A Chiffchaff leapt around in a hawthorn near Peter Pan, then settled down to bask in the sunshine.
A Blackcap sang on the other side of the Long Water.
A Magpie was also sunbathing.
One of the young Grey Wagtails was back at the Dell waterfall, hunting from a rock.
It's now certain that the Green Woodpeckers' hole near the Physical Energy statue has been stolen by Rose-Ringed Parakeets. What a shame after all that hard work.
A Cormorant washed next to a rowing boat. There's only one Cormorant in the park at present, as the supply of fish has still not recovered from their depredations last winter.
The Great Crested Grebes at the east end of the Serpentine island are now nesting ...
... but the pair at the other end are still only thinking about it as they doze.
The single chick on the Long Water is in good shape.
A Moorhen has produced three chicks from a nest hidden in the reeds near the Italian Garden.
Another is nesting inside the weir at the Serpentine outflow, a place where agile Moorhens can climb in and out but Coots can't.
One of the Coot chicks at Peter Pan was having a go at diving. It's not very good at it yet.
Blondie, last seen here in March, has come back from St James's Park to moult in the place where she was hatched.
A pair of Common Blue Damselflies mated in one of the Italian Garden fountains. It's the same pair in each clip. This is a long and complicated process.
When I was photographing this bumblebee on a bramble flower I thought it was a Common Carder. But it's so dark that I think it might be a Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum), which would be more interesting. I'm far from sure, and am putting up two pictures to help with identification.
Update: Conehead 54 confirms that it is a Tree Bumblebee.
It's good to see that people are taking no notice of the park management's attempts to stop them bathing at the Lido, following the dictates of the Ministry of Fear. But I hope this doesn't lead to the gates being locked.
A report of travellers bathing their horses in the Serpentine and also racing them on a cyclepath on Saturday, did you see any of this? Jim
ReplyDeleteNo, I didn't see this. If a large number of 'travellers' with horses had turned up in the park it would have had a wider impact in the real world. Viewing the government-controlled mainstream media with the proper scepticism, it looks like an account of a small incident bigged up to maintain the desirable panic.
DeleteIs bathing with ordinary clothes on allowed? The police here would march you straight to the police station for that (if you're a native, that is).
ReplyDeleteI hope we get the Bumblebee identification confirmed. I had never seen this one before.
No bathing is 'allowed' at all, except for the activities of the Serpentine Swimming Club, who are still permitted their traditional bathe between 6 and 9.30 am -- strictly for members only. In the pre-coup world, in summer the Lido swimming area was fenced off and people had to pay to bathe there under the gaze of an official lifeguard.
DeleteThese were just ordinary people who were hot and wanted to cool off. As it happens, they were French, but young English people are behaving in just the same way.
The widespread ignoring of crazy regulations is our only hope of restoring normal life without serious violence, so I'm all for it. And if the misery merchants who pretend to rule us get the Lido closed down, there's the whole of the rest of the lake shore to use.
Definitely Tree Bumblebee-possibly the most distinctive of our bumblebees.
ReplyDeleteNice to see the Common Blue Damselflies too.
Thanks. Always relieved to get confirmation of my ignorant guesses.
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