The Mute Swans on the Long Water have stolen most of the Coots' nest to make their own. The Coots have simply moved their three chicks on to the swans' nest, which has two eggs (or maybe more today) covered up while the swans are away, There would be hell to pay when the swans came back. A pair of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls presented another threat, and had to be chased away.

But in the meantime the swans had other things on their mind.

Swans leave their nests for quite a long time, and other birds come in. This Moorhen at the boathouse is not here to nest, but to search for insects among the twigs.

The swans nesting behind the low railings near the Lido have one egg so far. But it's next to impossible that a nest could succeed in this exposed place.

The Black Swan on the Round Pond chased a Mute Swan away.

It has been a bad day for the Egyptian Geese. I could find no goslings on the Serpentine at all. The pair on the Long Water are down to their last gosling, seen here on the gravel bank where the rival swans have nested.

But the pair on the Round Pond still have four. It was a windy day.

A young Herring Gull played with a green scouring cloth.

The female Little Owl in the lime tree sat low in her hole to keep out of the chilly breeze.

A Grey Wagtail used the dead willow near the Italian Garden as a base while it flew out to catch midges. A small insect hid on the underside of the branch to avoid being eaten.

There was a Grey Heron at the bottom of the tree, where a branch provides a convenient fishing station.

While I was taking these pictures there was the unmistakable noise of a Reed Warbler singing on the other side of the lake, the first I've heard this year. It was out of sight behind a Blackbird.

A Pied Wagtail hunted on foot at the edge of the Serpentine.

The male Long-Tailed Tit in the Rose Garden brought an insect to the nest to feed his mate.

The tits usually perch on this pink-flowered hawthorn to look around before going to the nest. Today it held a Wood Pigeon eating the blossom.

A pair of Magpies in the Rose Garden looked for insects and worms in a flower bed. The female begged her mate to feed her. She will be nesting soon.