Unexpected Moorhens

The bossy Robin is usually waiting for me in the Flower Walk. Although he chases the other small birds out of the bushes, sometimes a Great Tit turns the tables by knocking him off my hand.

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine peeped round a branch in the lime tree.

A large family of Magpies bounced around their nest beside the Long Water.

Three young Moorhens have appeared in the Italian Garden fountains from a well hidden nest. They are already large enough to roam all over the garden on their enormous feet.

Here are the two Great Crested Grebe chicks from the first nest on the Serpentine island, and the single one from the second nest.

But there's no shortage of chicks this year, because there are two other families on the Long Water with three and four. They have now spread out all over the lake, so you caan't get tidy group shots any more. The chicks at the bridge are now quite large and are beginning to get black crests.

One of the other family with its mother was passed by one of the five Mute cygnets.

The other four cygnets were at the Vista preening.

One of them unfolded its wings to reveal a brand new set of flight feathers. They will be making short practice flights soon, which sometimes end in an ignominious tumble into the water.

The Black Swan was back to following his white girlfriend as usual. She doesn't seem to be very keen on him, which is sad for this obviously lonely bird.

One of the two female swans recently seen in the Italian Garden has returned, and was with the resident pair of Egyptian Geese.

This female Tufted Duck on the gravel strip in the Long Water has a very white face. She's sometimes wrongly reported as a Scaup, but it's just a natural variation.

A Common Carder Bee browsed on a patch of busy Lizzies.

A Batman Hoverfly preferred Chinese chives.

A German Wasp landed on a fly caught in a spider's web, pulled it loose  ...

... and carried it off.