Young Grey Herons on the loose

The two young Grey Herons in the upper nest on the island were now both out, and the nest was occupied by their parents. The young ones will still be returning to be fed for some time, they are by no means independent yet.

One of the three younger ones in the east nest had made a short hop into another nest. It's only beginning to fly but I'm sure it will get back when it wants to. 

One of last year's young admired its reflection in the Dell stream ...

... where a Mandarin drake  was preening on the edge.

The previously seen Mandarin drake was in the usual place at the Triangle. The one in the Dell is not the same, as it has a different pattern of white stripes on its side.

In other duck news, Jon Ferguson tells me that the Gadwall drake and his female Mallard partner have been together for some time, and have been seen in Finsbury Park over five miles to the northeast. The Mallard drake which is the third member of the trio was with them in the Italian Garden, but it only plays a minor role.

Trios are not uncommon. There is also the pair of the Canada Goose and the Canada x Greylag hybrid, where another hybrid, evidently a sibling, is always with them. They were by the Triangle.

The Egyptian goslings on the Serpentine are now down to three.

The Egyptian pair on the Round Pond still have eight of their original nine.

Some silly person had given a pair of Mute Swans some daffodils. One pecked listlessly at the flower and abandoned it.

A Blue Tit pecked leaf buds in a tree at the foot of Buck Hill. The buds are full of sweet sap, which makes them palatable.

The Coal Tit pair in the Dell came out for their daily treat.

The female Chaffinch in the Flower Walk accompanied her mate all the way from there to the Round Pond demanding pine nuts thrown in the air for them to catch.

A Wren was bouncing around in the trees at the northwest corner of the bridge.

A Jay waited for a peanut in the clump of alder trees by the Italian Garden.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker looked for insects under loose bark in the crowded branches of the enormous Caucasian Elm tree in the Rose Garden.

It looks as if the Little Owls at the Serpentine Gallery will have to nest somewhere else. A pair of Stock Doves have taken their hole. This often happens to Little Owls.

A curiosity: Jorgen saw a Pied Wagtail in Kensington High Street running around fearlessly between the feet of the shopers, and photographed it on his phone.

You do sometimes see bold streetwise Pied Wagtails, especially in places where there are cheap snack bars that generate rubbish and attract insects for the birds to hunt. There was one in Kensington Church Street in 2012 that was so confident it even ran around in the moving traffic, sure of its ability to leap out of the way. It would come and take little bits of cheese thrown on the pavement.