Collecting insects

A chilly grey morning, but there were plenty of small birds to see. A slightly tatty Blue Tit posed in pink cherry blossom ...

... and Neil took this fine shot of a Chaffinch in the same tree.

There was a Wren in a nearby lime tree.

A Long-Tailed Tit brought midges and caterpillars to its nest in an Italian alder on Buck Hill.

There's another nest only a few yards away on the edge of the Long Water, but Long-Tailed Tits are sociable birds and don't mind being close to their relatives.

A Pied Wagtail ran along the edge of the Serpentine collecting midges. They nest in holes and crevices in buildings and trees, probably a tree in this case since there are no buildings near.

Neil got another excellent shot of a Robin feeding his mate.

So far we haven't seen any young Robins, but they should be out soon.

A Great Crested Grebe fished under the bridge. The wire baskets full of twigs are a hatchery for perch, so there are plenty of very small fish to find. There's a Coot's nest here too, and the grebe deliberately annoyed it by swimming close underneath.

The Coots nesting a few yards north of Peter Pan now have two chicks.

There are also three chicks in a bush on the other side of Peter Pan, but it's impossible to get a clear view.

A Moorhen had a faceoff with a Coot at the Serpentine outflow. It was doing quite well ...

... until the Coot's mate turned up and it fled.

A pair of Mute Swans nesting here have one egg so far.

The male swan at the nest east of the Lido stood guard over the eggs while his mate was away for a few minutes having a feed and a preen.

The two Egyptian Goose families on the south side of the Serpentine have eight ...

... and seven goslings. There aren't many Herring Gulls on the lake at present, so they have a chance.

The Egyptians on the Long Water are down to one, which they brought over when they saw Neil.

A Mandarin drake came as well. He is very confident and will eat sunflower hearts out of your hand.

The horse chestnut blossoms are coming out, and a Common Carder bee was browsing on one.

An interesting picture from Duncan Campbell: two Harlequin Ladybirds mating. Apparently it's a very slow process, so the female is refreshing herself with a snack.