while, just visible behind her, a chick shouted at her to stop wasting time and bring it a fish.

The other two chicks were on the far side of the bridge. The pushy one which had been unmercifully pestering its father turned away abruptly ...

... because it saw that its exasperated parent was about to chase it off.

The single young grebe from the nest under the Dell restaurant balcony is now independent but by no means skilled at fishing yet, and is having to work hard to survive this difficult stage. They usually start by fishing in the shallows at the edge of the lake, where there are tiny fish and other small aquatic creatures that are easy to catch.

We saw the young Moorhens on the fallen tree at Peter Pan when they were very small. Now they are fully grown and in their drab teenage plumage.

An enormous Buff-Tailed Bumblebee on a clump of baby sage in the Rose Garden must be a queen.

All the remaining Willow Emerald damselflies have lost their green colour and turned bronze, though they still have their metallic sheen.

Black Swan back to normal

After a peaceful interlude the Black Swan is back to his usual aggressive self. He chased a Mute Swan off the Long Water and under the bridge ...

... and returned, looking pleased with himself.

Later he was with his mate 4GIQ on the edge of the Lido restaurant terrace.

The Egyptian goslings were in a huddle with the smallest in the middle. The largest one stretched, showing developing wing feathers.

The Gadwall drakes are now back in their quietly elegant breeding plumage.

The Great Crested Grebe family from the Long Water were at the bridge. Here are the three chicks together on the Serpentine ...

... and one of them swallowing a fish on the other side.

The single teenager from the Dell restaurant was fishing busily. I didn't see it catch anything.

The Little Grebe chicks weren't visible but could be heard on the Long Water.

There was an uneasy standoff at the bridge between a Grey Heron and a pair of Carrion Crows wanting to eat the same patch of scraps.

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery looked down from the plane tree.

A Jay waited in a holly tree by the bridge.

A Blue Tit in the Flower Walk ...

... and one of the regular Robins were also expecting service.

The fox at the Vista can be lured out of cover by putting some peanuts on the ground.

Squirrels were eating blackberries in a bramble patch and yew fruit in the Dell. They chew off the sweet juicy outside of the yew fruits and discard the hard seed inside which is poisonous.

A young squirrel at the Dell was getting too familiar with the human visitors. It knew that they had food but had not learnt the necessary caution. After it had started chasing people on the open lawn a parent came and collected it, which was a relief.

This dragonfly on a hybrid pelargonium in the Rose Garden is an old female Black-Tailed Skimmer who has lost her yellow colour and gone dark brown.

Several male Migrant Hawkers were hunting around the bridge ...

... and Willow Emerald damselflies mated on a reed. They too have dulled in colour.

Summer's lease extended

It was the turn of the male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery to perch at the front of the big plane tree, on a new branch where I almost missed him. Although I have heard them both calling in this tree, you never seem to see them near each other.

On a warm day with plenty of insects still around for the small birds, these weren't crowding out to be fed. But the Coal Tits in the Dell are always keen on pine nuts, which are a special favourite of theirs. By choice they live in stone pines, the umbrella-shaped trees familiar in the Italian landscape, and peck these seeds out of the cones. However, there are no stone pines in the park.

Pigeon Eater is well into his winter plumage, with dark streaks on his head. But he had also picked up some muck on his front from swimming in the foul lake. He is very careful of his appearance, and soon preened it off.

This is the Grey Heron I saw sunbathing by the island three days ago, today back in the same place taking in the sunshine.

Cormorants have spread to occupy most of the posts at the bridge.

It's getting hard to tell which Great Crested Grebe chicks are which as they range widely about the lake.This is definitely one from the nest on the Long Water ...

... with a sibling on the other side of the bridge.

These two near the Lido are evidently from the nest on the north side of the island ...

... and this is the single teenager from the nest at the Dell restaurant, taking a break from fishing to preen and have a massive shrug. 

The Black Swan was cruising among the Mute mob on the Long Water with a lordly air. It seems likely that he is aiming to be the boss of the Long Water, and perhaps the subdued behaviour of 4HDW is the result of losing a fight with him.

Two Canada Geese washed on the Serpentine, and one of them flapped its mighty wings.

When the mother of the Egyptian goslings preened, two of the little ones copied her -- but the one in the middle was asleep.

The baskets of water plants which you can see in the picture of the Cormorants above attract insects, and the insects attract dragonflies. There were a good many here, mostly Migrant Hawkers but there was also a male Lesser Emperor.

A male Ruddy Darter rested on a leaf in the Dell. This seems to be the only place in the park where they are found.

The gaudy display of flowers planted to cheer up the drab building of the Hyde Park bandstand lavatories includes a large and brilliant canna lily.

Robins singing again

The Robins have started singing again after their late summer break, at first tentatively but this one is almost back in full song.

The Blue Tits in the Dell used to be quite timid, but now they have started touting for pine nuts as soon as they see me approaching.

The Coal Tits remain shy, but usually emerge from the bushes to take pine nuts from the railings.

A little group of Jackdaws waits every day in the catalpa trees by the Italian Garden.

Both the Peregrines were on the barracks ...

... and two Pied Wagtails were hunting on the grass below, not a place I have seen them before.

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery had come out on a more visible branch in the plane tree.

A Cormorant flapped and shuffled around on the kerb of a pool in the Italian Garden, unworried by people passing a few feet away.

One of the many Cormorants at the Serpentine island had a typically frantic wash.

They have overflowed from the posts at the island to the electric boat charging platform.

The Great Crested Grebe family had spread out over both sides of the bridge, with the chicks in full cry.

A Little Grebe and two chicks hurried up the Long Water. The third chick was still in the reeds by the Vista, but could be heard.

This Mandarin at the Vista is probably the mother of the two young hatched by the Long Water. Some of the teenage Mandarins from the Round Pond are also visiting the Long Water from time to time.

Not seen for some weeks, the Mute Swan 4HDW appeared at the Vista. We were thinking that something had happened to him, but he looked perfectly well.

However, he and his mate 4DTT are completely ignoring their single cygnet ...

... and there are other swans all over the Long Water and a flock of Canada Geese, which the old boss would not have tolerated.

Flowers for Anthony Soh, the student at Imperial College who drowned in the Serpentine seven years ago but is still remembered.