Staying in the shade

Another hot sunny day kept the birds in the shade. A Jay sheltered in a tree in the Flower Walk ...

... and a Magpie on a rock in the Dell.

The Great Tits, usually so eager to come out for food, were a bit apathetic and I had to encourage this one in the Flower Walk.

The young Robin, which we've seen here before, was foraging in the flower bed below and was happy to pick up some pine nuts.

The Greenfinches in the holly near Peter Pan were full of bounce. They're hard to see in the leaves but I got a glimpse of a female.

A Wood Pigeon eating elderberries reached too far and fell off the twig.

There was a light breeze at the Round Pond, enough to keep the female Little Owl comfortable in her usual lime tree.

A young Peregrine on the barracks tower would also have been cool enough 300 feet up. It was dozing and refused to open its eyes.

A Grey Heron at the island panted to cool down. The  typical heron 'Space Shuttle' sunbathing position felt too hot, so it closed its wings.

The two young herons were both in the nest. The adventurous one, on the left here, is still returning because this is where it gets fed. It's trying to catch fish now but probably not getting much.

The male Great Crested Grebe was looking after the three chicks.

The six Mute cygnets and their mother came under the bridge on to the Long Water, seen here looking down from the bridge parapet.

The Tufted Duck was at the Vista again. She still has eight ducklings, but the most I could photograph on the surface was six of them.

Red-Crested Pochard drakes hung around in the middle of the lake. There don't seem to be any females.

Small Red-Eyed Damselflies mated on the algae in the Italian Garden ...

... and a male Blue-Tailed Damselfly rested on an iris leaf.

A male Black-Tailed Skimmer dragonfly sunned itself on a chain at the bridge.

The Lesser Emperor was here again and I think there were some others in the distance, too far off to identify with certainty.

A Honeybee visited a Great Willowherb flower.