Rival swans' uneasy truce

The Black Swan and the dominant Mute Swan were both still on the Long Water. They seem to have had an encounter with an inconclusive result, as they were keeping a discreet distance apart.

The Black Swan stood on the ice, stretching up his immensely long neck. He is taller than his rival, though much lighter.

He strolled over the ice trying to look impressive, but it didn't work and he fell over. He abandoned the idea, and flapped and skated into a patch of open water.

The boss swan has succeeded in chasing his strayed youngster  on to the Serpentine with the others. The swans here were enjoying the absence of ice, flying up and down the lake.

A pair were courting at the Lido.

A little flock of Tufted Ducks cruised by, most of them drakes in their neat black and white breeding plumage.

The pair of Great Crested Grebes could now leave the Vista if they wanted to, as there is enough clear water for them to take off. But they have chosen to stay. The is a slight frost tonight, but probably not enough to extend the ice.

In fact another grebe has arrived on the Long Water. This is not the single one from the Serpentine, and it must have flown into the park.

There is usually a pair of Egyptian Geese on the east lawn at the Albert Memorial. It's quite far from the nearest place they can drink and bathe on the Long Water.

A few days ago we saw an adult Herring Gull in the Rose Garden teaching a young one how to do the worm dance. Now there are two youngsters dancing and successfully bringing up worms.

The Black-Headed Gull Blue 2331 was guarding his territory from his usual post.

Two Grey Herons in a holly tree by the bridge were pointedly ignoring each other.

The single Dunnock was beside the path by the Buck Hill shelter. I think it's female, as males have more grey on their head.

The male Chaffinch in the Rose Garden arrived to be fed.

One of the Coal Tits here will now come to my hand. They spend some time watching the other tits before they decide it's safe.

A Robin perched on a stump in the Dell ...

... and the usual pair were at Mount Gate, the male in a bush ...

... and the female waiting impatiently on the railings.

The Black Swan asserts himself

The Black Swan was still obsessively following 4GIQ on the Serpentine. They passed the dominant Black-Headed Gull from the landing stage.

But then the boss Mute Swan flew over the bridge on to the Long Water. He was soon followed by the Black Swan, who is still in a most aggressive mood and swaggered about in front of the boss. He was shooed away, but came back calling derisively. 

Just one of the boss Mute Swan's six teenagers has remained on the Long Water, and the boss was chasing it. Was he just in a bad mood after being irritated by the Black Swan? Or had he come to chivvy his straying offspring back to join the other five on the Serpentine?

The Great Crested Grebes are still at the Vista, but the ice has melted right across the waterfront, allowing them to fish under the bushes on the other side.

A pair of Moorhens wandered around the fallen tree at Peter Pan.

The young Moorhen at the Vista is still in drab teenage brown, though its feet have started to turn yellow. A Coot this age would already be looking completely adult.

A pair of Gadwalls and a pair of Mallards dabbled in a pool in the Italian Garden.

The immature Shoveller drake was still on the Serpentine. The few on the Long Water seem to have flown away when it froze, but there are still a couple on the round Pond.

This Grey Heron is often in one of the upper middle nests on the island. There's no sign of it being one of a pair.

Pigeon Eater was hunting by the Dell restaurant.

The Pied Wagtail worked her way up the edge of the Serpentine against a stiff wind, carefully avoiding getting washed away by the breaking waves ...

... but when she turned downwind she was seriously disarranged.

Most of the small birds in the Rose Garden were in the circle of yew hedge, which gives some shelter from the wind. They included the familiar Robin, which came to my hand several times.

A Coal Tit pushed its way to the front of the crowd of Great Tits.

A Blue Tit was impatient to be fed.

There was also a mob in the Flower Walk and at the southwest corner of the bridge, led by the resident Robin.

A Coal Tit looked down from a twig.

The gigantic mess of the Wasteland is still being cleared. The ramp for the ambulance has been removed, leaving a patch of yellow twisted daffodil leaves. They will recover slowly, and flower about a fortnight after the others that haven't been covered.

Melting ice

The ice is melting fast, and warmer weather and rain should remove the last of it quite soon. A Common Gull played with a chunk on the Serpentine.

Pigeon Eater wasn't around, but he had struck earlier and another Lesser Black-Back was finishing his leftovers on the ice.

The dominant Black-Headed Gull guarded his territory on the landing stage.

