Canada goslings in need of rescue

One of the Long-Tailed Tits nesting in the Flower Walk zigzagged around trying to mislead a watching Magpie as to where its nest was.

A Robin stared out from the shelter of a bush. They are nesting here too.

A Wren sang from a twig.

A Grey Wagtail looked for insects at the Serpentine outflow ...

... and one of the Pied Wagtails nesting somewhere south of the lake collected a good haul for its young.

A Carrion Crow ripped up a plastic bag.

There has been no sight of the Tawny Owl for some time. Today a Stock Dove was at the hole. This doesn't mean that the owl has left. Even when he was regularly visible, Stock Doves and Jackdaws were seen at the hole and may have been nesting or trying to nest lower down in the hollow tree. The problem for them is that there aren't enough holes in the trunk for them to have an entrance of their own.

Cormorants preened in a row on the posts at the Serpentine island.

The Grey Heron that lives in the Dell peered into the iron grating which is the water intake for the pump that feeds the waterfall. There is a Moorhen nesting inside, safe from the heron which gave up and stalked away.

The Great Crested Grebes on the Long Water are down to one chick from the original three, but there seem to be enough small fish to keep the last one going. The lake is now thick with midges, which I think the chick is able to catch.

The Coot chicks from the nest in a bush just south of the Peter Pan statue are now out and following their parents around.

An interesting picture from Duncan Campbell of a Coot surfacing, with a film of water running off its back.

The dominant male Mute Swan on the Long Water made short work of an intruding dog.

Canada Geese nesting on the tern raft have just hatched some goslings. The raft is completely surrounded by a Perspex fence, so that the goslings will have to be rescued. I texted the Wildlife Officer, Drew Love-Jones, about this and he will get them out.

The barrier is actually useless, since no terns have ever shown the least interest in nesting on the raft and never will, as there is no gravel and no shelter on it to attract their interest. It would be better to cut a hole in it or remove it entirely to save Drew the annual chore of getting a boat on to the Long Water to rescue the goslings.

The blond male Egyptian Goose at the Triangle car park was alone, which is likely to mean that his mate is nesting again. They lost all their last brood in a few minutes when the goslings ate a poisonous plant in the shrubbery. Since then a lot of clearing has been done which may have removed the plant -- though no one knows what it was.

The sunshine brought out plenty of Honeybees. Here is one on crabapple blossom ...

... and another on a ceanothus bush.

This curious plant at the east end of the Lido swimming area lookes like a yucca, but PlantNet tells me it's a Yucca-leaved Beschorneria, Beschorneria yuccoides. A few years ago it was ripped to shreds by a swan wanting leaves for its nest, but has now recovered and flowered.