Bathing Jay

It was a day of sunshine and showers. A Jay bathed in the little stream that runs down the side of the Vista where a drain is broken.

A Green Woodpecker looked for insects under a tree near the Physical Energy statue.

A Goldcrest was on the same quest in the yew at the corner of the Dell ...

... and so was the Reed Warbler with chicks to feed in the reeds below the Italian Garden.

In warm weather the small songbirds show little interest in being fed, but as soon as it gets cooler they start flocking out of the bushes, and I was besieged by Great Tits and Blue Tits in the Flower Walk.

A Robin and a Pied Wagtail were picking up grit from the path. Birds need grit in their gizzard to grind up their food. It wears down and has to be replaced at intervals.

It was drizzling when I visited the Round Pond, and the Little Owls had gone inside. The female looked out from the back of the hole in the nest tree.

At the Serpentine Gallery the rain had stopped, and the owlet was out in the lime tree.

There were a few people eating outside under the umbrellas at the Lido restaurant, and the Grey Heron was waiting above for a chance of getting scraps.

The male Great Crested Grebe at the bridge was trying to relax on the nest, but three swarming chicks were making things difficult.

The family with four chicks, not seen for several days, reappeared on the far side of the Vista.

The resident pair of Mute Swans on the Long Water were having a quiet moment, but when I passed by the bridge later I saw the big bully going under it to harass them.

The single cygnet on the Round Pond was resting with its mother on the gravel.

A female Tufted Duck on the Serpentine dived for algae and water plants. Her mate wasn't feeling active and just looked on.

The pair of Egyptian Geese in the Italian Garden have taken to perching on the stonework overlooking the lake. This also gives them the opportunity to crop the algae that grow plentifully in the marble fountain.

Work is going ahead on the Huntress fountain in the Rose Garden, and a fine new marble bowl has arrived to replace the old much patched one which you can see in the background. It's a hefty bit of stone at least 4ft in diameter.