Lost baby squirrel

The Little Grebe chicks are now practising fishing, though they aren't yet getting much. Two of them brought up a leaf and a strand of algae. The third was preening, which caused it to revolve.

Of course they are still being fed. Here they were by the swan nesting raft at the Triangle.

The three Great Crested Grebe chicks were also being fed under the bridge, where both families spend a lot of their time.

These two chicks are from the nest on the north side of the island. Shortly after they were hatched the whole family disappeared, and it took us some time to find them on the far side of the lake where they were hidden by the bushes at the edge of the reeds east of the Lido. This clip was shot by poking the camera through the bushes.

Moorhens enjoy climbing up the chains to the posts at the bridge and knocking off the little Black-Headed Gulls, which are easy to scare. But a Lesser Black-Backed Gull was more of a challenge, and the Moorhen wisely decided to retreat.

There is still a confused mob of Mute Swans on the Long Water. The single cygnet was near the Italian Garden, but again without its parents. The Black Swan was at Peter Pan, and when he saw me he hurried over to the railings for some sunflower hearts.

The grass is growing back patchily after the drought. There was enough at the Vista to interest some Greylag Geese. It's a difficult place to graze, as they are constantly interrupted by dog owners taking their pets to swim in the lake.

Black-Headed Gulls have feet of quite varied colours, from beige to deep beetroot red, darkening as they age. This one by the Triangle had a bright orange pair.

Pigeon Eater was on the shore by the Dell restaurant, pretending to be resting but actually keeping a sharp eye on the Feral Pigeons to see if any of them had dropped its guard.

The young Pied Wagtail which is often here caught a larva.

The Little Owls at the Serpentine Gallery called to each other. I couldn't find the male, but after some frantic scurrying around I got a glimpse of the female in the middle of the plane tree.

The four Jays were constantly interrupting with demands for peanuts.

The Robin at the bridge came out to take several pine nuts.

The tits were also waiting in the big yew tree in the Dell. A Blue Tit ...

... and a Coal Tit came out on the same twig in turn.

A small young squirrel near the Buck Hill shelter had got separated from its family. People had given it peanuts and it was reluctant to leave them when put on a branch, but it had to go and hope its mother would find it. It was unexpectedly bad at climbing, and just clung there looking pathetic. All we could do was find it a more comfortable branch and go away.

A Common Carder bee browsed on purple loosestrife growing wild near the Italian Garden. It's a pretty plant, but the gardeners must regret introducing it in the pools, as it has now seeded itself all over the park.

Normal weather resumes

It was a dull day with occasional drizzle, and not much was happening. A female Great Spotted Woodpecker called from a treetop near the Buck Hill shelter.

The Robin at the southwest corner of the bridge retreated into the bushes when I picked up the camera, but was lured out again by the promise of pine nuts.

There was another which I haven't seen before by Peter Pan, perched above some withered blackberries.

The dry spell has had a bad effect on fruit, and when I went up to the top of Buck Hill to see the rowan trees I found only one of them with fruit, and that was mostly shrivelled. The big yew tree in the Dell has managed to produce some, which were being enjoyed by a young Blackbird ...

... while a Coal Tit looked down from a twig waiting for pine nuts to be put on the railings.

A Jay at Temple Gate was also looking expectant.

The male Little Owl at the Serpentine was in a skittish mood, probably disliking the drizzle, and soon retreated into the middle of the plane tree where he was invisible.

Two young Grey Wagtails looked for insects on the edge of the Dell restaurant terrace.

The Czech Black-Headed Gull was patrolling his territory along the shore at Fisherman's Keep ...

... and the other dominant gull was in his usual place on the landing stage by the Diana fountain.

Since the other dominant Black-Headed Gull between these territories, Blue 2331, died these two have ruled the whole south shore, and other gulls have had to stay on the moored boats or other side of the lake. It was noticeable that both the Czech gull and 2331, who was found in Latvia, migrated here from quite far away. Perhaps well travelled gulls tend to dominate. The gull at the landing stage has no ring and who knows where it comes from.

The adult Grey Heron that was ousted from the willow tree at the bridge was back in place.

Then it saw its young rival advancing along the shore and flew down, and you could glimpse an angry confrontation through the leaves.

The Little Grebe family is being much harassed by Black-Headed Gulls trying to snatch fish. They sensibly spend a lot of their time under the willow or an arch of the bridge.

The young Great Crested Grebes on the Serpentine are still being fed by their parents ...

... but they are also beginning to look for fish for themselves. They probably aren't catching much, but they know that small fish lurk under the edge of the concrete shelf surrounding the lake and are probably taking a few in this easy place.

Egyptian Geese drank from a puddle at the island. All the birds prefer rainwater to the stuff in the lake, which evidently tastes nasty.

