A windy day

It was a warm but windy day. The marble fountain in the Italian Garden was often blown askew, drenching people.

A Grey Heron balanced in the wind on the roof of a boathouse.

Another was sheltering behind the hurdles surrounding the Mute Swans' nesting island on the Long Water.

On days like this it's hard to find the Little Owls, as they tend to huddle against the tree trunk to avoid being blown about. I did manage to find the female at the Round Pond, after going slowly round the tree twice looking from every angle.

One of the owlets at the Serpentine Gallery was hiding in the leaves.

The young Blackbird in the Flower Walk came out for some raisins. It's hard to feed, as the moment the Feral Pigeons see any attempt to feed it they descend in a mob and drive it off.

The familiar female Coal Tit is also often interrupted by larger birds, but she keeps coming down for more pine nuts when she can.

Ahmet Amerikali sent a good picture of a Reed Warbler fledgling in the reeds below the Italian Garden. It's been clear for some days that there is a family here, with birds constantly rushing in and out of the reeds.

This picture is from Ashiqur Rahman, and I think it shows another young Reed Warbler. But warblers are tricky to identify when adult and trickier when they're young. Update: Tom thinks it's either a young Chiffchaff or a young Willow Warbler. The leg colour is intermediate between the two -- Chiffchaff dark, Willow Warbler light. Maybe the golden brown colour of the plumage is just a trick of the light.

Another picture by Ahmet, of a Cormorant catching a large carp on the Long Water.

The Moorhen nest in the Dell is still doing well ...

... and so are the two new Egyptian goslings near the small boathouses.

The lone female Pochard was still on the edge of the weir at the outflow of the Serpentine looking down anxiously, so it seems that the stranded duckling is still alive, eating plants and algae in the lower chamber. She snapped at a Moorhen -- which is actually nesting below, as agile Moorhens have no difficulty climbing in and out.

A good sighting from Michael Robinson: a Red-Veined Darter dragonfly on the path around the Round Pond. I've seen these here in previous years at the southwest corner of the bridge ...

... where there was a Common Darter today, but it was dashing around and I didn't get a picture of it. However, Nick Abalov sent me a picture of one taken at Kew.

He also got a fine shot of an Emperor in flight ...

... and a stripy Cinnabar Moth caterpillar. We get Cinnabar Moths here in the park sometimes. I must go up the ragwort patches in the Meadow and see what I can find.

On Sundays there is always music at the east end of the Serpentine Road and rollerbladers and skaters showing off to the best of their ability, interrupted by passing bicycles.