The Tawny Owl returns

The Tawny Owl hadn't been seen for several weeks, but yesterday I heard that he had been spotted in his usual hole at dusk. I was preparing to go and look after writing this blog, but he saved me the trouble by emerging soon after 4 o'clock.

Six cygnets have now hatched from the Mute Swans' nest east of the Lido. There were seven eggs originally but often one is a dud. It was their first day out on the water.

A Starling took advantage of the nest being empty to search for bugs in it.

The number of cygnets in the nest on the Long Water is five, as reported earlier but I hadn't seen them all. One egg remains in the nest, again probably a dud. The cygnets were still being kept in the safety of the nesting island, but should be on the water tomorrow.

Two Grey Herons stood together on the Henry Moore sculpture, clearly mates or they would have been fighting. Later I saw them together near the Chines privet tree at the northwest corner of the bridge where they are vaguely thinking of nesting some time.

Nearby one of the Wrens, for the time being not bothered by Magpies, sang in a treetop.

Mark Williams sent this picture of a young Blue Tit in St James's Park. So far I haven't seen any here, though there are plenty of young Great Tits and a few young Coal Tits, and the Long-Tailed Tit families have been out for some time.

A Carrion Crow washed in the Dell.

A pair of Great Crested Grebes displayed on the Serpentine. I thought they were going to dance and started filming, but they got the timing wrong as sometimes happens. The instinct to dance is hard wired into their brain but they have to practice to get their technique right.

Two Coot chicks in the nest at the bridge had gone down into the water to be the first to be fed, and had to struggle up to get back to their mother.

The Coots in the Italian Garden fountain have built a third nest, and somehow two of the three chicks have managed to get through the netting and on to it. I have an uncomfortable feeling that they will get stuck inside again and have to be rescued once more.

A Moorhen enjoyed itself climbing a tree in the Dell.

Egyptian goslings on the Serpentine washed and preened together.

The Egyptians at the Vista chased off a Mandarin that had come too near the goslings.

The two surviving Mallard ducklings in the Italian Garden are growing well.

In the patch of grass and wildflowers at the southwest corner of the bridge there were a Dock Bug ...

... a female Common Blue damselfly ...

... and several Harlequin ladybirds.