Swift at a nest hole

A remarkable video taken by Julia from her kitchen window: a Swift entering its nest hole in the eaves.

Julia also sent a pleasing picture of a young Greenfinch in Kensington Gardens.

The songbirds are now falling silent, but a Chaffinch was still singing in a treetop near the bicycle path that leads east from the Round Pond.

Wrens, like Robins, sing in winter, but both have a silent period in summer before they restart in the autumn, One in the Dell sang briefly, scratched itself on a branch, and  flew off.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker paused for a moment on a branch in the leaf yard.

This is my first sight of a Little owlet near the Serpentine Gallery, looking down from a branch in a sweet chestnut tree as the leaves were tossed by the wind.

A closer look: it's younger than the ones at the Round Pond.

Nick Abalov found both of these perched on the dead tree that must be their nest tree, and got a splendid picture.

I saw their father in the same place. He only stayed for a moment, as rain was starting.

A Feral Pigeon sheltered in the tunnel under the bridge.

The gulls' pigeon hunting has now spread to the Round Pond. This Lesser Black-Back looks like the newest one to have taken up the habit, previously seen beside the Serpentine.

Grebes on the Serpentine are thinking about nesting. The time of their breeding season depends largely on the supply of small fish, and this year's fish have now grown to a suitable size for feeding chicks. This pair were waving weed at each other -- not dancing, just encouraging each other to get going.

They are also becoming more aggressively territorial, and Neil photographed a pair fighting.

A family of Egyptian Geese came down to the water from the island.

One of the Pochards from the Long Water had moved on to the Serpentine. I think there are only four at the moment, three drakes and a female.

Duncan Campbell saw a male Common Blue damselfly pestering a female Emperor dragonfly which was laying eggs and too busy to turn round and catch it.

He also photographed two Red-Eyed Damselflies mating. Bothe pictures are from the Italian Garden.

Another picture by Nick Abalov, a Comma butterfly on a bramble flower.