The Moorhens in the Italian Garden have kept all five chicks alive so far, in a dangerously exposed place. Their task is all the harder because two of the chicks have wandered away from the nest into different clumps of plants, and the parents have to visit them in rotation to feed them.

This picture shows the odd featherless wings of a Moorhen chick which look like, and indeed are, hands with a thumb and what looks like one finger, though in fact it is the index and middle fingers fused together, which will carry the adult bird's primary feathers. The thumb will carry the alula, the small group of feathers that acts as a slot at the leading edge of the wing, and is raised when a bird is coming in to land to smooth the air flow and delay stalling.

The chicks have an instinct to creep under cover, which served them well when a Lesser Black-Backed Gull flew over the pond. It didn't see them and went on its way.

The Great Crested Grebes from the poplar are out and about carrying and feeding their their three chicks. The babies are very active and crawl all over their parent's back, frequently falling off.

The parent then waits for the chick to scramble out of the water and up its back. Grebe chicks have quite well developed wings, which they use to help them climb up -- but the useful-looking 'hands' of baby Moorhens don't actually seem to be used for anything.

The play area at the back of the Lido, closed during the games, is busy with birds poking around in the grass for worms and insects. Here a Green Woodpecker searches for its next meal.

There were plenty of House Martins at the Kuwaiti embassy, as well as a few in Kensington Gardens. Although the birds flew busily all round the embassy building, I could see only two nest sites being visited. I think some of the young birds may already have fledged and were flying with the adults.

Here is a Wood Pigeon spread out on the grass to enjoy the mild sunshine.