Mexican Grass-Carrying Wasp

The dominant Black-Headed Gull stood proudly on the landing stage by the Diana fountain.

He had chased all the other gulls away, and they were jostling for places on the posts at the other side of the Serpentine.

The lone Mute cygnet at the other end of the lake is increasingly by itself, though it mother keeps an eye on it from a distance. Fortunately the killer swan was far away by the bridge.

A Greylag Goose had an odd white bar across its front. I think it's a completely wild goose, as it has none of the characteristics of the white-patched domestic West of England geese such as large size or blue eyes.

It's probably a coincidence that it was next to a Greylag with a white face.

A pair of Canadas muttered mildly to each other as they cruised down the Serpentine.

A Cormorant shone in the sunlight as it preened on a post by the Peter Pan statue.

The female Great Crested Grebe at the east end of the island visited her mate on the nest. One of the chicks can just be seen on its father's back.

There's still no sign of hatching on the nests at the Dell restaurant ...

... or in the willow at the bridge.

A warm Sunday afternoon and crowds of visitors kept the small birds sheltering in the bushes, anmd there was little to see. This is the smart young Robin at the Queen's Gate crossing in the Flower Walk.

A Magpie contemplated a hesperaloe plant in an urn in the Italian Garden.

The urns have been planted with these and with agaves, both chosen because they need little watering. This is one of the new urns installed in 2011 to replace a very eroded original from 1860. The architect of the garden, Sir James Pennethorne, had unwisely chosen a poor quality of Portland limestone and the London air has not been kind to it.

A terrapin, probably a Red-Eared Slider, came out to bask in the sunshine on a dead tree opposite Peter Pan.

We used to have five terrapins, all dumped by their owners when they grew too large and snappy, but they seem to be dying off. An attempt by a pair to breed a few years ago was a failure. They climate isn't warm enough for the eggs to hatch.

A Hornet Hoverfly climbed over a buddleia flower at the bridge.

There were several more on the hemp agrimony in the Dell, but they were very active and wouldn't stop for a moment to be photographed. But there was something more interesting here, a Mexican Grass-Carrying Wasp, Isodontia mexicana.

The first one of these in Britain was seen in 2016 at Greenwich, probably having come over in a container ship. I had what was probably the first sighting in Central London in the Rose Garden on 15 July 2022. Since then they have turned up occasionally in various parts of London.

Behind the railings a Jersey Tiger Moth shared a flower uneasily with a Honeybee.

The moth went to the bottom of the flower, showing its bright orange underside. It's the orange that is the aposematic colour to warn off predators, not the tiger stripes on its fromt wings.

There are several concerts in the Hyde Park bandstand during the summer. This wasn't a named brass band as it was made up of musicians from several bands, but all excellent intrumentalists. They were playing Franz Lehar's Gold and Silver waltz.