About 30 House Martins were passing over on their migration, a matter of some interest to the Hobbies, and I saw two of them flying around in the hope of catching one. Here one of the juveniles takes a rest in the usual oak tree.

The widowed Mute Swan on the Long Water, who lost his mate and their nest probably to foxes, has ended his mourning and found a new mate. She is very young and her bill is still a slightly dusky colour, not the bright orange of a completely grown-up bird. Here he is taking deplorably little notice of her. I waited for ten minutes for him to wake up, without result.

Two families of swans on the lake were having a vigorous dispute while someone was throwing bread to them, and one of the young ones from the nest at the Lido actually managed to chase away an adult of the other family.

There is a fair number of Chaffinches in the leaf yard. At one time there were four males looking at me from nearby twigs, and two of them have mates and families in the same area. At the moment only the males are coming to my hand to be fed, but the others are showing interest. It takes a long time before a Chaffinch will trust you, and they are quite right to be wary.

The Jays have no hesitation in swooping down to grab peanuts put out for them on the railings, or on the ground. Here is one waiting impatiently for his treat.