The Little Owl reappears

The Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery called from a lime tree. He was perching here rather than in the old chestnut tree where his hole is because this tree has leaves to give him cover, and the chestnut doesn't yet.

A Blue Tit looked for insects in the Cootamundra wattle tree on the north edge of the Rose Garden.

The female Blackbird nesting in the Dell was out looking for worms in the wood chips under the trees.

A Reed Warbler sang in the reeds east of the Lido.

A Grey Heron has returned to the nest at the west end of the island. I don't think it's a sign that it will be nesting. This place has never been successful.

The Great Crested Grebes by the island were fussing around their nest perilously built on a chain. The round thing in the nest isn't an egg, it's a crusty old ball dragged out of the lake and included in the nest for some reason. It must have been quite hard for them to move it.

At 15 seconds into the video you can hear the Cetti's Warbler on the island singing. This is the one at the Vista, photographed by Ahmet Amerikali.

A grebe was fishing around the wire baskets at the bridge.

A Coot brought a leaf to its mate on the nesting basket at the Triangle, ignoring the sitting Mute Swan 4GIQ a few feet away.

The Coot nest on the buoys at the Lido is now complete and occupied, but I don't think it will produce any chicks. This site has never succeeded, which of course doesn't stop the Coots from trying again and again.

The swan at the Lido restaurant was dozing on her nest. She's having a peaceful time because the restaurant people have parked a large ice cream van in front of the site, so people aren't noticing it.

The Canada Geese were on the gravel strip at the Vista with two of there goslings visible through a gap in the leaves.

The six largest young Egyptians cruised past Fisherman's Keep with their mother.

The sole survivor of last year's goslings has had terrible luck with his feet. He had a leg injury and recovered, and then got a badly swollen toe. Just as this was healing it flared up again and is now clearly painful. He is going to be taken to the Swan Sanctuary to be looked after and won't be returned. He has no companions here and won't miss anyone.

Two terrapins basked on the fallen horse chestnut in the Long Water, which has now mostly disintegrated and has become incorporated in a reed bed. The one of the left is a Red-Eared Slider; you can see the red stripe on its head.

The first damselfly of the year appeared in the Dell, a female Common Blue.

Holly Blue butterflies have been flying for several days, but this one by the Vista is the first that stayed still long enough for a hasty picture.