Two heron chicks in the upper nest

There are two chicks in the upper Grey Heron nest on the Serpentine island. They are very hard to see from the near side because you are looking up steeply, but can be seen from the other side. Unfortunately that has to be done from across the lake, a distance of 200 yards, so this isn't much of a video. However, you can see that they are already quite well grown, and are exercising their wings.

In comparison this younger chick in the east nest is still a little ball of fluff.

The heron in the west nest was standing on its own ...

... but its mate was close by on a wire basket.

This pair is recognisable, as both have very pink bills. It's normal for herons' bills to get pinker in the breeding season, but these two are the brightest in the park. This also makes it certain that this is the same pair that nested unsuccessfully in the same place last year.

One of last year's young herons is now constantly in the Dell. The little stream is a good fishing place, as it's inaccessible to Cormorants which can't take off in a confined space, and has therefore not been cleaned out by these ravenous birds. 

A young Herring Gull tried to keep its balance on the line of buoys at the edge of the Lido swimming area, which revolve under the weight of a large gull. It was more successful than most, which soon fall off.

The Coots that nest every year against a post at Peter Pan have started building again. A Black-Headed Gull scratched itself indifferently.

Two pairs of Egyptian Geese had a noisy confrontation on the boat hire platform ...

... and the shore next to it.

More Gadwalls have arrived in the Italian Garden ...

... ignored by the previous drake, who prefers to stay with his Mallard friend in a different pond.

It was less cold than yesterday. The female Little Owl at the Round Pond stayed in her hole, but felt able to perch a bit higher.

The male Chaffinch spotted me on the edge of the pond, and flew over to demand pine nuts.

One of the Robins at Mount Gate was also insistent.

Both the Coal Tits appeared here. This one confidently collects pine nuts from my hand ...

... but the other is shy and stays at a distance, so it's hard to feed.

The Blue Tits in the Rose Garden are now all coming to be fed ...

... and one of the Robins stood on my hand and took seven pine nuts.

Its mate also turned up and they managed to get quite close to each other without conflict.

The herons in the west nest

The pair of Grey Herons in the nest at the west end of the island now seem firmly bonded, and were standing side by side. It looks as if they are going to start breeding.

There are now three active nests on the island. In chronological order, here are the upper nest, where you can see a chick a few weeks old moving around under its parent; the nest at the east end of the island where there is also a chick but it was out of sight today; and the nest at the west end also pictured above.

The heron at the bridge reminded its friend that it would like some food. This is a thoroughly pampered bird with several people feeding it, and it has become very forward.

Most of the remaining Cormorants are now in breeding plumage, with white side patches and bristly white feathers on their head. They should be off soon to wherever their breeding ground is. In recent years these seabirds have started nesting in rocky places inland.

Two pairs of Egyptian Geese on the south shore of the Serpentine yelled insults at each other.

The pool above the rapids in the Diana fountain is a popular place for Herring Gulls to wash and preen.

On a grey and chilly day there was no reason for the Little Owl at the Round Pond to come out of her hole.

Tom was at Rainham Marshes and got a fine picture of the local Barn Owl, which reliably comes out of the nest box at dusk to hunt.

Disappointingly, there was no further sign of Redwings on the Parade Ground -- just the female Blackbird which is usually here and even she was too far off. Probably we'll see them again soon.

A pair of Long-Tailed Tits checked the trees beside the Henry Moore sculpture. I've seen several other pairs rather than the large winter flocks, a sign of approaching spring.

A new Blue Tit appeared in a bush near the Italian Garden. It accepted some pine nuts thrown on the ground.

I hadn't even got into the Rose Garden when there was a Blue Tit waiting on the railings.

The male Chaffinch turned up in a flower bed, then followed me around the garden. Both he ...

... and the one in Kensington Gardens ...

... have badly virus-damaged feet and are clearly having difficulty finding food, so they are always hungry for pine nuts. Their mates, whose feet are still in good condition, are less often seen though they are happy to be fed.

Both the Coal Tits in the Rose Garden were waiting ...

... and there was another pair flirting and chasing each other in a yew tree  in the Dell.

Redwings on the Parade Ground

It has taken the Redwings several days to realise that the bare earth of the Parade Ground is safely fenced off and full of worms, but a few arrived today, too far off for a good video. There were also a Blackbird, Starlings, a Great Tit ...

... and a very distant Fieldfare, the first I've seen in the park for several years.

A Song Thrush beside the Long Water was well hidden in the twigs, but you could get glimpses of him as he sang.

