The Hobbies are still in the park, though they will be off to Africa soon. Tom and I got a distant sight of one this morning, and yesterday Virginia got fine views of them near the greenhouses.

If I read this picture rightly, it's a young Hobby just beginning to get its adult red underpants.

The male Little Owl was back in the nest tree, though it took two visits to find him.

The young Grey Wagtail was on a rock at the bottom of the Dell waterfall, here seen from the top.

A young Blackbird foraged under a tree on the lawn near the Dell.

A Robin perched on a fallen tree beside the Long Water.

A Blue Tit looked out from the leaves near the bridge.

The young Grey Herons are finally down from the nest on the island. One stood on the shore nearby.

A heron caught a small carp in the Italian Garden.

A young Herring Gull dismantled quite a large crayfish on the Mute Swans' nesting island.

A Coot pulled up a crayfish and held on to it in spite of harassment from a Black-Headed Gull and another Coot.

The Great Crested Grebe family cruised down the Long Water.

A swan in the Italian Garden saw another in the lake below and both went into a threat posture.

A strange event on the Serpentine. A female Mandarin closely followed an Egyptian Goose along the Serpentine, out of the water and up the bank. There were no other Mandarins around, so maybe it was just lonely. Update: For at least a partial explanation, see Virginia's comment below.

A Female Wigeon browsed on algae on the Long Water. We only see them occasionally in the park.

A Lesser Emperor dragonfly -- a new species for the park -- caught a Common Wasp and perched on a twig to chew it up in a leisurely way.

Tom sent a picture from Rainham Marshes of another insect, a bumblebee, falling prey to a Spotted Flycatcher ...

... and also of a Cattle Egret. The cattle at the Marshes have still not got the idea that the egrets will eat their pests, and shake the birds off when they try to land on their back.