An unexpected grebe chick

There is at least one more Great Crested Grebe chick on the Long Water. I was at Peter Pan and saw a pair in the distance on the far side of the lake, wondered what they were doing, and took a picture. And this is what it shows. These, the second pair to breed on the Long Water, had been several times near the reeds on the east side and they must have nested there out of sight.

This is one of the chicks from the next youngest set, from the north side of the Serpentine island.

The chicks from the east end of the island were taking a few minutes off pestering their parents to look after their feathers. Their wings are now fully grown but I haven't yet seen one trying to fly.

The Little Grebe chicks were hidden in the bushes on the east side of the Long Water, but one came out in the open for a short time and could be seen from the bridge.

The mob of Coots on the Long Water gets larger and larger.

There were at least 50 Cormorants on the Long Water alone.

Greylag Geese like apples, but it's hard to eat one in the water. This pair at the Lido restuarant were doing their best.

The Black Swan and 4GIQ were also on the edge of the terrace.

A Grey Heron looked for fish in the dark corner under the Dell restaurant balcony.

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

The Robin at the southwest corner of the bridge waited beside a clump of withered blackberries.

The female Coal Tit in the Dell appeared in the corkscrew hazel ...

... and a Blue Tit was in the big yew tree ...

... where a squirrel was eating the fruit.

The fox south of the Vista emerged from the undergrowth.

A Marmalade Fly ...

... and a Greenbottle browsed on ivy flowers at the back of the Lido.

For some years there has been a patch of mauve cyclamen behind the railings southeast of the Italian Garden, and it's gradually spreading. People think of cyclamen as a house plant but it does much better in the open air.

Quietly confident Robin

A Robin sang gently to itself on a twig near the Italian Garden. This isn't one of my regular Robins, but it put up with being filmed and came to my hand for a pine nut.

The big yew tree in the Dell has a lot of fruit on it, which made a pretty background for one of the local Blue Tits ...

... and the female Coal Tit of the pair.

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery could be seen in the plane tree ...

... under which a Jay barred the way to make sure that it was noticed.

Carrion Crows gathered in a tree by the Round Pond. I had gone there because a Little Owl was heard yesterday in the area where the pair used to nest in the old hollow tree until it burned down. I had a good look around, but didn't find an owl. However, it's a place to listen and look.

Both the Peregrines were on the tower.

On the grass below, where the Crystal Palace stood in 1851, five Pied Wagtails dashed around. The site is now football fields, and the worn grass and bare patches make it easier for them to run.

The Czech Black-Headed Gull stood on the notice at Fisherman's Keep that is its favourite lookout point. As with all the ugly proliferation of notices in the park, no one pays this the least heed. But it was striking how all the notices warning about toxic 'blue-green algae' were taken down shortly before the mass swimming event, and then put back immediately afterwards.

Pigeon Eater was waiting for a Feral Pigeon to stop paying attention. But even with its head turned away it could see him out of the corner of its eye, and flew away before he could rush at it.

A Little Grebe chick on the Long Water chased a parent with a fish.

Another joined in, but this time the parent chose to eat the fish itself. They can't give everything to the chicks.

These are the Great Crested Grebe chicks from the north side of the island returning to the place where they were hatched. The remins of the nest can be seen on the left of the picture.

The two from the east end of the island were fishing together at the edge of the lake, though when a parent appeared they raced off to pester it.

The term for a group of Coots is 'a raft', but these are really on a raft, the battered remains of the swan nesting basket at the Triangle. There's one Moorhen with them on the near corner.

Seven Cormorants preened on the fallen tree at the Peter Pan waterfront.

A late Red Admiral butterfly perched on a leaf in the Flower Walk.

Ivy flowers at the back of the Dell attracted Common Wasps. I was looking for an Ivy Bee, a species occasionally found here, but had no luck.

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 Common Darter which has darkened with age.

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

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