Herons increasing

After a wet night more rain was forecast, but there were only a few minutes of light drizzle and even a few sunny intervals. It was quite windy at the Round Pond, though, and the Little Owl had gone to the sheltered branch she uses to avoid being blown about.

Carrion Crows gathered around a puddle in the horse ride beside the Serpentine.

As the Jackdaws spread out through the park they keep turning up in new places. This one was at the top of the Dell.

A Coal Tit called from a lime tree by the Serpentine Gallery. It turned out the be the familiar one from Mount Gate, and flew down to my hand for pine nuts.

The Robin at Mount Gate also came out.

The young Grey Herons on the island were climbing around in the trees.

This year's total of nine herons fledged is the largest I've known. There are still eight young ones here, the ninth being at the Swan Sanctuary where it ws taken to have its broken leg mended. The number of herons of all ages is steadily going up. Every suitable fishing spot around the lake is used, and today there was one on the new electric boat platform ...

... another on the jetty at the Lido ...

... and one beside the Dell stream.

However, I haven't seen the young Great Crested Grebe in the Dell for two days and I fear the worst. It was fishing well and in no danger of starvation, and the foxes can hardly have been a threat to a bird that stays permanently in the water, so I really can't say what has happened.

The chicks on the Long Water were having fish fairly shovelled down them by their parents, but still shouting for more. They never seem to be full.

Another Coot chick has appeared in the nest on the post at Peter Pan, bringing the total to five. Today there were no large gulls on the other posts, so their parents could range around for food without endangering them.

A Moorhen poked around on the edge of the Serpentine, bringing up strands of water weed. They can eat just about anything, which is the secret of their success.

A Gadwall drake preened at Peter Pan. They are quietly elegant birds in their grey tweed outfits, much quieter and less aggressive than the gaudy Mallard drakes.

More Shovellers are arriving. It takes the drakes a long time to shift into their bright breeding plumage.

The collapsed willow by the bridge is a resting place for all kinds of ducks. Today a branch was occupied by a Pochard drake. With a maximum of 89 Pochards seen on the lake this year, the park is becoming a haven for these Red-listed birds.

The pale Greylag that came with two others to moult in June is definitely settled here with a mate, but the others have returned to wherever they came from.

There are still some Willow Emerald damselflies, and this female was on a bramble near Peter Pan. They are less showy than the bright green males.

A mass of rose hips in a bush in the Rose Garden.