A sunny Saturday and not much to see

On a sunny Saturday with a lot of people in the park the small birds were lurking in the shade. Even the ubiquitous and noisy young Great Tits had quietened down, though there was one begging in the Rose Garden.

A Pied Wagtail hunted on the grass beside the Round Pond, which is already looking dry and faded despite last night's rain.

This Chiffchaff was photographed at Walthamstow Wetlands by Joan Chatterley.

Several young Magpies were begging at the northwest corner of the bridge.

This Carrion Crow at the Serpentine Gallery seems to have taken a liking to the bronze trees with boulders.

The male Little Owl could be seen in the chestnut tree.

A Cormorant on the Long Water had a frantic wash and jumped on to a post to dry.

The three Mandarin ducklings on the Round Pond are straying all over the place. This one, the smallest, was a hundred yards from its mother and heading away from her. I chased it back and it was reunited with the others.

The six Mallard ducklings were sitting quietly with their mother, and their father was keeping an eye on them a short way along the shore.

There are several pairs of Egyptian Geese with single goslings. This one was near the Lido ...

... and there was another at the landing stage.

The Black Swan came over for some sunflower hearts.

There were Black-Tailed Skimmer dragonflies all around both lakes and the Round Pond ...

... and a lot of Common Blue damselflies. This one was in the Dell.

I don't know what had got into this Buff--Tailed Bumblebee. It was wandering around in the grass on the Vista and seemed lost. It was uninjured and active. I picked it up and put it in a patch of clover so it could have a feed and maybe recover its senses.

There were Buff-Tails on the spiky eryngium flowers east of the Lido ...

... and plenty of Honeybees ...

... but there was a general lack of other species on view. I found just one Common Carder on a scabious at the back of the Lido.

Scenes at the Serpentine Gallery

Both the Little Owls at the Serpentine Gallery appeared at different times, the male in his usual place high in the chestnut tree ...

... and the female on the chestnut next to it.

There was no sight or sound of an owlet.

The owls at the Round Pond were out of sight in spite of the warm sunshine. Let's hope this means that the female is nesting and the male is ranging about looking for worms and beetles to give her.

A Pied Wagtail ran along the edge.

A Blackbird carried a worm in the trees north of the Flower Walk -- good to see that there's a nest here.

A Song Thrush preened in a dead tree beside the Long Water. This is certainly one of a pair as I've seen both together in this tree.

Young Great Tits were making a racket in the leaf yard.

Feral Pigeons went crazy over a bit of cake left on a table at the Lido restaurant.

A Carrion Crow landed on one of the peculiar artificial trees with rocks on them which are an exhibit outside the Serpentine Gallery. It must have been puzzled as it touched down, because the trees are hollow bronze castings and clang when struck. They have a steel frame inside and the stones are securely bolted to it, so they're not as perilously poised as they look.

There's a Grey Heron in the nest at the west end of the island, but we know better than to expect any serious attempt at nesting in this place.

A Coot chick, one of six in the latest brood at the Italian Garden, looked out from the irises.

This Coot at the Round Pond has a fishing line tangled round its foot and is trailing an artificial minnow. I tried luring it to the edge with food but it stayed at a wary distance. It will not be easy to help. Luckily it didn't seem to be distressed and was swimming about normally.

On Monday we had a video of a Greylag on the pond chewing a plastic buoy. It was doing the same today. Heaven knows what was going through its head.

The Mallard and her six ducklings, guarded by the drake, came ashore on the gravel strip. The Coot nesting on the gravel was not amused.

The Mandarin ducklings were wandering all over the place and there was no chance of a group shot.

An Emperor dragonfly in the Italian Garden had a torn wing but seemed to be flying perfectly well.

The sisyrhynchium flowers in the Rose Garden are a favourite with Buff-Tailed Bumblebees.

Sorting out the owl confusion

News from Neil: he saw the female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery, so both the pair are all right. He also heard an owlet hissing. So the dead owl found here must have been another owlet -- it was fully grown but by the time I got to it the Carrion Crows had eaten some of it so it was unidentifiable.

I went to the chestnut tree, where the male owl took one look at me and flew into hiding, so no picture. And there was nothing to be seen in the hornbeam where the female often sits, and no sound of an owlet.

So I came back later in the afternoon, and almost immediately there was a furious cry and the female owl shot out to attack a Carrion Crow which was standing under the nest tree. The crow fled, and she stood under the tree for a moment in the classic Athenian coin pose, glaring with fury. No wonder the Athenians represented their owl with exaggerated eyes.

