Three young herons in the second nest

Grey Heron chicks have a habit of turning out to be more than expected as they grow larger. I was sure there were only two in the second nest on the island, but today three could be clearly seen lurching about.

Starlings love mayonnaise, and a little pot left on a table on the Lido restaurant terrace gave them a chance to enjoy it.

The Grey Wagtail pair were hunting insects together on the edge of the terrace. The male is the one with the black bib, and it's he who has recently arrived to join the female who has been here alone all winter.

The male Pied Wagtail was by the island catching midges in the air. The avian pox blisters on one foot are clearly still painful and he was only putting it down occasionally.

A female Great Spotted Woodpecker climbed a branch on the north edge of the Rose Garden.

There are definitely more Coal Tits in the park this year. A new one I haven't seen before turned up in the bushes north of Peter Pan.

The familiar pair in the Dell flew into the corkscrew hazel bush. They are content to wait quietly while I put pine nuts on the railings for them.

The Blue Tit pair were chasing each other around and didn't stay still for a moment.

A pair of Magpies at the southwest corner of the bridge were also flirting and leaping from branch to branch.

This warbler was jumping around in a tree at the edge of the water. It seemed to be the size of a Blackcap but the colour of a rather dull Chiffchaff, and I can't identify it for certain. Here are two pictures, not altered in any way. It was in shade at the bottom of the tree which probably made it look darker than it really is.

The usual Robin here watched from the brambles.

The pair at Mount Gate were together in a bush. The female, on the left, is not noticeably larger, she's just nearer the camera and inevitably one of them is out of focus.

A Great Crested Grebe at the island caught a largish fish with a spiny dorsal fin, so that it had to be turned round before being swallowed. It wasn't a perch as it didn't have red fins, but its body seemed to have a reddish tinge so it probably wasn't a ruffe either. I am no good at fish.

A grebe was sitting in the reeds on the east side of the Long Water. It didn't seem to be nesting, just sitting on some reeds trampled down by Coots nesting nearby.

As usual there was a group of Mute Swans by the reed bed east of the Lido. The pair 4FYY and 4FUF, which are claiming the nest site in the reeds, were standing nearest the entrance to deter intruders.

The Black Swan ventured on to the Long Water, saw the boss swan watching from the Vista, and quickly left with a mournful hoot.

A Mandarin drake came over to the Vista alone. There was no sign of the female of the pair seen before. Maybe there are two drakes.