A good day for small birds

The hawthorn tree to the north of Peter Pan where Greenfinches collect provided a good view of a male.

Blackcaps also gather here, and there was a male on a high twig.

Another was singing on Buck Hill near Magazine Gate.

At the bottom of the hill the Long-Tailed Tits could be seen bringing insects to their nestlings.

On the other side of the lake another pair is nesting in brambles north of the bridge.

I think it's always the same Blue Tit that perches on the cabbage palm in the Rose Garden waiting to be given a pine nut.

A Robin followed me along the Flower Walk, collecting half a dozen.

A shy Song Thrush paused for an instant near the Italian Garden before fleeing into a distant tree.

Goldcrests are remarkably unworried by humans. This one was jumping about in a bush in the Dell.

A Wren sang in a hawthorn by the Ranger's Cottage.

The female Magpie near the Rose Garden, which I filmed a week ago pestering her mate to feed her, was still at it in the same place. She isn't going to nest till he starts bringing her worms.

Considering how hard it is is for a Grey Heron to break a twig off a tree, it's remarkable how big their nests are.

You don't really think of Herring Gulls as mild eaters of algae, but of course gulls will eat anything and it's the reason for their success.

A pair of Great Crested Grebes rested together at Fisherman's Keep.

Ahmet Amerikali saw one of the two Little Grebes on the Long Water near the Italian Garden ...

... and also found a Cormorant under the marble fountain with a fair-sized carp. Considering how long the Cormorants have been relentlessly fishing in this spot, it seems remarkable that there are any left.

The Coot nesting on the floating basket by the Triangle refused to be budged by a pair of Egyptian Geese having a noisy display.

The Mute Swan pair 4FYY and 4FUF, which have been claiming a nest site in the reeds east of the Lido for several weeks, are now building a nest there.

The first Mute Swan eggs

The swan pair 4DVZ and 4FYF nesting at the Serpentine outflow have at least four eggs, the first I've seen this year. It's not the best place, but at the moment there don't seem to be any foxes in the Dell. Last year the pair brought up one cygnet.

The Black Swan was with his Mute girlfriend 4GIQ on the nest at the landing stage, idly moving bits of nesting material about. Unfortunately my arrival spoiled the domestic scene, as he knows I have sunflower hearts, of which he is particularly fond.

The female Canada on the swan nesting island in the Long Water was still serenely in place. The chaos of invading swans on the Long Water has died down, and there are only a handful now. But sad to say, two dead swans have been seen here, though it's not clear whether they died fighting or from disease.

Jon Ferguson found an Egyptian Goose nesting in a plane tree on the north edge of Hyde Park between Victoria Gate and Marble Arch. It's a long way for goslings to walk from here to the lake but they have managed such distances before.

The Egyptians at the Lido are hanging on to their five goslings while the other broods dwindle -- except, of course, for the six half-grown ones at Fisherman's Keep. Constant attention by parents makes all the difference.

Yesterday I saw two Mandarin drakes in the Dell without a female and thought she was nesting, but today she was out with them. The pair climbed up the bank to beg for food from the people looking over the railings.

A pair of Great Crested Grebes on the Serpentine displayed to each other before setting out to fish together.

A male Coot by the boat hire platform jumped on a female intending to mate, but she wasn't in the mood and shook him off. He chased her angrily till she hid under the platform.

The Coots on the swan basket at the Triangle were building up their nest.

One of the young Grey Herons from the second nest on the island was climbing around recklessly in the trees.

A adult fished under the collapsed willow by the bridge, a good spot also used by grebes -- but not Cormorants, as they are too big to move around in the confined spaces among the fallen branches.

The Grey Wagtail and the Pied Wagtail were still at the bridge, a good place to hunt as there are lots of midges over the water. The Grey Wagtail preened on a bridge pier, the Pied Wagtail went after an insect.

Every year there is at least one Long-Tailed Tits' nest behind the Lido, towards the east end. A parent paused for a moment in a tree.

An anonymous contributor found a Mistle Thrush north of the Round Pond. There are sadly few of these now, while the Song Thrushes are doing very well. It's not at all clear why there should be a difference.

A Jay was waiting in a tree by the Queen's Temple.

A strong wind kept the insects in the Rose Garden out of sight, but the Dell is more sheltered and there was an Andrena Mining Bee of uncertain  species (what a lot there are!) resting on a leaf ...

... and a female Hairy-Footed Flower Bee feeding on bluebells. The flowers are bigger than the native wild ones, and I think they are Hyacinthoides x massartiana, a hybrid between the native and Spanish species.

A Small White butterfly was feeding on a purple deadnettle under the trees on Buck Hill.