A pair of Gadwalls dozed peacefully at the Lido, beaded with raindrops.

The Great Crested Grebes are still iced in at the Vista, but they shouldn't have to wait long till there is enough clear water for them to leave.

The Pied Wagtail was hunting along the edge of the Serpentine by the Dell restaurant, finding the usual little white larvae.

Then she ventured out on to the ice. It's not clear what food she could possibly have been finding here. Maybe she was just exploring, but she spent several minutes running around.

There was a Grey Heron in the nest at the west end of the island. But the pair here seem to have lost interest in breeding.

Another visited the top nest, where there may be a sitting heron but I'm not at all sure about this.

A Wood Pigeon preened on the small lower waterfall in the Dell. They like to bathe in the Dell too, but only in the pool at the top of the upper waterfall. If it tried here it would be washed away, and Wood Pigeons can't take off from water -- unlike Feral Pigeons, which are lighter and more agile.

A pretty pale Feral Pigeon foraged on the edge of the path by the Buck Hill shelter.

A Jackdaw waited for a peanut on one of the cast iron posts at the edge of Rotten Row. These posts are sponsored by donors and bear their names. This one is from Bates the Hatters, an establishment in Jermyn Street which will supply you with an extra tall top hat made of real beaver fur for a mere £695.

Another perched on one of the urns in the Italian Garden.

A Wren emerged for a moment from the undergrowth near Peter Pan.

The Robin at the southwest corner of the bridge was having to cope with a storm of hungry Great Tits, but managed to get several pine nuts.

Another waited on a rain-soaked bench in the Rose Garden ...

... where the usual Blue Tits ...

... and Coal Tits came out of the shelter of the bushes to be fed.

Black Swan on and off the ice

The Black Swan unwisely landed on a frozen part of the lake and found it unexpectedly difficult to walk to a patch of clear water.

The boss Mute Swan on the lake, with the ring Orange 4DTH, lost his mate 4EFI only five days ago for unknown causes. He hasn't wasted much time in mourning and today was already flirting with a new female, 4DTT. However the Black Swan, who has been more and more aggressive over the past few days, came over to break up their romance and even managed to chase him away.

One of the boss's six teenagers hatched last year was still stuck in the ice on the Long Water. Originally there were three here, but two escaped on to the open Serpentine. It could eat algae and wasn't in trouble, but it was having to share the hole with a lot of common Coots and clearly wasn't happy.

The teenager that managed to fly off the Long water and was seen heading south had a little adventure. Coming to the edge of the park it saw nothing but buildings ahead, realised its mistake, and landed on the grass beside the West Carriage Drive. But now it didn't know where it was. Luckily Jon happened to be passing on his bicycle. He always carries a swan bag, so he grabbed the swan, bagged it, and carried it to the Serpentine where it joined the four others.

The other teenager that flew off the Long Water went in the right direction and landed on the Serpentine without incident.

The Great Crested Grebes at the Vista were also still stuck, but they seemed calm  and were cruising around. The ice has now melted up to the edge of the waterfront, so they have more space to fish.

A little group of Gadwalls stood on the ice near the Italian Garden.

The Diana fountain was closed during the freeze and still hadn't reopened. This was perfect for the Greylag and Canada Geese, as they had a place to graze protected from dogs. The two Bar-Headed x Greylag hybrids from St James's Park were also here.

A young Herring Gull on a still frozen part of the Serpentine played with a leaf in a hole in the ice.

Pigeon Eater was on the ice by the Dell restuarant, eyeing the pigeons on the shore. In fact he couldn't attack from this side, as his little feet would have no grip and he couldn't run.

The edge of the lake is now ice-free, and the Pied Wagtail was back hunting near Fisherman's Keep.

A Jay waited for a peanut in a bush next to the bridge ...

... and another was with a Magpie in a tree nearer the Vista.

However, they always have problems getting their peanuts here, as the Carrion Crows are wary, fast and ruthless. I love crows but they do make things difficult.

There was a mob of small birds waiting for pine nuts in the Flower Walk, including the local female Chaffinch ...

... and a Robin in a yew hedge at the Queen's Gate crossing.

The Robin by the Buck Hill shelter is now completely confident, and perched on my hand to taken seven pine nuts.

A Blue Tit looked expectant in the Rose Garden ...

... and a Coal Tit perched in a rose bush.