Half-grown Grey Heron chick

One of the two Grey Heron chicks in the upper nest on the island appeared on the edge of the nest, visible from the shore. This is the first reasonable sight I've had of one from this side. They can be seen from the far side of the lake, but at an impossible distance for photographs. At a mere six weeks old they are already large, but not yet fully grown.

There was the sound of a chick begging from the nest at the east end, but when I got to a place where I could see the nest clearly all that was visible was one of the parents looking down at it. This nest hatched several weeks later, and the chick or chicks are still fairly small.

It was another wet day, and a heron stood in a damp huddle on the water level that was installed in the Serpentine for the 2012 Olympics to comply with some bureaucratic rule. The thing is singularly pointless, as the water level in the Serpentine never changes by more than a couple of inches and if it even got to 1 on the scale it would be pouring over the bank and flooding Belgravia. Luckily this is prevented by the weir at the east end. The scale seems to be in decimetres, a measure never used by any human being in recorded history.

Also at the east end of the Serpentine, the solitary Shoveller drake that didn't leave with the others. It's the only one on the entire lake, though there are two drakes and a female on the Round Pond.

A pair of Mallards wandered along the edge of the Long Water, looking for worms brought up by the rain but also prospecting for a nest site in the bushes. Let's hope they don't choose one here, as there is a local fox family.

A Coot pair preened each other on the edge of the lake, combining affection with a tasty snack of fleas and lice.

These Coots seemed to be trying to build a nest under one of the fountains in the Italian Garden. It would be hard to imagine a worse place. But then, Coots don't have much imagination.

The Fieldfare was still on the Parade Ground, but there hasn't been a sign of any Redwings for several days.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker climbed a tree at the northwestern corner of the bridge.

In the Flower Walk, a Blue Tit perched in soggy wintersweet blossom.

There was a Coal Tit among the catkins in the corkscrew hazel bush, but it wouldn't come out into a better place for a picture.

A Robin was on another branch, with a raindrop bouncing off its head.

Both Robins in the Rose Garden came out for food, one on a branch ...

... and the other on the wet lawn.

The male Chaffinch was in the next tree ...

... and there was a Wren in another. All these birds were packed close together in the small clump of shrubbery that survives from the wanton destruction of their home.

The Blackbirds were also evicted. A male perched on the pergola a short distance away.

A pair of Magpies beside the Long Water waited side by side in a variegated holly tree before swooping down to take peanuts from the railings.