The first cygnets

The first Mute cygnets of the year have hatched, so far three from the seven eggs of the swan nesting at the east end of the lake. They were a bit hard to see through the long grass.

The Black Swan has been encouraged by fatherhood to turn into a terrible bully. He was chasing a rival around the lake -- not the rightful mate of 4GIQ but a swan that just happened to be there -- so he could show off to her.

She was on the nest basket but the Coots' nest has gone, destroyed by the Black Swan. A Coot bitterly gazed at the place where it was. Even the fearsome old boss swan used to leave Coots' nests in peace.

An Egyptian Goose guided her eleven small goslings across the Triangle car park to crop the grass on the far side, and chased off a threatening Carrion Crow. She was down from twelve to eleven young today, probably the work of the crow.

The Egyptians at the east end of the Serpentine have got two goslings through the most dangerous stage, and these are now quite big.

A Moorhen in the Italian Garden had a decorative background of yellow irises.

The perilously sited Great Crested Grebes' nest at the island is still intact. There is a chance that they may succeed after their rash choice.

The nesting Grey Heron was peacefully bedded down in the tree above. This nest looks hopeful too, so with luck we should soon see the fourth brood this year in a place where they're fairly easy to watch.

A male Reed Bunting appeared on a reed stem by the Diana memorial fountain, but the song you can hear is from a Reed Warbler hidden lower down in the reeds. 

One of the two young Grey Wagtails wandered along the edge of the lake. They have a paler version of the adult's colours.

So do young Pied Wagtails. This seems to be the only one out on the Serpentine so far, and is always at the Lido. Probably it will start exploring later.

An adult male collected insects for another young one still in the nest. From the direction he flew off in, it looks as if the nest is at the snack bar of the playground at the east end of the Serpentine.

A Blackbird sang in a tree by the Long Water. A young one listened from a lower branch.

A Robin in the Diana reed bed unexpectedly came to my hand. It must know me from somewhere.

One of the pair of Coal Tits in the Dell was doing the wing-fluttering gesture that means 'feed me'. So now we know that this one, with the small white mark above the eye, is the female of the pair ...

... and that this one in the yew tree at the corner is the male.

There's a pair of Jays on the east side of the Long Water, but no way of knowing which is which.

A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee browsed on a heuchera in the Rose Garden. This variety is called 'Coral Bells' and has odd brown leaves and spindly flower spikes with little pinkish flowers, the kind of plant that only a gardener or a hungry bee would love.