Return of the owl

Good news: the Tawny Owl has reappeared in his usual hole in the oak tree.

He was also seen yesterday evening as it was getting dark, in the same place.

A Blue Tit sang from the top of a bush in the Rose Garden. He's one of a pair nesting inside a nearby bush.

A Long-Tailed Tit from the nest in a bush just along the path brought insects for the nestlings. Thanks to Ahmet Amerikali for this picture.

A picture from our anonymous contributor of a Robin bringing a larva to its nest.

So far I haven't seen any young Robins, but Mark Williams found this one in St James's Park.

Another anonymous picture: a Reed Bunting. So far we've had three pictures of these, each one of a different bird, so there's a good chance of them breeding here. They have been seen on the Long Water as well as their usual place near the Lido.

A Blackcap sang in an oak.

There are three new Great Crested Grebe chicks on the Long Water.

A parent brought a smallish fish which was too large for any of them to swallow, though they had a try.

The single chick from the first brood has gone -- sad, because it was doing well.

The Mute Swans nesting near the Lido have seven eggs. Ahmet managed to count them as he was taking this picture.

The swans on the nesting island were too comfortable dozing in the warm sunshine to evict an Egyptian Goose.

Nine new Egyptian goslings have appeared at the east end of the Serpentine.

A Mandarin drake cruised past the Vista.

The three Speckled Wood butterflies in the Flower Walk were still fighting today. No wonder their wings get damaged.

A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee spent several minutes on a bluebell beside the Long Water. I had no idea that these little flowers contained so much nourishment.

The sunshine brought out Honeybees in force, for the first time outnumbering the Hairy-Footed Flower Bees. This one was in the Japanese Crabapple tree next to the bridge.

An ominous black fungus is growing on a plane tree north of the Albert Memorial.

Update: Mario thinks it might be a last year's Shaggy Bracket (Inonotus hispidus).