Robin at Rima

Robins are none too visible at the moment, so it was pleasing to find one on the kerb of the Hudson Memorial. Evidently people have been feeding it here, because it gladly came forward to collect several pine nuts.

There was also a Carrion Crow dunking a bit of bread in the murky water of the pool. The memorial is sadly neglected and Epstein's relief of Rima has become very shabby.

A Jackdaw on the gravel strip in the Round Pond was dwarfed by the white bulk of a Mute Swan. It came over to the shore for a peanut.

A male Blackcap scolded a Magpie at the southwest corner of the bridge, flitting about in the leaves. I tried to get a picture, but there was always something in the way and this was the best I could do.

The holly berries are still very unripe and rock-hard, but that didn't stop a Wood Pigeon from eating them.

The family of Long-Tailed Tits in the Flower Walk were dashing around the bushes.

The male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery had found a new lime branch to perch on where he was more visible than lately ...

... but when I went back later the female was lurking in the leaves as usual.

The Grey Heron that fishes by the bridge had taken over the Coots' nest, and the Coots were hanging around making irritated chippy noises. They have never succeeded in rearing a chick in this place but it's still their home.

A Cormorant on the edge of the water by the island seemed strangely inert. It didn't seem to be injured. I went right up to it, which normally would have caused it to jump into the water, but it didn't budge. I alerted the rescue group, in case it was ill, but it seems to be all right and was just in a stubborn mood.

Sad to say, the Great Crested Grebes have lost one of their chicks and are down to two. But it was business as usual, with their father bringing plenty of small fish.

They changed over, and the chicks climbed on to their father. Small grebe chicks are effectively quadrupeds, using their wings as front legs.

There was a rude interruption when another grebe surfaced next to the family. A brief but furious spat sent it packing, to surface some distance away. The moment was captured in a dramatic picture by Bob Siegel.

I don't think that this other grebe had anything to do with the loss of the chick. I've never seen them attack each others' chicks, though non-violent territorial confrontations do occur between families, always won by the pair with the most chicks.

Mandarin ducklings are not closely attached to their mother, and wander around in what seems a most dangerous way. However, all of them finally decided to come home to her on the gravel strip in the Round Pond.

A male Red-Veined Darter dragonfly rested on the path beside the pond.

A Willow Emerald damselfly perched on the railings by the bridge. They are more often seen on sun-warmed railings than anywhere else in the park.

As usual, the sea lavender in the Rose Garden was full of butterflies, with a Comma ...

... and many Painted Ladies on show.

Two Buff-Tailed Bumblebees shared a Mexican Sunflower in the Flower Walk. There was plenty of nectar for both of them.

A tricky task

The male Great Crested Grebe from the nest at the Dell restaurant was carrying the three chicks near the shore at Fisherman's Keep.

His mate arrived with a small fish. Anyone who has tried to feed a baby with a spoon will recognise the difficulty she was having in trying to get one of her chicks to swallow it.

The grebes at the island were staying together at their nest and fussing over the eggs. It's quite likely a sign that they are about to hatch, so this place needs watching.

The teenager was preening at the Triangle. Although it must have flown in with its parents, it always seems to be by itself.

There was a brisk west wind, and the Cormorants at the island were sitting down on their posts to avoid being buffeted.

The breeding success of the Grey Herons on the island has led to young birds being dotted all round the lake. These three on a fallen tree at the Vista all look similar, and are probably siblings from one of this year's earlier nests.

The heron at the Lido restaurant was prowling up and down the edge looking over the tops of the waterside plants, hoping that someone on the terrace would throw it a titbit. It must be getting some or it wouldn't keep doing it.

A male Pied Wagtail sprinted along the edge by the Dell restaurant.

The male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in an awkward place in a lime tree and I couldn't get a clear view.

A Jay in the Flower Walk was expecting prompt service.

Long-Tailed Tits hunted through the trees.

The butterflies in the Rose Garden were staying low to get out of the wind. A Painted Lady ...

... and a Red Admiral fed on purslane in the herbaceous border.

