The Little Grebe emerges

The Little Grebe on the Long water is often heard but seldom seen as it skulks along the edge of the lake under the bushes. Then it has to come out in the open to cross to the other side it reaches the bridge. This was shot looking down from the parapet, and I've left the traffic noise as it was so that you you can hear the bird's whinnying call.

A Great Crested Grebe hurried past while I was waiting for the Little Grebe to emerge.

The nest under the Dell restaurant balcony was a busy scene with Greylag and Egyptian Geese bustling around, but the sitting grebe was taking it easy and the three chicks were resting quietly under its wings. One put its head out to collect a small fish.

The Coots in the nest in the water lilies in the Italian Garden fountain were building it up while they looked after their two chicks.

In the next pool the Coots have torn up a lot of iris corms and heaped them up to make a large nest. It was a bad idea to remove the baskets protecting the irises, as the Coots are going to destroy the lot before long. They are quite unstoppable.

On the lake below, a Moorhen chick walked over the algae, supported by its enormous feet.

The Mute Swan pair on the Long Water brought their single surviving cygnet to Peter Pan.

The other pair on the Serpentine are doing better with three cygnets, but even they have lost two.

The Black Swan is regrowing his peculiar white flight feathers. He was dozing by the bridge, but woke up when offered some sunflower hearts.

The two Mallard ducklings on the Round Pond are large enough to be out of danger from Herring Gulls.

This young Pied Wagtail is often seen on the electric boat charging platform.

A young Blackbird came out from the bushes near the Italian Garden.

A Jackdaw waited for a peanut in a tree near the Lido.

This Robin at Mount Gate has a territory nearer the gate than the pair I usually see. Its family life is less visible, but there have been two young Robins of different ages and this must be a parent of the younger one. It's looking tatty after rearing the chick. 

The young Jays that were pestering their parents by the Serpentine Gallery have been thrown out now, and only the parents are left here. One was looking worn from the strain of bringing them up.

It was the turn of the female Little Owl to occupy the usual lime tree. She was the only one I saw today.

One more kind of butterfly in the Rose Garden, a Small Tortoiseshell. These used to be very common, but numbers have declined and I've only seen a few this year.

Hundreds of florets in the centre of a sunflower gave a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee plenty to do. It wasn't in a hurry and often paused for a rest.