New Egyptian goslings

A pair of Egyptian Geese on the Round Pond have brought out eight new goslings. They are attracting a crowd of human visitors but the parents are used to that and don't worry.

The Black Swan was touting for food on the edge of the Serpentine, with several Mute Swans. There was a good deal of pushing and chasing.

A young Mute Swan on the Long Water picked at the Coots' nest on the post at Peter Pan, probably looking for snails which swans are very keen on. The Coots were furious, but there was not much they can do against the huge intruder.

The dead iris leaves in the planters in the Italian Garden have been cut down, disturbing the local pair of Coots which have now started building a new nest in a different place.

There is still a little group of Shoveller drakes on the Long Water long after the others have left.

An Egyptian Goose stood on top of the Little Owls' tree at the Round Pond. I don't think they have ever tried to nest in this tree, as there are no side entrances to the hollow interior large enough for them to get in.

The owls themselves were both out enjoying the sunshine in the horse chestnut trees, the female to the north ...

... and the male to the east.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker looked for insects in the bark of a tree on the Parade Ground.

There is usually a pair of Jays near the Serpentine Gallery, and probably they will nest here. They usually build twig nests like Magpies, but occasionally use tree holes like Jackdaws.

A Blackbird dug for larvae in the Dell ...

... where a Coal Tit was waiting in the corkscrew hazel for me to put some pine nuts on the railings for it.

A Coal Tit followed me around the Rose Garden, taking pine nuts and flying away to cache them in cracks in the bark of trees.

A Blue Tit ate a pine nut on the twig.

A Robin waited in the bushes.

Long-Tailed Tits are nesting at the northwest corner of the bridge, and four can be seen here. There are probably two nests, but these sociable birds will help their relatives with raising young if they have lost a nest of their own.

A young Grey Heron in the nest at the east end of the island was flapping its big new wings. They haven't started climbing out of their nest yet. When they do, hopping from one branch to another teaches them how to fly.

The herons in the west nest were fussing around busily. They look as if they were really starting to nest, but we've seen lots of false starts with this pair.

Spring is really here

On the first day of March spring is gathering pace. A Blackbird was singing in the Flower Walk, and you can hear a Coal Tit singing in the background.

The Robins at Mount Gate are now properly paired up ...

... and the ones in the Rose Garden not far behind.

Both the Coal Tits in the Rose Garden came to collect pine nuts ...

... and so did the pair at Mount Gate.

There was a Song Thrush here too.

A Great Tit perched in a paperbush in the Dell ...

... where a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee was working over the flowers.

The usual male Chaffinch plonked himself down in the grass in front of me as I was going up to the Round Pond ...

... where the female Little Owl was sunning herself on a branch.

The male Peregrine was on the barracks tower by himself.

A Green Woodpecker called from a tree on Buck Hill.

Feral Pigeons like to socialise and bathe on fallen kerb blocks at the Peter Pan waterfront.

The turf laying people tried using toy windmills last year to scare the Carrion Crows and prevent them from tearing up the new turf. These had no effect. But they've now tried everything else they could think of, so it's back to the windmills.

The Grey Heron pair in the nest at the west end of the island were together again. But quite likely this on-off attempt at nesting will go on for months.

The young heron at the Henry Moore sculpture was standing just behind the fence, shamelessly begging from passers by. People have been feed it and it's now throughly spoilt.

Great Crested Grebes displayed on the Long Water, where there are now two pairs.

Last but far from least, the Black Swan is back. He was on the Serpentine. I'm as sure as I can be that this is the same one we had up to the end of last November, when the left and no one could find where he had gone.