Common Sandpiper and Kingfisher

A Common Sandpiper perched in a dead tree opposite Peter Pan. They are only occasional visitors to the park, which is not a good place for wading birds.

While I was looking for it through the viewfinder, a male Kingfisher appeared.

Tom got a much better picture of a male Kingfisher at Rainham Marshes, where twigs have been arranged beside artificial nest holes at one of the hides.

It's not the time of year for singing, but a Starling in a plane tree beside the Serpentine was outside the hole where it had nested earlier and felt like claiming its territory.

A crowd of Starlings on the Lido restaurant terrace waited on the umbrellas for a chance to grab some scraps. Some were washing in the lake.

The familiar Robin in the Flower Walk was impatient at being photographed instead of fed at once.

A Jackdaw ate a peanut in the oak tree at the southwest corner of the bridge.

The big flock of Jackdaws concentrated on the south side of the Round Pond has broken up and they are now seen in various places, still mostly in Kensington Gardens though you see the occasional one right at the east end of Hyde Park in the Rose Garden.

The female Little Owl was in the usual horse chestnut tree, today on a higher branch so you could get a better view of her. I accidentally annoyed her by getting too close, which I try not to do.

Two of the Grey Heron chicks at the island were milling around in the nest, and a small patch of grey fluff visible outside this picture showed that the third one was behind a hawthorn branch. Their flight feathers aren't fully out yet.

The Great Crested Grebe family on the Long Water were by their nest in the poplar. Their mother gave one of those characteristic grebe shrugs.

One of the chicks on the Serpentine collected a small carp.

It's not just ducks that like duckweed. A young Moorhen was happily scooping it up in the lake by the Italian Garden.

On the other side of the lake the nesting Coot was busy turning the eggs. I couldn't see how many there are now.

It looks as if the Coots nesting for the third time at Peter Pan have eggs too, judging from the amount of fussing about the sitting bird does. A Black-Headed Gull screamed at it from the top of the post.

A robber fly perched on the frame of the notice here that illustrates the birds of the Long Water. It was holding a smaller fly it had caught. There are many species of robber fly and I can't guess which one it was but it was quite large. Later: Duncan Campbell suggests that it's a Kite-Tailed Robber Fly, Tolmerus atricapillus, and that seems very likely.

Common Blue Damselflies mated on a floating leaf below. The male lost his footing and plunged the female's head under water, but that didn't matter as they breathe through their abdomen.

Willow Emerald Damselflies were also mating on a twig.

At the southwest corner of the bridge a Banded Demoiselle landed on a leaf.