Reed Bunting and Clouded Yellow

A pair of Blackbirds nesting in the Dell hopped around under the trees collecting worms and caterpillars for their nestlings.

Ahmet Amerikali found a male Reed Bunting in the reed bed under the Diana fountain, where there are also three singing Reed Warblers.

A Goldcrest sang in the yew tree on the north edge of the leaf yard.

One of the Long-Tailed Tits nesting on the edge of the Ranger's Lodge garden came out on a twig.

A Chiffchaff sang above it in the top of a sycamore.

Very few small birds came to be fed, but there are always some Great Tits. The leaves of the corkscrew hazel in the Dell are almost as twisted as its twigs.

The male Robin of the pair at Mount Gate collected pine nuts. I haven't seen the female for several days, and hope she's nesting.

A Jay looked expectant near the Italian Garden ...

... and a Carrion Crow watched from the red-leafed cherry tree in the Rose Garden.

Pigeon Eater and his mate were away, and another pair of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls were claiming his place on the Dell restaurant roof.

There are three Grey Heron chicks in the third nest on the island, quite hard to see high in the tree above the second nest.

The Black Swan swaggered about chasing the Mute Swans away from his nest ...

... where a Coot glared sullenly at 4GIQ.

A pair of Egyptian Geese stood on the lower bowl of the marble fountain in the Italian Garden as Coots passed with their chicks in the lake below.

The six Egyptian goslings from the first brood are getting their flight feathers.

A pair of Mallards were enjoying the Huntress fountain in the Rose Garden while the resident Egyptians were away on the lawn.

A Clouded Yellow butterfly perched on a pansy in the herbaceous border. This is the first one I've seen in the park.

Much commoner but still pretty, a Small White fed on a dandelion in the Dell.