Blocked

The pontoon used by the repairers of the Serpentine bridge has been moved to the other side of the bridge, and it now blocks the way through the bridge completely, closing the narrow channel that was used by waterfowl to save having to fly over the top.

The dominant Mute Swan's new mate was on the Long Water side ...

... and he was on the other. He checked all the bridge arches to see if there was a way through, but there wasn't.

Their rivalry forgotten, he and the Black Swan looked at each other in consternation.

Of course all of them could just fly over the top, but that would be an effort and it's not what they are used to, and they are most annoyed. I've texted the Wildlife Officer to see if he can get the repairers to remove a few sections from one end of the pontoon to restore the passage.

A pair of Carrion Crows on the bridge cornice examined the moss to see if there were any insects in it.

The single teenage swan was by itself at the east end of the Serpentine. So far it has shown no interest in any swans other than its parents.

On the shore nearby, Pigeon Eater was back from yesterday's excursion. He yawned several times.

When humans and other mammals yawn, it's usually because inactivity has lowered their breathing rate and they feel the need for more oxygen. This doesn't happen to birds with their more efficient respiratory system. For them yawning is akin to stretching, which they also do with their wings and legs.

The pair of Egyptian Geese that often stand on the Henry Moore sculpture got overexcited when another pair landed on the hill on the other side of the path, and the two shouted at each other for several minutes. This is just a short clip of their defiance.

Just along the path, a Great Spotted Woodpecker called from a treetop ...

... a Song Thrush sang in the distance, answering another on the far side of the lake ...

... and the local Robin struck one of his poses on a railing spike waiting to be fed.

The forsythia bush at Mount Gate where the male Robin likes to perch is budding and about to burst into premature blossom.

The Cootamundra Wattle by the north gate of the Rose Garden is already flowering, making a pretty background for a Blue Tit.

One of the Coal Tits waited in a hawthorn before coming down to my hand for pine nuts.

A Coal Tit in the corkscrew hazel in the Dell ...

... and a Blue Tit ...

... easily bypassed the jealous Robin trying to stop them from taking pine nuts off the railings.

But the Coal Tit at the southwest corner of the bridge is hard to feed. It doesn't dare to fly to my hand, and there is such a mob of Great Tits and Blue Tits, as well as a jealous Robin, that it has a hard time coming to the railings. Feral Pigeons make feeding on the ground almost impossible. But eventually persistence pays off and it always manages to get a pine nut or two somehow.

The female Chaffinch in the Flower Walk has the same problem, but always succeeds if both of us keep trying.