Young Hobbies out and about

The Hobbies that visit every year to breed have a favourite plane tree some way from their nest to which they lead their young as soon as they can fly. There's nothing special about this tree, it's just their habit.

One of the two young ones crossed the Long Water and circled over Buck Hill.

The male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in a very leafy spot in the big plane tree and there was no place from which I could get a good view of him.

Both Robins in the Flower Walk came out for pine nuts.

So did the familiar female Chaffinch.

This Blue Tit at the southwest corner of the bridge is also a regular customer.

There are now four Great Tits in the big yew in the Dell expecting their daily treat, but I didn't see either of the Coal Tits.

Pigeon Eater was in his usual place at the Dell restaurant. He took a break from hunting to preen. As he approaches the autumn moult he's not quite as smart as usual, and there is a broken feather on his right wing.

A Cormorant at the island had found the only comfortable place to rest on the wire baskets where a patch of grass has come up. The Grey Heron in the background likes to rest there too, and was hanging around enviously.

The four Little Grebe chicks on the Long Water could be seen on the edge of a patch of reeds. One was in front of the others waiting to intercept a parent bringing a fish ...

... but the parent dodged the pushy youngster and fed one of the others. They are careful to see that all the chicks get their share.

The three Great Crested Grebe chicks could be seen at a distance by the big poplar tree.

One of the two chicks from the east end of the Serpentine island poked around at the edge of the lake looking for aquatic larvae and other small water creatures. It's still being well fed by its parents but a little extra is always welcome.

An adult at the island caught a pike which looked too large to swallow. I don't know what happened afterwards because a gull swooped down and the grebe had to dive, still holding the pike, and it came up under the bushes.

Two Mute Swans, 4GIX and 4GIK, took over the ruined nesting raft and will no doubt wreck the flimsy structure even more. A teenage Moorhen got out of their way.

As I was photographing them some more swans charged down the lake.

The four Egyptian goslings at Fisherman's Keep are still young enough to enjoy going into a huddle. Their mother is keeping an eye on them and they are safe for now.

Autumn crocuses are out at the southwest corner of the bridge, and a Common Carder bee visited them.

New Great Crested Grebe chicks on the Long Water

Three more Great Crested Grebe chicks have unexpectedly turned up on the Long Water, under a big poplar tree on the east side. 

They were quite far away and I only noticed them because I saw a parent carrying a fish up the lake. Here two parents arrived simultaneously with fish and two of the chicks got fed.

Three of the Little Grebe chicks had moved out from the willow by the bridge, with one parent. Squeaks from under the willow showed that the fourth chick was there with the other parent.

Two of chicks came out on to the open water and tried to grab a fish. One shooed the other away, only for it to sneak round the back and get the fish.

The parents eat any fish too large for the chicks. This one had caught a ruffe, which it had to turn round before swallowing it head first because of the spint dorsal fin.

On the Serpentine, the two Great Crested Grebe chicks from the east end of the island were relentlessly chasing their father.

The single chick from the nest at the Dell restaurant is growing fast. The bare red spot on its forehead has almost disappeared as it begins to grow a little crest.

A Cormorant on the Long Water looked up at three Canada Geese flying overhead.

The three young Grey Herons in the fifth nest are still staying there, although they are climbing around nearby branches. I can't declare the end of the very long breeding season, which started last December, to the Heronries Census until they definitely leave, but if all goes well there will be 15 young fledged, two down from last year but still a good result.

A heron stood by a boathouse in a Guardsman's attitude.

Pigeon Eater was being pestered by a young gull, although this had already got something to eat. He quite gently escorted it off his patch.

The male Little Owl could be seen in the usual lime tree.

A Jay was waiting for its daily peanut near the Italian Garden.

Long-Tailed Tits were at work in the catalpa trees.

The Robin in the Flower Walk was getting impatient, although it only had to wait a few seconds for a pine nut.

A Wren foraged behind the railings of the Dell.

A Harlequin Ladybird climbed on the railings near the Italian Garden. The iron railings are oddly attractive to insects, often perched on by dragonflies and damselflies. Part of the attraction is that they get warm in the sunshine, but these railings were in the shade. The local Garden Spiders know that insects come hear and spin their webs between the spikes.

A very late young Robin

The Little Grebe family remained under the willow tree at the bridge. Occasionally an adult and one of the chicks would emerge for a moment.

