The young Hobbies were making a lot of noise around the greenhouses and chasing a parent through the tops of the plane trees, momentarily visible but impossible to photograph. There were also Sparrowhawks, which have bred in their usual place on the hill above the Old Police House though I never established the site of their nest. One bird perched for a moment on a bare branch. It turned out to be a Sparrowhawk.

The Kestrel was on the Hyde Park side of Buck Hill. I couldn't find where her young were.

The female Little Owl looked down from the top of her nest tree.

A Jackdaw in the leaf yard waited to be given a peanut. When they first returned to the park about five years ago, you only had to look at one and it fled. Now they stare boldly back at you.

A Blackcap looked out of a holly tree near the bridge.

A Wood Pigeon had eaten most of a bunch of unripe elderberries, and was taking a short break before continuing.

Unlike Feral Pigeons, which eat just about anything, Wood Pigeons stick mainly to a proper wild bird diet. They are fond of tender young leaves. This one is picking clover and small dandelion leaves out of the grass.

Two young Herring Gulls pestered a parent, hoping to be fed. The adult thought they were quite old enough to feed themselves.

The single Great Crested Grebe chick at the island is beginning to grow proper wing feathers, though it will be a couple of months before it starts trying to fly.

When grebes are preening -- and sometimes when they aren't -- they often move their wings up and down alternately. I have no idea why they do this.

The Coots on the post at Peter Pan added feathers to their nest. These serve as both structural material and ornament.

The Coots in the Italian Garden have lost their last chick, and have doggedly returned to the nest to lay some more eggs. These birds are unstoppable.

The solitary Mute cygnet is still trying to join the family on the Long Water. Although it's usually kept at a distance, it's not being attacked. Maybe it will succeed by sheer persistence.

A Blue-Tailed Damselfly perched on the well worn rail at the Italian Garden where people climb in and out because the gateway is at the wrong end. The original cast iron rail was broken by constant use, and this is a steel scaffolding pole.

There were plenty of Meadow Brown butterflies appropriately in the Meadow.