Trying to see the Hobby

The large family of Great Tits demanding food at the bridge  -- this is a young one --

... were joined by a Coal Tit.

Another Coal Tit by the Henry Moore sculpture had found an ant.

It was going around with a flock of Long-Tailed Tits. These foraging groups often attract other tits and warblers.

The Hobbies were calling and flying about. One of them has a favourite perch in the plane tree avenue between the Albert Memorial and the Physical Energy statue. But this is absolutely invisible from the ground: I've been round and round the tree while the bird was calling without being able to see it.

One of the young Peregrines looked down from the barracks tower.

The female Little Owl at the Round Pond was in a horse chestnut tree.

The Grey Heron which I filmed yesterday stalking around the submerged wall under the Italian Garden was there again, and this time it caught a perch.

Another heron carefully preened a large wing on a boat platform.

The young ones were huddled in the nest, probably feeling the heat in their abundant feathers.

There were just two Great Crested Grebe chicks out on the Serpentine and I was getting worried ...

... but the third one was by the island with the other parent. When the chicks reach a certain size their parents often split the brood up to make it easier to find enough fish for them.

When I said yesterday that the Coots nesting on the post at Peter Pan had given up I was wrong. These unstoppable birds had reclaimed their nest and added some fresh poplar leaves to it as a mark of ownership.

A Mallard sheltered from the sun under the willow at the bridge.

A group of Gadwall drakes mooched around together at the Vista.

The six Mute cygnets were on the gravel strip with their mother. These hulking teenagers are still following their parents making juvenile squeaky noises ...

... while the single cygnet on the Serpentine always seems to be alone and independent, although it's much younger.

A pair of Black-Tailed Skimmer dragonflies mated on a twig and flew away. This was filmed in 3x slow motion but even so they moved off too fast to follow.

A tattered Red Admiral butterfly landed on the path near the Italian Garden. It was missing most of its left hind wing but still managing to fly.