Stonechat at Kensington Palace

A male Stonechat appeared in the floral border in front of Kensington Palace. There is an area of rough grass nearby which attracts birds that would not be found in the neater parts of the park, and there was another Stonechat here, a female, photographed by Julia on 24 September.

It had a good preen in the sunshine before flying off in search of insects.

The sun also brought out the teenage Little Owl on the other side of the Round Pond.

A Magpie in a nearby hawthorn tree struck a grand pose ...

.. and a Long-Tailed Tit in the Rose Garden was also looking stylish.

A Robin by the bridge was just doing its usual charming thing.

The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull had had his lunch, and a Herring Gull was picking at the scanty leftovers.

The little group of Great Crested Grebes on the Serpentine is now down to four as pairs go off on their own.

The Mute Swan drama continues. The dominant male was firmly in possession of the nesting island, apart from a Canada Goose which he could push off at any time if he felt like it.

The Italian Garden pair have returned to the fountains, again displacing the Egyptian Geese that returned yesterday.

Another pair of Egyptians have turned up in the Dell. This quiet spot, relatively free from predatory gulls, seems underused ...

... and the only water birds that are regular inhabitants are the pair of Moorhens. Occasionally a Grey Heron turns up to fish.

Sunshine brought out a lot of Common Wasps on the fatsia bush near the bridge. Fatsia and its relative ivy, which both flower in autumn and have abundant nectar, are useful resources for late insects.

They were joined by a Housefly. These unpopular insects are useful pollinators anyway.

Another disliked fly, I think a Bluebottle, on what I think is an American Beautyberry.

The lavender in the Rose Garden is now fading, but there were still enough flowers to attract a Common Carder bee ...

... and a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee.

The trouble with electric vehicles: the small dinghy on the Serpentine with a battery-powered outboard runs out of charge and has to be rescued. Better that this should happen on the Serpentine than on a remote Scottish loch.

An important notice for all readers visiting the park

Sad to say, bird flu has hit the lake. So far it has only affected swans and geese and we are hoping that it will go no further, but several have died and others are sick and have been taken into care. Dead birds are being removed promptly to avoid spreading contagion. It's important that no one should feed the waterfowl, as this causes them to congregate and they may infect each other. If you see anyone feeding birds by the Serpentine, Long Water or Round Pond, please ask them to stop it and explain why.