The dominant gull dominated

For the last two days the dominant Black-Headed Gull on the landing stage at the Diana fountain has been displaced by a Herring Gull.

The evicted gull was on the shore nearby looking aggrieved, but he had not failed to clear all rival Black-Headed Gulls out of his territory.

A Robin behind the Peter Pan statue ticked irritably at a Magpie in the next tree.

The Robin in the Flower Walk was waiting as usual, always on the same twig.

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in her usual lime tree, on a higher branch than recently.

A Grey Heron stood in the willow at the bridge. When not fishing they like to keep a lookout from high places.

The submerged wire baskets at the bridge, which are full of twigs to act as a fish hatchery, are bent and broken and couldn't be arranged tidily after they were refilled recently. A heron stood on the protruding twisted mesh to look for fish.

The ugly baskets around the island, which were originally supposed to be full of water plants, are also much used as fishing stations by herons. These sure-footed birds seem all right standing on what looks like a most uncomfortable perch.

There has been talk of doing something about these baskets to improve the look of the island. But it takes for ever for anything to happen in the park, except for the pestilential and profitable Winter Wasteland which is already under construction and will blight Hyde Park for months.

The Great Crested Grebe family from the north side of the island were back at their nest site. One of the chicks got a perch from its father.

The family at the bridge were also out. A chick got too noisy for even its devoted parents to bear, and was chased off.

The lone Mute cygnet on the Long Water was with its parents at the Vista, all ignoring some Coots fighting around them.

Shovellers at Peter Pan cruised around shovelling up tiny water creatures and filtering them out with the bristles in their enormous bill.

A small fleet of Tufted Ducks emerged from under the bridge.

Greylag Geese fed on the grassy bank at the back of the Lido.

The yew trees are full of squirrels, or at least the trees with fruit. Yews are dioecious: there are male and female trees.

I also saw a Song Thrush eating yew fruit, but it flew off before I could pick up the camera.

A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee in the Rose Garden stuck its long proboscis into arbutus flowers to extract the nectar.

A Seven-Spot Ladybird wandered over a sea lavender flower. This is a British species, always a pleasure to see among the invasive Harlequin Ladybirds. The seventh spot is at the front, divided between the two wing cases, so really it has eight spots.

Little Owl preening

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was preening in her usual lime tree.

The pair of Magpies in the variegated holly tree down the hill from Temple Gate ...

... and the pair across the lake by the Buck Hill shelter are always waiting to come out for peanuts. Both pairs have bred and already thrown their offspring out of their territory.

The regular Robin at Mount Gate was hatched earlier this year, to judge by its unworn plumage. I haven't seen either of the older pairs here for some time.

The Robin at the Lido restaurant terrace is now often seen hunting along the shore like a wagtail.

The Pied Wagtail at the Dell restaurant had caught a tiny white larva.

It was having to skirt around Pigeon Eater.

A Grey Heron was fishing in the reeds opposite Peter Pan.

One of the Great Crested Grebe chicks on the Long Water followed its mother under the bridge to the good fishing ground on the other side.

Mary-Lu Bakker shot a splendid video of one of the older chicks on the Serpentine catching a reasonable sized fish.

An adult at Fisherman's keep rested by a fallen plane leaf.

The lone Mute cygnet on the Long Water was with its parents again today at the Vista.

The Black Swan and 4GIQ were feding at the Triangle. They were gatecrashed by the Lesser Black-Backed Gull that we saw eating a Feral Pigeon here a few weeks ago.

A Pochard drake at the Lido ignored an oncoming wave from the wake of a powerboat.

A Red Admiral butterfly having a leisurely feed of nectar from a Michaelmas daisy was knocked off the flower by a Common Wasp.

We've had pictures of Buff-Tailed Bumblebees punching holes in the side of baby sage flowers to get at the nectar. Here's a video of them at work.

