The persistent Fieldfare

The one and only Fieldfare is staying on the Parade Ground for much longer than expected. It has been here since the beginning of February, and seems perfectly content to be alone. There are plenty of insects and worms for it in the newly laid turf.

Now that the Coal Tits have started singing you realise that there are quite a lot of them in the park. This is one of a pair in the Flower Walk near Queen's Gate ...

... and there is another pair farther along at the back of the Albert Memorial.

Also in the Flower Walk, a Great Tit perched in cherry blossom.

Several Goldfinches were twittering in the treetops along the east side of the Long Water. There are alder trees here which they like, but the hanging fruit makes it hard to see them and you can only get pictures when they visit another tree.

The familiar Robin pair in the Rose Garden were together in a hawthorn. They'll probably need to nest outside the garden, as so much of their former habitat has now been destroyed.

A Wren peeped out from under a bush.

A Pied Wagtail looking for insects was clinging to steep slope of the stone kerb of a fountain pool in the Italian Garden.

It did a circular tour of the pool.

A Starling enjoyed a bathe at the edge of the Round Pond.

Pigeon Eater and his mate have been together a lot recently. Today they were on the roof of the Dell restuarant. I suspect they nest here every year, but the odd concave shape of the roof makes it impossible to see from the ground. They have certainly bred somewhere more than once and their young have been seen pestering them on the lake.

A Grey Heron at the island balanced on a precariously thin twig. These large birds are much lighter than they look, typically 2½ to 3 lb, a bit more than 1 kg.

I think the top nest in the middle of the island, above and to the left of this heron, is still a going concern. It can only be seen from steeply below, so you have no way of telling what's going on it it.

The two pairs of Great Crested Grebes at the east end of the Serpentine were shouting at each other and displaying, but stayed just far enough apart to avoid a confrontation.

The Coots' nest south of Peter Pan is now an imposing structure. So far I haven't been able to see eggs in any of the nests, but it's still early.

Sadly but inevitably, the Egyptian Geese on the Serpentine are down to five goslings.

The Gadwall drake in the Italian Garden scrambled out of the water to join his Mallard friend on the kerb. The Mallard drake which is also here doesn't seem to object to the liaison.