A Honeybee browsed on milkweed flowers.

Ahmet Amerikali was at Rainham Marshes and sent four interesting pictures. A Reed Warbler fed a chick.

This is a young male Bearded Tit which hasn't yet grown its droopy black moustache.

A Great Egret stalked through the mud. People are calling them Great White Egrets now, but there is nothing remarkable in an egret being white and I think this is the influence of the Great White Shark in Jaws.

A male Norfolk Hawker dragonfly, a species which is fairly common at Rainham but I've never seen in the park.

A surprise visit

The male Great Crested Grebe from the nest at the Dell restaurant unexpectedly surfaced next to his mate, bringing a small fish for one of the chicks.

The nest on the island is still quiet.

A Coot brought an awkwardly long reed stem to the nest in the water lilies in the Italian Garden. It had already tried and failed to drag in the large black stick.

The Mute Swans with three cygnets rested behind the railings at one of the boathouses, a safe place where they couldn't be harassed by dogs.

The seven Tufted ducklings on the Serpentine were constantly active, going up and down like yo-yos.

A young Grey Heron on the edge of the Serpentine got bored with standing still, and had a splash and a shake.

The three at the east end of the island were down from the nest. At the left one was flying over the boats.

Another young heron stood on the Dell restaurant roof, where it had just knocked another off.

The chicks in the top nest are becoming slightly more visible as they grow.

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

A male Great Spotted Woodpecker climbed a tree at the north edge of the Rose Garden.

A bronze Feral Pigeon on the Huntress fountain was reluctant to get wet, but was persuaded to have a bathe with the others.

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery looked out from the lime tree.

The male, on the other lime tree, was hiding behind twigs and I couldn't get a clear shot.

A Red Admiral butterfly on a trunk by the greenhouses was harassed by a couple of Hornets, but stood up to them stubbornly for quite a while. Thanks to Duncan Campbell for this video.

However, this one in the Rose Garden was easily displaced by a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee, which advanced on it ...

... crawled underneath ...

... and shoved it away.

The Rose Garden was full of Painted Lady butterflies. Here are two on the sea lavender which is the favourite of all the insects.

Also from Duncan Campbell, a Red-Tailed Bumblebee, Bombus lapidarius, on a globe thistle with a Honeybee.

Grebe chicks' first day out

The three Great Crested Grebe chicks from the nest at the Dell restaurant were being readied for their first expedition out on to the open lake. Their father was carrying two and their mother was about to collect the third.

When they arrived at the fishing place they had to be sorted on to one parent so that the other could catch fish for them.

This teenage Great Crested Grebe wasn't hatched on the lake, and must have been brought in by its parents as soon as it could fly. The geese are already choosing to breed outside, away from the danger of the Herring Gulls, but this is the first time I've seen grebes doing it.

A Moorhen chick under the Italian Garden was light enough for its enormous feet to stop it sinking into the soft mat of algae. It did need to keep moving to stay up.

The Mute Swans on the Long Water have regrown their flight feathers after moulting, and were celebrating by chasing each other about.

The Tufted Duck still had seven ducklings, now growing fast, and was leading them up the Serpentine towards the bridge.

There was one young Grey Heron in the nest at the east end of the island. Another flew in ...

... followed by the third.

A wild scene ensued.

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in an irritable mood and wouldn't pose for her portrait. She soon flew into an inaccessible part of the lime tree.

The female owlet is also shy, but stayed in the other lime for long enough to give me a disapproving stare.

This is the other parent of the young Jays that were by the gallery, even tattier than the one I photographed yesterday. Raising young really does take it out of some birds.

A Stock Dove came down from the trees to have a drink in the Serpentine.

A Painted Lady butterfly fed on a thistle at the Vista ...

... and there was a Meadow Brown on a water mint flower.

Bindweed has appeared in the Rose Garden to the annoyance of the gardeners, but the Buff-Tailed Bumblebees like it.

The giant earthenware pots at the Lido restaurant have been planted with dwarf pomegranate trees, now in flower.