Eight kinds of butterfly

The two Reed Warbler chicks at the Italian Garden had separated, and a parent was dashing around the reed bed feeding them both.

A Coal Tit perched on a hawthorn near Queen's Gate.

A Great Tit ate a larva in the Rose Garden ...

... and one of the three young Blackbirds could be seen on a nearby branch.

A sunbathing Magpie sprawled in the long grass on Buck Hill.

It was the male Little Owl at the Round Pond who was occupying the family's branch.

At the Serpentine Gallery the female owl could be seen in the lime tree.

The three Great Crested Grebe chicks at the bridge wriggled about on their father's back and often fell off and had to climb back on.

It was feeding time for the other family on the Long Water. Actually it's mostly feeding time for four ravenous chicks and the parents are having to work very hard.

The Little Grebe now on the Long Water must be the one that was in the Italian Garden for three months earlier this year. It takes absolutely no notice when people lean over the parapet to photograph it, while a normal Little Grebe would crash-dive and surface a safe distance away.

The invading Mute Swans on the Long Water were at the Vista again. While their mother stood on the gravel with four of the five cygnets preening ...

... their ferocious father was at the near shore with his wings raised as a warning to the original residents ...

... who were at Peter Pan. So far they haven't been pushed any farther and the de facto frontier is just north of the Vista. But the situation is fluid.

The two ultra-blonde Egyptians cruised down the Serpentine. You can see their very pale grey primary feathers ...

... while those of our original Blondie are mid grey. However, her head is lighter than theirs. By the way, I looked up old pictures of her. She was hatched in 2011. Twelve is no great age for an Egyptian Goose, and the first pair that arrived in Kensington Gardens lived to at least 23.

There are still several Mandarins. I saw two females on the Long Water and this familiar one at the Dell restaurant.

A fox cub was asleep in the Dell.

Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Holly Blue, Comma, Brimstone, Peacock, Red Admiral and Small Skipper butterflies seen in various places around Kensington Gardens. A Hornet Hoverfly made two appearances.