They were sharing the space with a Coot and its chick, which could be seen from the path but the grebes were hidden in the leaves. 

There was also a Black-Headed Gull hanging around hoping to grab a fish from one of the grebes. It was passing the time by catching midges. At 20 seconds into this clip it missed a Common Blue damselfly which dodged nimbly out of the way.

I heard that there were two Little Grebes on the Round Pond and went up, but they had gone. Very likely the teenager seen on the Serpentine yesterday was one of them. There was no sign of them here either today. They may have come up from St James's Park and returned there.

However, the eleven Mandarin teenagers were visible all around the edge of the pond.

A Great Crested Grebe chick on the Serpentine had a vigorous preening session and a good flap.

Its mother kept an eye on it. This is the single surviving chick from the nest under the Dell restaurant balcony.

The two chicks from the east end of the island could be seen from across the lake in their usual place.

But the newest family remained hidden in the bushes and wire baskets surrounding the island.

One of the young Grey Wagtails perched on a basket. It's already independent but still very pale and hasn't yet grown its adult yellow feathers.

Moorhens searched for food on the lower bowl of the marble fountain in the Italian Garden, with algae above and below. The northern end of the Long Water is a mess at the moment, but the promised rain should clear it up.

A party of Cormorants settled on the fallen tree at Peter Pan, displacing most of the Pochards.

The Czech Black-Headed Gull looked out over Fisherman's Keep from his favourite post. The ugly proliferation of notices round the lake has at least benefited the gulls.

The male Little Owl was in the lime tree that is often visited by both of the pair.

A very late young Robin, still half in juvenile plumage, appeared in a flower bed in the Flower Walk.

The big pyracantha bush at the Queen's Gate crossing had an adult Robin ...

... a Blue Tit ...

... and several Great Tits.

A young Wood Pigeon on the hedge below reached for a berry.

A late and slightly tattered Willow Emerald damselfly rested on a twig in the Dell.

Another Little Grebe

A surprise today: another Little Grebe, a teenager, on the Serpentine. 

It was diving busily and completely ignoring the people who were looking at it on the shore. Did the adult pair on the Long Water, at present with small chicks, breed earlier in the year, or did this one fly in from somewhere?

The family on the Long Water have stayed under the collapsed willow by the bridge, a good spot as the tree gives excellent cover and there are plenty of small fish among the submerged branches. Occasionally one or two come out in the open and can be photographed from not too far away.

A Great Crested Grebe on the Serpentine stood up to shake out his wings.

The staff of the boat hire service on the lake have powerboats with 55 horsepower outboard motors and race about like complete hooligans, endangering humans and birds alike and raising an enormous wake. A Moorhen and her chick on the edge by the island were disturbed by the crashing waves.

A teenage Moorhen wandered along a floating branch in the Long Water. It's just beginning to develop its adult red bill.

There was a large mob of Coots on the Long Water. Every year there are more of these prolific birds, at the expense of the Moorhens which they persecute.

The Greylag family group was resting on the edge at Fisherman's Keep. It includes several adults as well as the young ones, all presumably related as they always stick together.

The four Egyptian goslings were nearby with their devoted mother.

One of the Cormorants at the island, apparently always the same one, likes balancing precariously on a chain even when there is a stable post to stand on.

Pigeon Eater was dozing on the Dell restaurant roof, probably after a large lunch, with his mate preening beside him.

A Black-Headed Gull turned downwind and was ruffled by the brisk breeze.

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery appeared in her usual lime tree in the afternoon.

A couple of Carrion Crows enjoyed the spray from the marble fountain in the Italian Garden.

This Magpie near the Buck Hill shelter had been given a walnut. If they are spoilt with expensive treats they'll start scorning the humble peanuts I give them.

A Jay waiting in a willow looked to be a young one, immaculate unlike the adults worn threadbare by raising them.

The usual Robin in the Flower Walk has also lost a lot of feathers. There are two Robins in this section, both tatty and almost certainly a pair, and although the breeding season is long over they haven't yet started fighting each other. Some of the Robins are just beginning to sing again.

The durable strawflowers in the Rose Garden are much visited by hoverflies. This is a European Drone Fly, Eristalis arbustorum, which has been more numerous this year than the Common Drone Fly E. tenax.