A quick visit before going to Rainham -- more later

Today's blog post will be in two parts, as I went round the park quickly before spending the afternoon at Rainham Marshes. I have many hundreds of pictures and tens of videos to go through, so part two won't be up till quite late tonight.

The male Little Owl at the Round Pond was back on his customary branch.

The pair at the Serpentine Gallery weren't doing anything but were happy to stay quietly together till the park closed and they could go hunting in the grass.

The Peregrines were also together on the barracks tower. I get the impression that they are becoming less grimly standoffish towards each other, but they are absolutely not cuddly birds.

The Grey Heron at the Lido restaurant isn't exactly sweet either, but it was doing quite well working its way along the edge of the terrace from table to table looking expectant.

A heron perched awkwardly in a small lime tree on the other side of the lake.

A Great Crested Grebe and two of the three chicks were staying cool in the shade of the willow tree by the bridge ...

... but the fishing is better on the other side of the bridge, and that is now where the chicks usually go to be fed.

The chicks from the island were with their parents at the Lido.

The five Mute cygnets were just along the shore with their mother, while their father made himself obnoxious out on the lake.

The Black Swan has managed to avoid trouble by staying at the east end of the lake.

And the cygnet that escaped to the Round Pond with its mother is safe enough.

A large carp in the Italian Garden swished its tail. It's about two feet long and has grown to that size in a maximum of 13 years, since the garden was restored in 2010 and all the pools were drained for repairs. No effort was made to repopulate the pools, and the carp and perch here must have arrived as eggs stuck to the feet of birds.

A Honeybee worked its way over a patch of heuchera in the Flower Walk.

Now to deal with part two ...