There are still some Willow Emerald damselflies, always a late season species. This male was on a twig near the Italian Garden.

A traditional Kurdish line dance in the Rose Garden. These dances are held once a month in various parks in London, accompanied by a picnic. You don't have to be a Kurd to join in, anyone is welcome.

Insolent young heron

A Blackbird and a Song Thrush looked for insects on the bare ground and wood chips under the statue of Peter Pan. The area is being landscaped and, as usual, it has taken months and is still unfinished.

A Blue Tit in the corkscrew hazel was getting impatient about being phtographed when it wanted a pine nut.

The male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery came out on his usual branch in the mid-afternoon.

A shaft of light caught a Grey Heron in the Dell as it examined a clump of plants, looking for a rat.

A young one from the latest nest, now out and exploring, rudely expelled a senior heron from the willow tree by the bridge. I've left the traffic noise from the bridge unaltered so you can hear the heron nattering.

The young Pied Wagtail was hunting along the edge by the Dell restaurant ...

... getting close to Pigeon Eater, but its lightning takeoff would keep it out of danger.

Pigeon Eater had his mind on other things. He lunged at a Feral Pigeon but missed, sending a plastic cup flying.

The dominant Black-Headed Gull at the landing stage looked around his territory.

One of the Little Grebe chicks at the bridge passed the time by preening as it waited for a parent to bring a fish.

One of the two Great Crested Grebe chicks at Fisherman's Keep stretched its wings. It has flight feathers now, but I don't think it will be in any hurry to take to the air.

This is the family that can be seen at the reed bed east of the Lido. The chick on the left had just been given a fish by its mother when there was an anxious moment as a young Herring Gull flew over. But it didn't notice and passed by, so there was no need for a crash dive.

When I last saw the single Moorhen chick at the island it was limping, but today it has recovered completely and was trotting about happily enough.

The two Coot chicks from the nest in the water lilies in the Italian Garden were back in place with a parent. The water lilies have almost gone but the strongly built nest endures, even when hijacked by a heron as a fishing station.

There was the usual confused mass of Mute Swans on the Long water and it was hard to see what was going on. The Black Swan and 4GIQ went back and forth under the bridge several times.

4DTT, the mother of the Long Water cygnet, was at Peter Pan but that was the only member of the family I saw. 

There was some chasing on the lake, and later there was an injured swan though this proved to be the victim of a dog bite. It was rescued by Jenna and Mod, and is now being looked after.

The durable Sea Lavender in the Rose Garden has been a huge success with insects of many kinds. A Small White butterfly unfurled its tongue to drink some nectar.

I think this is a Superb Ant-Hill Hoverfly, Philhelius pedissequus, a glorious name for a little insect.

Bunfight at the Lido restaurant

Starlings at the Lido restaurant squabbled over a ciabatta roll which was used as a bun for an upmarket hamburger.

A young Blackbird in the Dell looked for fruit in a yew tree, and an adult male foraged on the ground.

The female Coal Tit, with a white patch over her eye ...

... and the male appeared in the yew ...

... along with a Blue Tit.

A Robin at Mount Gate had a matching background of red cockspur hawthorn leaves. This is one of the young Robins brought up by one of the two resident pairs this year.

Four Jays, two parents and two young, demanded peanuts at the Serpentine Gallery ...

... where the male Little Owl was out on his usual branch in the plane tree.

The pair of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls at the Triangle, encouraged by their recent kill of a Feral Pigeon, were eyeing the shore hungrily. The male, who does the hunting, is at the front here. You can see the slight difference in head shape between the sexes.

The Little Grebe chicks were being shadowed by Black-Headed Gulls waiting to grab a fish brought by an adult. I don't think the gulls ever get one, as both adults and chicks can dive like lightning.

The Great Crested Grebe family was under the poplar tree, too far away for a worthwhile picture.  This is the single teenager that flew in from somewhere and now fishes at the Triangle. It's losing its juvenile stripes ...

... and will soon be hard to distinguish from an adult in winter plumage, like this one at the Lido which has shed its summer finery well before the others.

A Moorhen fed a chick on the shore nearby.

The Mute Swan mob was still at the Vista, and the Black Swan was with them.

I didn't see the resident pair 4HDW and 4DTT, and their cygnet was by itself again, near the Italian Garden. The formerly dominant pair really do seem to have lost their mojo, and no one knows why.

A Shoveller drake fed under the willow at the bridge, still in eclipse but looking smart.

A patch of baby sage in the Rose Garden attracted a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee. They can't get into the long narrow flowers, so they punch a hole in the side with their sharp proboscis to get at the nectar.

A male Willow Emerald damselfly rested on the Dell railings.