Deceitful Wren

A pair of Wrens in the Flower Walk have a late nest, perhaps a second try after losing a brood. One appeared on a branch carrying a mixed bag of insects.

I could hear the young one calling in a hedge. The parent was keen to hide where the nest was, so it moved to a branch some distance away, scolding loudly, and then flew off to disappear into the bushes on the far side of the path as if going to a nest there.

The female Little Owl could be seen in the nest tree, though only from a distance ...

... and it was the same with her daughter in the plane tree.

The young Robin at Mount Gate is now a regular customer for pine nuts. Its probable parents could also be seen, but not the younger fledgling.

A tatty Magpie perched on an arch at the bridge.

Ahmet Amerikali was at the east end of the Lido when a Reed Warbler came out of a tree, was surprised to see him, and almost lost its footing on the twig.

Black-Headed Gulls ar now returning in larger numbers, and there were groups on the fallen trees in the Long Water ...

... and on the posts at Peter Pan, making the shot that all the tourists take.

Another picture by Ahmet, a Little Grebe on the Serpentine going to the island. I've seen them there occasionally, but they soon go back to the Long Water where there is more cover.

The Great Crested Grebes at the island were resting by their incomplete (well, barely begun) new nest, showing no signs of wanting to get on with the job ...

... but the grebe at the Dell restaurant looked comfortable in the shade of the balcony.

A Coot on the oppsite shore had a brisk wash and flap before preening.

In hot weather there is less oxygen dissolved in the water, and the carp in the Italian Garden fountains rise to just under the surface to make the most of what's there.

A Harlequin Ladybird larva fell out of a tree by the Dell and landed on me, so I coaxed it on to my left hand and took a picture of it with the small camera.

A bee, probably a very worn Honeybee, fed on False Heather, Cuphea hyssopifolia, in the Rose Garden ...

... and the wild vervain in the Italian Garden was full of Honeybees.

The Goodyear blimp flew over the park.

The current models, of which there are four only one of which is in Europe, are actually no longer blimps. They are semi-rigid with an internal frame, and are made by the old firm, Zeppelin. The two side engines can be swivelled up and down and there is a clever little sideways propeller on the rear engine, so the craft is very manoeuvrable. It can actually land to take on its twelve passengers without needing a mooring tower as the old airships did. But they were four times as long and the Graf Zeppelin had a grand piano in the lounge, specially made by Bechstein with an aluminium frame.