The Coots' nest in the small boathouse has three very recent chicks in it, possibly with more yet to hatch.

This is a surprise, because it is only a couple of weeks since the nest inside the boat, which had eggs in it, was removed when the boats were taken away. Perhaps the people managed to take out the nest intact and transfer it to the platform inside the building. Normally that would cause a sitting bird to desert its nest and never go back, but Coots are tough and persistent creatures and they might have returned and continued to sit on their eggs.

Speaking of nests, the hole in the oak tree on the bicycle path, where Little Owls were seen recently, now has twigs and leaves inside it, and some other bird is clearly nesting there.

Owls don't line their nests in this way. A pair of Stock Doves has been hanging around the tree for some time; perhaps it is their nest. There has also been a pair of Ring-Necked Parakeets, but these use much smaller holes for their nests.

One of the Nuthatches nesting in the old chestnut tree in the leaf yard was carrying a load of insects to feed its young.

The male Nuthatch from the other nest just across the path was singing loudly. Their nest is high up and now shielded by leaves, so it will be hard to see what is going on there.

Here is the peculiar sepia-coloured Mallard drake with his mate and their two surviving ducklings. One of these is the pale one that might perhaps grow up to resemble its father.

The Egyptian Geese on the Serpentine with ten young have managed to keep them all so far, by herding them extremely close and shielded from the marauding gulls. The other Egyptian brood still numbers five, as it did yesterday. Here is one of them feeding at the side of the lake, several feet from the safety of its mother.

The large carp in the little stream in the Dell are very fond of digestive biscuits, and if you throw one into the water there will be quite a lively competition for the prize.

There are also some smaller carp here, which is why there is often a Grey Heron on the edge of the water.

The Tawny Owl was out of sight today. The female Little Owl appeared briefly early this morning.