Then there was a hiss from the nest tree, and there was an owlet. It saw me the moment I saw it and flew away, and all I could get was a blurred shot as it launched itself from the branch.

A young Starling exploring one of the giant flower pots at the Lido restaurant discovered that pansy petals are delicious.

A young Great Tit in the Rose Garden came to my hand for a pine nut and ate it on a twig.

A Carrion Crow in the Italian Garden found and ate several caterpillars.

A Feral Pigeon basked in the warm sunshine at the Vista.

A Grey Heron reclined on a wire basket at the island. It had made the place more comfortable by pulling down some strands of grass.

The two pairs of Coots with nests on the waterfront by the statue of Peter Pan had a furious fight. It lasted several minutes, so here are two excerpts.

The Coot in the hopeless nest on the open edge of the Serpentine is still there after more than two weeks. There is no sign of a mate and it just seems to be a place for the Coot to rest.

The white Greylag Goose which has come to the Serpentine to moult has a normal grey mate.

Most of the many Egyptian Geese on the Serpentine are moulting, though they are by no means as synchronised as the big geese. This one is regrowing its primary feathers, emerging in their blue protective casing.

The big blond male already has a fine new set of pale grey flight feathers.

The six Mallard duckling on the Round Pond are quiet and obedient, and the family is guarded by the drake. The three Mandarin ducklings are restless and unruly, and the drake plays no part in the proceedings -- he's down on the Long Water with another female.

A shower in the morning topped up the swamp east of the Dell, and the local pair of Mallards were enjoying splashing about on it.

We really do seem to have a permanent population of Gadwalls now. Eleven could be seen at the Vista, and there was a line of them on the posts.

A fox wandered on to the lawn under the Henry Moore sculpture. It wasn't bothered by the people looking at it, but when a Carrion Crow started yelling at it, off it trotted.

In the Rose Garden a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee browsed on a lilac sage flower.

The catmint plant is flowering and was full of Honeybees.

I met a cat owner here who was taking her cat for a walk on a lead, though it didn't look happy with the arrangement. So I pointed out this plant and wondered if the cat would enjoy it as they are supposed to. The cat was completely indifferent. Evidently it's the wrong kind: PlantNet says it's Persian Catmint, Nepeta raemosa, rather than the ordinary N. cataria.

Stressed parents

The Peregrines have hardly been seen in the park since the male got a new mate, and it seems she has led him to a new place. But today he was back on the tower, by himself. Let's hope all is well with their relationship. Females dominate, and can go off with a new male on a whim.

The female Little Owl at the Round Pond looked comfortable in the lime tree. But will they get around to nesting this year after their scare when their old tree burned down?

A Jay preened busily in a dead tree beside the Long Water.

It's easy to read expressions into the faces and attitudes of birds, but this female Great Tit in the Rose Garden really did look harassed by having her young constantly yelling at her. There were two of them vying for attention.

It was much the same with this Starling at Mount Gate, also with two hungry fledglings.

A Pied Wagtail trotted past my feet at the edge of the Serpentine.

Ahmet Amerikali got a fine shot of a Dunnock at Peter Pan.

When these Coots started nesting on the chain at the Serpentine I wondered what they would do when the Cormorant that always stands on the chain came back to the park. It has come back, and the Coots are ignoring it.

The Coots at the Mute Swans' nest by the landing stage are also undisturbed. The swans looked busier than usual, but there was no sign that the eggs were finally hatching.

The Mallard ducklings on the Round Pond were in a comfortable hepap beside their mother. They're quite large now.

So are two of the Mandarin ducklings but the third one, on the left here, is noticeably lagging in growth.

The Mandarin at the Vista was with a female Gadwall and a Red-Crested Pochard drake.

There were two more Red-Crested Pochard drakes out on the water.

Joan Chatterley was at Walthamstow Wetlands and found a pair of Barnacle Geese with one gosling ...

... and a lovely Banded Demoiselle.

In the park several Emperor dragonflies were hunting around the Italian Garden, and Ahmet got a good shot of one.

A female Black-Tailed Skimmer basked on the tarmac path at the Triangle.  They like gravel, and the small stones rolled into the tar on the paths in the park attract them. But it doesn't make a good background for a picture.

A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee and a Honeybee browsed on the lavender flowers in the Rose Garden.