To round off a collection of very poor quality images, I was over a mile from the deserted hotel in the Cromwell Road where the Peregrines nested last year when I saw one perched on the corner of the roof. It flew away before I could get any closer.

It's surprising that the Peregrines have stayed on this building, as it has finally been bought and is being renovated. You can see the scaffolding.

Sunshine brought the female Little Owl at the Round Pond out to her favourite horse chestnut tree.

A female Chaffinch appeared in a new place, the shrubbery at the Triangle. But I think this was the usual one from Kensington Gardens which had flown under the bridge, as she came down at once to take pine nuts from the ground.

The male turned up north of the Flower Walk and followed me to the Round Pond.

The male Chaffinch in the Rose Garden waited in a tree ...

... along with a Robin.

A Coal Tit perched on a teasel, then followed me round the garden confidently collecting pine nuts from my hand. It has got very bold in a short time.

Jackdaws near the Round Pond chattered as they collected in a treetop towards sunset before flying off to roost.

There was a brief and indistinct glimpse of a Grey Heron chick in the upper nest, the first time I've seen it though it has been heard for several weeks. You can just see a bit of fluff at the bottom right corner of the adult, which is looking fondly at it.

The pair from the west end of the island, which have not yet started nesting, were together on the charging platform for electric boats.

A heron stood in a tangle of plants on the Mute Swans' nesting island in the Long Water. When the swans settle down here they will quickly tear down the vegetation in their restless and pointless way, leaving the nest exposed.

The teenage swans saw someone feeding the waterfowl at the Vista and hurried over with their mother. They were assailed by a hungry mob of Black-Headed Gulls.

A Cormorant had managed to land in a tree above, a difficult approach through twigs, and was preening.

A pair of Egyptian Geese washed and preened under the edge of the Italian Garden.

The male at the Henry Moore sculpture guarded his territory while his mate was nesting in a nearby tree.

The diet of Wood Pigeons

A Wood Pigeon in the Rose Garden was pecking at one of the bulbs planted in the herbaceous border. Probably it hadn't unearthed this, and it had been dug up by a squirrel. But Wood Pigeons, big and perpetually hungry, will chomp their way through practically anything of vegetable origin. 

The fruit of the cabbage palms in the Dell is also on the menu.

They have eaten most of the ivy berries and are having to work hard to reach the remaining ones. This bird hung upside down in its efforts and finally lost its grip and fell off, as Wood Pigeons often do.

The single white Feral Pigeon in the Rose Garden was looking for food under a tree. It has an easy life, as visitors often feed this conspicuous and beautiful bird.

A Grey Heron stalked about in the reed bed under the Italian Garden, looking for small fish in the water between the reed stems. It seemed to get something small in the first few seconds of this video. Herons' patience and diligence is needed now, as the Cormorants have eaten almost all the medium-sized fish in the lake, as they do every year, and until the season's new fish grow up in several months' time the other fishing birds will have to work hard.

The space under the concrete beams supporting one of the small boathouses is quite a productive spot, as fish lurk in its shadow. As soon as one comes into view the heron grabs it. You often see a heron on both sides of the building, as here.

I didn't see anything of note in the two active heron nests. There are plenty of other herons in the nests on the island, and this one was gathering twigs to repair an existing nest. But so far only two pairs have settled down to breed.

A Great Crested Grebe fished near the Peter Pan waterfront. We don't have many on the lake at the moment, as the ones that came in during the frosty spell have flown away. Again, probably the small numbers are due to this being a thin time for fish.

On the far side of the Vista the six teenage swans were resting on the gravel with their mother -- or at least the mother of five of them, since one youngster from elsewhere has invielgled itself into the family.

Tom was at Wanstead Flats, where he photographed a Tundra Bean Goose, a vagrant from northern Europe. It looks much like a Greylag, but note the dark head and the bill with an orange patch and a dark tip.

Pigeon Eater's mate is only occasionally seen with him. Her feet are not as bright yellow as his, and she has the characteristic short round-topped head of a female gull where his is longer and flatter. Their family life is a mystery, but they certainly have bred and their young have been seen around their home at the Dell restaurant. I think she may have nested on the roof, but this is invisible from the ground.

Every time I go past the Triangle I'm met by three Magpies, an established pair which nest in the trees and what is evidently their offspring from last year.

At Mount Gate the usual pairs of Coal Tits ...

... Blue Tits ...

... and Robins turned up to be fed.

So did the Robin near the Henry Moore sculpture, which I think has a mate but only this one is confident enough to come out.

The Chaffinch pair usually hang around the Flower Walk and follow me for some distance in whatever direction I'm going. This is the female in a tree near the Round Pond.