Return of the Chaffinches

A return of two old friends I hadn't seen for some time: the male Chaffinch from the Rose Garden, who was under the huge ash tree by the Dell ...

... and the older of the two in Kensington Gardens, who appeared when I was looking for the Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery.

The female owl was in the hornbeam tree.

The female at the Round Pond was in the lime, again deep in the branches. Although she was calling I couldn't find her, but then she obliging came out to be photographed.

The Long-Tailed Tits in the Rose Garden have brought out their young, and Ahmet Amerikali got a picture of one yesterday.

The Blue Tit chicks in the nest in the lamp post can now be heard calling. A parent, who is looking a bit worn by feeding them, shuttled between the nest ...

... and a fieldbriar bush below to collect pine nuts for them.

An interesting picture by Ahmet: a Goldcrest collecting spider web for a nest in a yew tree in the Dell.

A Wood Pigeon was eating the little white flowers of a Portuguese laurel by the bridge. The leaves of this tree, like those of the common laurel, are full of cyanide, but the flowers seem to be less toxic.

The nesting Grey Wagtail was hunting along the edge of the Serpentine. They are shyer than Pied Wagtails, so it was a surprise when it ran right past my feet.

A Reed Warbler perched on a stem below the Rose Garden.

Emperor dragonflies have been hunting here for several days, and Ahmet got a remarkable shot of one flying over the algae on the Long Water.

The Mute Swans here have lost one of their cygnets and are down to six. One of these got stuck in the netting behind the gravel strip and had to be rescued by an intrepid woman who got a gardener to unlock the gate and waded in to extricate it.

The swan on the Lido restaurant terrace stubbornly refused to get up and reveal whether any more cygnets have hatched.

Ducklings are supposed to follow their mother. The ten Mandarin ducklings on the Round Pond have other ideas, and scoot around gaily so that their mother has to follow them. The one with the injured leg has recovered, and was running as fast as the others.

The six little Mallards are far more obedient.

The three Coot chicks from the dangerously exposed nest on the post by the Peter Pan statue had come into a fallen branch on the edge, a much safer place. A parent attended them.

The Verbena bonariensis in the Rose Garden has come into flower. It's a favourite with Buff-Tailed Bumblebees.