Keeping away from the kids

When owls have young and are not actively feeding them, they usually perch in another tree to avoid being pestered. This is the father of at least one Little owlet at the Serpentine Gallery in a lime tree 50 yards from the nest.

He looked around and preened briefly, waiting for the park to close so he could hunt on the ground undisturbed.

A young Magpie knew that a monkey nut contains a tasty treat but hadn't yet mastered the technique of shelling it. This is how they learn.

A Jay waited for a peanut, clinging to the trunk of a plane tree.

A handsome bronze Feral Pigeon perched on a post in the Rose Garden. I think pigeon fanciers call this colour Red.

A Great Tit fledgling in the Dell was still relying on its parents to feed it. I've had one young tit come to my hand directly, but only one so far.

The Grey Heron chicks in the nest at the east end of the island were looking over the edge of the nest, curious about the world outside.

Pigeon Eater has already taken at least one Coot chick from the nest directly below his favourite perch on the roof of the Dell restaurant. There are still two left, and have been for several days, but he seems to be leaving them alone for the time being. He had already eaten a pigeon today, as I found the remains on the path.

The Coots nesting by the bridge have more eggs, in a second attempt this year. You can see three here but there may be more.

The nest on the basket a few yards down the shore has been occupied for more than a fortnight now. It's by no means the worst site, and has a slender chance of success.

On the other side of the lake the Mute Swan 4GIQ was cruising with her single hybrid cygnet.

The Mandarin duckings were trying their luck with some people on a bench. They are both bold and aggressive.

The Pochard on the Long Water brought her duckling over to the Vista to apply for some sunflower hearts.

A Comma butterfly near Peter Pan was giving a good impression of a dead leaf. You can see the little white mark on the underwing that give the butterfly its name.

A Red Admiral butterfly landed on the kerb at the Triangle. It was reluctant to display its wings and this is the best shot I could get.

A Common Blue Damselfly clung to an iris leaf in the Rose Garden. This is a long way from the lake, and evidently they are depending on the Huntress fountain for water.

The clump of eryngium at the east end of the Lido is popular with Honeybees.

Young Mistle Thrush

Mistle Thrushes have been very scarce in the park this year, so it was good to find that they have managed to breed. Theodore filmed this young one in a bird cherry tree.

Two Great Tit fledglings in the Dell begged their father to feed them.

A family of Long-Tailed Tits flitted around in the bushes at the southwest corner of the bridge. I only managed to get a picture of an adult.

A Jay at Mount Gate posed in front of a hypericum bush.

The male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery peeped out from the lime tree.

A Pied Wagtail was collecting insects on the lawn in the Rose Garden.

A Grey Wagtail hunting from the posts at Peter Pan ...

... flew over to perch above the Coots' nest.

The Coots in the Italian Garden were feeding their chicks.

A Coot has built a nest right in the middle of the Long Water. It must be supported on something, maybe a waterlogged fallen branch. Toward the end of the clip you can hear a Marsh Frog croaking in the reed bed next to the Vista.

Here is a better recording of the Marsh Frog. I was alerted to their presence yesterday by Jamie C, and was surprised as I'd never had a report of one before, although I did once find a dead Common Frog which had been dropped by a Grey Heron near the Ranger's Lodge garden.

Grey Herons perched one above the other in a fallen tree on the Long Water by the bridge.

Ahmet Amerikali got a fine shot of one catching a carp in the Italian Garden.

A Greylag Goose ate weeds growing at the edge by the Dell restaurant.

The two Mandarin ducklings on the lake have now passed the most dangerous stage and have a good chance of survival. Here they are eating algae on the edge of the Serpentine by the landing stage.

The hybrid Black x Mute cygnet was also here, with its mother 4GIQ keeping an eye on it. The Black Swan was still on the raft.

A Small White butterfly drank nectar on a bramble flower by the leaf yard.

A worker Honeybee filled her pollen baskets on a Shasta daisy in the Rose Garden.

Repairs to the bridge are finally nearing completion, and the new balustrade is in place. It's been two and a half years since the car crash that brought it down.

Feeding chicks

A male Greenfinch twittered in a tree near Peter Pan ...

... and a family of Long-Tailed Tits passed through a holly next to it ... 

... while across the path a Song Thrush collected worms for a its young.

Young Great Tits could be heard begging all around the Long Water.

The male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was at the top of the chestnut tree, but I couldn't find an owlet.

The Starling colony at the back of the Lido had decamped en masse to the restaurant, where they lined the roof ...

... and perched on the tower waiting for the chance of a raid on a table.

The Grey Heron chicks in the nest at the east end of the Serpentine were begging frantically whenever a parent visited.

A Coot brought an iris leaf to a nest in the Italian Garden fountains as the chicks milled about.

The idiotically sited nest on the electric boat is still in place.

The Mute Swan 4GIQ is usually near the bridge with her single hybrid cygnet while the Black Swan father is still moping on the raft.

An Egyptian Goose led her seven goslings across the Serpentine Road as a dog approached.

A pair brought their four to the shore near the Lido.

The Mandarin with two ducklings was in the middle of the Serpentine near the bridge ...

... and the Pochard with one came over at the Vista.

The fox near the Vista, which we've seen several times before, was out enjoying the warm sunshine.

A Shasta daisy in the Rose Garden had attracted a bee of the Colletes genus. There are a lot of species, and they are known as Plasterer or Cellophane Bees because they make a kind of plastic to line their nests.

A ground beetle crossed the path. It looks like a Harpalus species, maybe H. rufipes as the legs are reddish. The genus is called after Alexander the Great's treacherous friend Harpalus who was appointed his chancellor and beetled off to Babylon with a large amount of his money.

Sunny but dull

A sunny Saturday bringing hordes of visitors to the park is never a good time for seeing birds. Despite two visits to the Serpentine Gallery I missed seeing any of the Little Owls. Even the ubiquitous Great Tits were staying in the bushes. This is one of the pair that nested in the lamp post at the east end of the Serpentine.

A young Starling found an apple core at the Lido restaurant. It looks more as if the bird was fighting it rather than eating it.

An adult on a table glittered in the sunshine.

The Grey Heron chicks in the fourth nest on the Serpentine island are growing rapidly on their nutritious diet of regurgitated fish.

A Coot brought an iris leaf to the nest in the water lilies in the Italian Garden.

The four chicks from the nest under the parapet are now almost adult size.

The Mute Swans with five cygnets were keeping them safely well down the lake ...

... away from the Black Swan, who was madly throwing algae about ...

... and 4GIQ who was looking after their single cygnet by the bridge.

Six Egyptian goslings and their mother were strolling around on the path by the small boathouses, ignoring the passing humans. But if a dog appears in the distance, even on a lead, they will all hurry to the water.

The Mandarin ducklings are quite large now, and were nearby with their mother catching low flying midges.

The Pochard with her single duckling was at the Vista.

A fox looked out of the long grass a few yards to the south of the waterfront.

A large carp cruised around a pool in the Italian Garden.

A Comma butterfly perched on a nettle near Peter Pan.

The edge of the Long Water was crowded with Common Blue damselflies.

Two Buff-Tailed Bumblebees shared a scabiour flower at the back of the Lido.

A Greenbottle fly sunned itelf by the Dell.