Uneasy neighbours

A Robin and a Great Tit accidentally landed on the same twig in the Flower Walk and looked at each other suspiciously.

A Coal Tit appeared on a treetop in the Dell.

Ahmet Amerikali found a Carrion Crow eating a rat.

The Peregrines haven't been resting on the barracks tower for a while, but as I was going home through Mount Gate I saw one there very distantly. Even from 600 yards away you can tell it's the male from the dingy colour of the stripe on the side of his face.

Pigeon Eater was on the Dell restuarant roof with his offspring. He looked at it severely, as if to say 'One squeak out of you and you're off.'

The Czech Black-Headed Gull, an equally bossy bird on a smaller scale, had cleared all rivals from his stretch of shore and stood complacently on the edge.

The Grey Heron at the Lido restaurant stalked along the edge of the terrace, looking through the planters to see if anyone was going to give it a bit of pizza or a chip.

The Great Crested Grebe pair on the Long Water were fishing together at the Vista.

Another picture by Ahmet: a grebe on the Serpentine caught a large ruffe.

Two young Moorhens were at the Vista, two by the Serpentine island, and two on the Coot nest under the Dell restaurant balcony (which was later used successfully by the grebes which now have one large chick).

The lone Mute cygnet was at the Serpentine outflow by itself. It's an independent young bird, unlike the six teenage cygnets which are still sticking to their parents.

Swans are particularly fond of willow leaves. It has been suggested that swans are so furious because they have a perpetual headache, which the salicylic adid in the leaves (which is the basic substance in aspirin) alleviates. More likely, the leaves just taste good to swans. I tried chewing one and it was not very interesting.

Female and male Common Darter dragonflies enjoyed the warmth of iron railings in the sunlight on the edge of the Dell. Males are red, but females can be various shades of dull reddish, yellow or brown.

Ahmet got a picture of a pair mating.

There are still some Willow Emerald damselflies. This one near the Vista is male, longer and thinner than the female.

A Common Carder bee fed on a Lantana flower in a pot at the Lido restaurant.

A Speckled Wood butterfly rested on a dead leaf behind the Queen's Temple. They are seen over a very long period, as they can overwinter as either a larva or a pupa and so appear at different times.

A Broadleaf Lime near the Speke obelisk had strange projections on the leaves. A web search revealed that they are Lime Nail Galls, caused by infestation of microscopic gall mites, Eriophytes tiliae or E.lateannulatus. They are not particularly harmful to the tree.