Coots get a nasty surprise

The female Canada Goose nesting on the little island in the Long Water was taking a spell off the eggs to eat and drink and display with her mate. The Mute Swans who previously used the island tolerated the Coots nesting on the edge but the Canadas find them annoying and have started chasing them away.

Two Mandarin drakes were wandering around in the Dell. They had been on the Serpentine with a female, so it looks as if she is nesting in a tree here. The Dell would be a good place to bring up ducklings, as gulls seldom visit and as far as I know there are no pike in the stream.

There is also a pair on the Round Pond but there is no sign of nesting here yet. The drake was resting on the edge.

A pair of Egyptian Geese here have just brought out seven goslings.

This is the third brood on the pond this year. One other pair has four, and one pair has a single one but they are keeping a close watch on it and it has a fair chance of survival.

The pair with five at the Lido restaurant were on the edge of the terrace, where the wall of planters screens it from public view and also makes it difficult for gulls to swoop down on the goslings.

Bill Haines reports that a Greylag ringed by him, White U594, has turned up at Lakeside Country Park, Eastleigh, near Southampton. This is the first time one of his ringed geese has been seen more than 100 km from London. (But it's not up to the astonishing sighting of one of his Coots in St Petersburg a couple of years ago.)

The two young Grey Herons were down from the top nest, I think for the first time. One of them gazed at the new world from a wire basket.

The other landed on the edge and was promptly chased away by two adults. The young birds will still be returning to the nest to be fed.

One of the young herons in the second nest made a trip outside in a strong wind and had to flap to keep its balance on a branch. The young birds take what seem to us terrible risks before their flying skills are developed, or even before they can fly at all, but I've never seen one crash on one of these explorations.

A Chiffchaff sang and leapt around in an alder tree near the Italian Garden.

A Wren sang in a blossoming cherry tree by the leaf yard.

A Robin at the edge of the Diana fountain was carrying worms to a nest in the nearby shrubbery.

An anonymous contributor sent a picture of a Blackbird doing the same by the Henry Moore sculpture.

The familiar male Chaffinch followed me from the Serpentine Gallery to the bridge, and then when I was coming back on the other side of the Long Water accosted me at the other end of the bridge. This bird certainly knows my route, and has appeared all over Kensington Gardens to demand pine nuts, and even in Hyde Park after flying under the bridge.

The Jackdaws also know exactly where to find me. This one trotted up through the daisies at the Round Pond to request a peanut.

In the Rose Garden a Blue Tit hung from a cabbage palm leaf ...

... and a Great Tit came out in the pink blossom of a crabapple tree.

No visit would be complete without seeing the Coal Tits in the Dell.

Greenfinch eating cherry blossom

A Greenfinch ate blossom in a cherry tree beside the Long Water.

A male Chaffinch called against the background of song from a Great Tit and a Robin. Thanks to Julia for this video, which she shot yesterday when it was sunny.

Julia also filmed the Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery calling in the old chestnut tree. It was too chilly for him to come out today.

A Great Tit near the Italian Garden was carrying fluff for a nest lining.

Two Wrens allowed themselves to be photographed, one near the Buck Hill shelter ...

... and the other in the Flower Walk.

The hawthorn tree north of Peter Pan where Greenfinches are often seen had several Blackcaps jumping around in it ...

... a Song Thrush ...

... and a Jay.

Chiffchaffs were singing everywhere but I didn't get a good picture. Here is one taken by Ahmet Amerikali yesterday in Southwark Park.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker climbed a plane tree near the Rose Garden.

On the posts by the bridge a Pied Wagtail leapt out to catch midges, and a Grey Wagtail preened.

A young Herring Gull at Fisherman's Keep was eating a baby songbird. They couldn't raid a nest in a bush directly, so probably the poor creature had fallen out. Perhaps it's better to be eaten quickly than to die of exposure.

The stray young Black-Headed Gull on the Serpentine has now been joined by four adults.

The Grey Heron at the Lido restaurant had called its mate over, and both were walking up and down the edge of the terrace begging for snacks.

A Moorhen amused itself by climbing in the reeds under the Italian Garden.

A Coot has started nesting on the Mute Swan nesting basket by the Triangle, which as been completely ignored by swans.

The Black Swan's reluctant Mute girlfriend 4GIQ finally consented to sit on the nest he made for her near the landing stage. But she was still playing hard to get, and left the nest as soon as she saw him approaching. As always, he followed her closely across the lake.

A Canada Goose tasted a clump of sprouted wheat thrown into the lake after Nowruz, took one mouthful, and abandoned it.

One pair of Egyptian Geese at the Round Pond has four goslings, now quite well grown, while the other is down to the last one.