Honeybees were enjoying the last warm day in the Rose Garden on the Michaelmas daisies ...

... and the purslane at the edge of the borders.

Swan family reunited (more or less)

The abundant fruits on the big yew tree in the Dell provided a feast for a Rose-Ringed Parakeet and a Grey Squirrel.

Blue Tits eat fruit quite often but never show any interest in yew fruits. They were here for the insects.

Their favourite tree is the hawthorn, which always seems to be full of bugs.

A Great Tit at Mount Gate carefully and slowly ate a pine nut I gave it, savouring every bite. It took over two minutes to eat this one.

The young Robin arrived and perched in a clump of dead leaves.

So did a Jay, again one of this year's young ones from the family near the Serpentine Gallery ...

... where the female Little Owl was in a very awkward place in the lime tree and it was impossible to get a good picture.

The young Grey Heron was back in a basket of water plants at the Triangle. I just can't see what it's finding there.

The boathouse with gaps under the foundations ...

... and the ramp at the Lido with a space below it are obvious places for herons, with fish lurking in the shadows.

The heron fishing from the electric boat platform had to put up with three Cormorants intruding on its territory.

A Cormorant at the Lido dried its wings on the edge, ignoring people walking by a couple of feet away.

One of the Great Crested Grebe chicks from the Long Water was mercilessly pestering its mother at the bridge.

The lone Mute cygnet on the Long Water, 4THT, was back with its neglectful parents at the Vista. Here it's next to its mother 4DTT, with its father 4HDW resting in the foreground. Neither of them was taking any notice of its juvenile cheeping, and in fact it was the cygnet that had seen them across the lake and come over.

The Black Swan was at the Triangle, amusing himself by bullying the Mute Swans.

The large clumps of Michaelmas daisies in the Rose Garden were still teeming with Honeybees, which have never before had such a feast so late in the year. These little white daisies are the favourite of the many varieties on offer.

A Common Carder bee preferred a Peruvian lily.

Students from Imperial College were enjoying a session on the Serpentine with 'Jezebel', the 1916 Dennis N-Type fire engine that they maintain in working order.

Sunshine and showers

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in the same place in the lime tree as yesterday. There had just been a shower, but the leaves are thick and she had kept dry.

So had the Robin at the southwest corner of the bridge, sheltered in the brambles.

A Jay waited in a holly tree a short way along the path. Two of them had followed me all the way from the Flower Walk.

A Blue Tit in the yew in the Dell ...

... and a Coal Tit perched among the fruit before coming down for pine nuts.

A young Blackbird was down on the edge of the stream.

A Pied Wagtail looked for insects in fallen leaves on the edge of the Dell restaurant terrace. It was a breezy day and the bird had to keep out of the waves to avoid getting washed away.

Pigeon Eater, at the other end of the restaurant, pretended not to be interested in the nearby Feral Pigeons. They were not fooled and kept their distance.

A young Grey Heron looked into the plants in one of the floating boxes at the Triangle. I wouldn't have expected to find rats in this soggy mass, but maybe the heron knew better.

One of the two Great Crested Grebe chicks on the Long Water stopped pestering its father for a moment, and both of them had a preen.

The youngest chick climbed on to its mother, and its father brought a fish. But it was too big for the chick to swallow, so father ate it himself.

Sometimes being pampered by your parents and never having to work can be a bit slow.

The Black Swan was on the Long Water too, ready to do a bit of bullying. A male Mute Swan prudently got out of the way.

A young Moorhen looked for something edible on the edge at the Lido. There are lots of little larvae and aquatic creatures washed up by the waves, and wagtails also do well here ...

... and so does this Robin, which I have seen before foraging along the edge of the Lido restaurant terrace just like a wagtail. Dunnocks also feed here.

The fox at the Vista enjoyed the warm day.

c

Michaelmas daisies, of which there is an enormous quantity in the Rose Garden, attracted a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee ...

... and a European Drone Fly.