Siskins return

A flock of Siskins were feeding in the tops of the alder trees near the Italian Garden.

A Great Tit perched on a camellia flower in the Flower Walk.

The corkscrew hazel bush just along the path is a favourite place for small birds.

A Wren pottered around in the undergrowth on the edge of the leaf yard.

A Chaffinch foraged behind the Rose Garden railings.

Farther into the bushes, two Robins were feeding on the ground. They were not attacking each other, so evidently they are a pair.

A Pied Wagtail sat on the kerb at the edge of the Serpentine. I was worried about the state of its feet, but it stood up before flying away so they must have been reasonably OK. Wagtails often get damaged feet, with Grey Wagtails, which are larger, worse affected.

A few days ago I published a video of Carrion Crows tearing up the freshly laid turf on the Parade Ground. I've been told that the place is now visited by the falconer with a Harris Hawk to scare the crows away. I checked the Parade Ground, and there were crows on it, of course.

They wait till the man and his hawk have gone away, and come back. It's the same story with the pigeons on 'Number One Hyde Park' (the hideous polygonal flats between the park and Knightsbridge) where the same man comes once a week to scare off the pigeons. The latter seems peculiarly unnecessary anyway, since there's a pair of Peregrines just 150 yards up the road helping themselves liberally to pigeons -- and that doesn't keep the pigeons away either.

The crows have stopped tearing up the turf at the bottom of the Parade Ground, which is hand-laid in small rectangles, because it's now rooted itself in the ground and can no longer be pulled up. The turf higher up is from giant rolls laid by tractor and there are few corners to pull up.

The pigeon-scaring tactic has worked in Trafalgar Square to some extent, possibly because the falconer comes oftener, but more likely because people are no longer feeding them. Anyway, I'm glad he's making money.

The female Peregrine was by herself on the tower, restlessly shifting around. In this picture you can see the metal BTO ring on her right leg. I still haven't been able to get a proper look at the red plastic ring on her left leg, which I've been asked to read.

The pair of Grey Herons in the second nest at the west end of the Serpentine island were doing a bit of twig rearrangement.

The young herons are now almost always on the upper nest. Evidently their parents have adjusted to feeding them there, though there's not much room for three herons on this small nest which was probably built by a Carrion Crow or a Magpie.

A mainly sunny day was interrupted by sharp showers, one of hail. There was a rainbow over the Serpentine, with gulls wheeling in it.

The killer Mute Swan and his mate were by the nesting island on the Long Water.

Later the male swan went on to the Serpentine and amused himself by bullying the others.

Shovellers are winter visitors to the park and most of them have now left, but there were still two pairs on the gravel strip on the Long Water.

Spring flowers coming up near the bridge include a Red Deadnettle.