Grebe manoeuvres

The Little Grebes haven't been seen for a while, which is not surprising as the chicks become independent, stop squeaking, and disappear into the waterside bushes. Today an adult fading into winter plumage came under the bridge on to the Serpentine and headed towards the island.

On the Long Water, the Great Crested Grebes from the nest under the poplar went past the Vista, each adult trailing one quite large chick. Usually this pair keeps the other pair with one younger chick penned up in the top half of the Long Water. But they had not noticed in time that their rivals had outflanked them and were heading for the bridge, so there was a confrontation.

On the left, the pair with one small chick. On the right, one of the other grebes and one of the two older chicks, with the others out of shot. It was the first pair that won the confrontation, and the defeated rival retreated to rejoin its mate and the other chick.

The grebe family from the nest on the north side of the island had returned to their nest site.

The two teenagers from the east end of the island were fishing together, and there was a glimpse of one speeding along under water. I still haven't seen them catch anything, but their parents are still feeding them.

All the perches for Cormorants at the island were occupied, so one flew up to the boathouse roof to dry its wings.

The Black Swan and his Mute mate 4GIQ worked their way up the edge of the lake touting for snacks from passers by.

There are now quite a lot Shovellers on the Long Water. The drakes are back in their smart breeding plumage ...

... though this one hadn't quite shed all the speckled feathers from his white front.

A Grey Heron stood in the nest on the island where the fourth brood had hatched earlier this year.

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery looked down from the lime tree where she has taken to resting over the past few days.

The Jays ...

... and Magpies that chase me across Kensington Gardens ...

... have now been joined by a band of Jackdaws. Peanuts are in heavy demand.

A flock of Long-Tailed Tits worked through the trees at the southwest corner of the bridge ...

... accompanied by Blue Tits.

The local Robin took no notice of them and came out for his usual pine nuts.

In the Rose Garden a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee mangled a baby sage flower to get at the nectar inside.

A bit of Robin song

A Robin sang beside the path at the bottom of Buck Hill.

Another near Peter Pan came out on the path to take pine nuts.

A Blue Tit pecked at a hawthorn fruit near the Italian Garden ...

... but the ones in the Dell showed no interest in the yew fruit.

Both these and the Coal Tits preferred pine nuts laid on the railings.

A Wren perched in a winged elm near the Italian Garden.

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in the same lime tree as yesterday, but on a different branch and hard to see.

Pigeon Eater stalked through a crowd of Feral Pigeons, looking for his chance. They stay just far enough away from him to escape if he makes a grab, and he has to wait for a careless one that isn't paying attention.

It's simply impossible to tell whether Black-Headed Gulls are courting or fighting. They look harmonious as can be, then start scuffling.

The Great Crested Grebe chicks from the nest under the poplar on the Long Water are now as big as their parents, but still dependent on them.

The two from the east end of the island, slightly older, are fishing for themsleves but still being fed.

A Mute Swan chased one of the cygnets across the Serpentine. Being young and grey doesn't give immunity from these violent creatures.

The Black Swan and 4GIQ were preening at the Lido restaurant.

A Canada Goose sampled the tasty selection of water plants in the baskets at the Triangle.

These two foxes are often seen at the bottom of the lawn around the Henry Moore sculpture. The young one had an injured foreleg, but this seems better than when I last saw them.

A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee in the Rose Garden landed on a dahlia, found no way into the flower ...

... and flew down to a lantana, where an ant crawled over it while it was feeding.

The large clumps of Michaelmas daisies are still full of Honeybees.

Wandering owl

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in a lime tree where I hadn't seen her before. I wouldn't have found her if Amanda hadn't seen her flying from her usual tree to this one and kindly sent me an email with the location.

Long-Tailed Tits hunted through the scrubby patch at the east end of the Lido ...

... accompanied by Blue Tits.

A Jackdaw waited on a stump near the Italian Garden ...

... a Jay chose a magnolia at Mount Gate ...

...and a Carrion Crow stared from the marble fountain in the Italian Garden.

The dominant Black-Headed Gull stood on the landing stage by the Diana fountain, having chased all rivals off his territory.

The faceoff between the Grey Heron and the Cormorant on the electric boat charging platform continued.

The behaviour of Cormorants is obscure, but I think this interchange when they tried to grab each other's beaks was a mild sparring match because the Cormorant on the chain would have liked to be on the better perch of a post.

The two Great Crested Grebe teenagers from the east end of the island were fishing together. I'm sure they must be getting a few things in their early attempts, but I still haven't seen any of them with a fish.

The youngest chick was in the care of its father in the middle of the Long Water by the Vista.

Nearer the shore, a Pochard drake had a particularly frantic wash and flap.

The single Mute cygnet was here too, and I could see the plastic ring newly put on by Bill Haines: Orange 4HTH.

The 'Polish' swan 4FUJ, with grey feet, is often under the willow by the Triangle. 

The Black Swan stood on the edge of the Lido restaurant terrace and preened his odd white wings. His colour scheme seems upside down, but then he is Australian.

The three young Egyptian Geese on the Serpentine were all hatched within days of each other but differ considerably in size. The largest now has well feathered wings and the smallest is way behind in development. It's very likely going to be an undersized adult -- you do see these.

There are still a few Small White butterflies in the Rose Garden.

Willow leaves attracted several Common Wasps. It's usual to see swans and geese eating willow leaves, but they seem to be attractive to wasps too. Maybe it has chewed the leaf stem so that a little sweet sap oozes out.

Teal still here

It was a day of wind and drizzle. Cormorants balanced on posts at the island.

The three Egyptian goslings settled into a comfortable huddle to keep warm.

Feral Pigeons sheltered under the cornice of the bridge.

But at least we got a rainbow as the sky began to clear.

It was a surprise to see the three female Teal still on the Long Water. The one on the right showed a glimpse of its brilliant green secondary feathers. It's a mystery why people use the word 'teal' for a very different shade of blue-green.

A pair of Mallards had a shower in the bowl of the marble fountain in the Italian Garden.

A young Moorhen trotted across the flagstones.

The Great Crested Grebes from the east end of the Serpentine, now free of the task of bringing up their teenager, went back to defending their terrtory against the next pair up the lake.

A Mute Swan at the Vista had a wash and a mighty flap.

Pigeon Eater looked out over the dead leaves at the Dell restaurant.

Long-Tailed Tits flitted through the trees at the back of the Lido.

Not surprisingly, the Little Owl wasn't out. But the newly confident Coal Tit was at the Serpentine Gallery and came to my hand.

The Robin in the Flower Walk arrived for his customary three pine nuts.

A Jay landed fearlessly among the lethal spikes of the cockspur hawthorn at Mount Gate,

A Magpie perched in the brown leaves of a maple by Temple Gate.

In the Rose Garden a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee spiked a hole in a baby sage flower with its probsocis.

The exotic planting at the bandstand lavatory now features a gaudy orange canna.