Blackcap singing at Mount Gate

A Blackcap sang on a branch at Mount Gate. They generally sing in cover and it's unusual to see one out in the open.

It was a hot day and most of the small birds were staying in the shadows. A Robin by the Henry Moore sculpture lurked under a bush.

A Wren in the Rose Garden scolded a Magpie in the tree above.

A Feral Pigeon cooled down with a bathe in the Huntress fountain ...

... and a Carrion Crow had a drink under the Bulgarian fountain at Mount Gate.

The Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery came out on the lime tree in the afternoon.

A Great Crested Grebe at the Serpentine island had a thorough wash ...

... while its mate dozed on the nest.

The young Coots under the edge of the Italian Garden fountains are getting quite large. Two of them were preening on the nest.

The two chicks under the Dell restaurant balcony could be seen while their parents were bringing twigs to repair the nest.

The Mute Swans 4FYY and 4FUF have abandoned their nesting attempt in the reeds east of the Lido. The site is now vacant, and 4FYG and 4FYX were having a look at it. This is the pair that usually nest on the island, and the male 4FYG is high in the pecking order.

Egyptian goslings stayed cool in the shadow of their mother.

The solitary Red-Crested Pochard drake at the Lido was diving for waterweed.

This is what happens if you leave a rucksack with peanuts on the railings.

A Red Admiral butterfly on the Rose Garden lawn took nectar from the daisies.

A Marmalade Fly, Episyrphus balteatus, browsed on buttercups.

Two beetles: a Soldier Beetle, Cantharis rustica, in the grass near the Italian Garden ...

... and a Reed Beetle, Donacis clavipes, on the stonework of the parapet. There are reeds for it on the other side.

Whitethroat by the Queen's Temple

A Whitethroat sang in the bramble patch down the hill from the Queen's Temple. I couldn't get any closer as the shy bird rushed into cover.

On a second visit it couldn't be seen at all though it was still singing, but there was a glimpse of a Greenfinch preening in a holly tree.

The leaf yard is being remade with heavy machinery, but there was just enough time between the enormous bangs and crashes to hear a Blackbird singing in a tree on the edge.

A Jay landed beside the path to demand a peanut.

The Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in a place where it was impossible to get a good view. On a return visit he had gone even deeper into the leaves.

A Grey Heron was fishing in a pool in the Italian Garden, standing on a large bundle of straw which is supposed to suppress the growth of algae. It doesn't seem to work.

Another sunbathed with wings akimbo on the nesting raft west of the Lido. This raft has never been visited by a swan and is intact, but the swans have utterly wrecked the other two.

There is a second Great Crested Grebe nest at the island. It has at least three eggs, which a parent was turning to keep them evenly warmed while the other occasionally brought strands of algae.

The first nest is still a going concern, but I haven't been able to see how many eggs there are in it.

The Coot nesting at the Dell restaurant still has two chicks, hard to see in the shadows under the balcony.

The single surviving Coot chick south of Peter Pan was able to return to the nest, as the heron that was using it as a fishing platform has moved on.

The Black Swan was harassing the pair of Coots by the nesting raft where his Mute mate is sitting.

The Canada Geese with three goslings took them to feed on the grassy bank at the back.

Three Egyptian goslings sprawled awkardly by the boat hire platform.

The Mandarin was ashore with her two ducklings at the Vista.

The rugosa roses in the Rose Garden are still blooming, delighting the Buff-Tailed Bumblebees which revolved in them for minutes at a time. The smell of the roses, which are of a different species (Rosa rugosa) from ordinary garden roses, seems to have the same effect on them as catnip on a cat.

A Honeybee was perfectly content with a pale pink climbing rose on the old tree stump.

Young Blue Tit

A young Blue Tit in a tree north of Peter Pan shuffled impatiently while waiting for a parent to bring food.

There were a lot of Greenfinches in the trees around. A male sang on a holly twig ...

... and a female perched in a catalpa. Young ones could be heard calling, but none were visible through the leaves.

A Wood Pigeon ate pansies in a border in the Rose Garden. Pansies are actually quite palatable in salads for humans, and so are nasturtiums.

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

One of the young Grey Wagtails was looking for insects in the scrubby patch between the Lido swimming area and the restaurant.

A pair of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls on the boat hire platform complained as a rival landed next to them.

A Great Crested Grebe poked around the edge of the Coots' nest by the bridge. There are various reasons why they do this: to find edible water creatures lurking in the nest, and to steal twigs for their own nest; but mainly to annoy the Coot.

There are more Coot chicks in the reeds under the Italian Garden, but I could only see two. The nest is on the other side from the one with four older chicks.

The Mute Swan family were at the Dell restaurant confronting a Magpie.

The Black Swan was showing off, chasing every other swan within sight including this harmless female.

The six Egyptian Goose teenagers and their mother are often seen with the Canada family on the grass east of the Lido. In an area infested with dogs, it helps to have more lookouts.

The two young Egyptians by the Dell restaurant have got through the most dangerous period, and are now quite large.

The Mandarin and her two ducklings came ashore at the Vista.

A female Brimstone butterfly landed on the ground near Queen's Gate and lay down on her side, an odd position but there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her. When I let my shadow fall on her she instantly got up and flew away.

There were two very bright coloured bees: an Early Bumblebee on the green alkanet by Temple Gate ...

... and a Common Carder on a patch of catmint by the Diana fountain.

A Yellow-Legged Mining Bee browsed on the wallflowers in the Rose Garden.

Return of the Peregrines

Both the Peregrines were on the Knightsbridge Barracks tower today, with the female -- on the left -- calling loudly to her mate.

A Wren chittered on a dead tree on the lawn east of the Dell ...

... and there was another inside the Dell on a stump.

I'm now intercepted daily by a very confident female Great Tit. She perches on my finger and slowly and carefully eats a pine nut, sometimes two, before taking another and flying away with it. This takes some time but I wouldn't dream of disturbing her routine. Thanks to Sato for taking this picture.

A Jay was looking impatient at Mount Gate.

A Magpie on the island had been bathing, and vigorously shook itself dry and preened.

Ahmet Amerikali got a good shot of a Reed Warbler at the Italian Garden.

One of the young Grey Wagtails was hunting on the edge of the Lido restaurant terrace. It doesn't take them long to become independent.

On a table above, the usual Grey Heron was soliciting titbits from the diners.

Sad news about one of the park regulars, the Black-Headed Gull with ring White 2331 who had a favourite post halfway along the south side of the Serpentine and dominated that area. He was found dead in Latvia, on Lake Engure near Mersrags, apparently killed by a raptor. We had no idea he was a visitor from so far away.

It's noticeable that two of the three dominant Black-Headed Gulls on the Serpentine have migrated over a considerable distance. The other is the Czech gull ET05.589/Orange 2V57. The third, the one who owns the landing stage by the Diana fountain, has no ring and we don't know where he goes in summer.

The Great Crested Grebe on the nest at the east end of the island had a boat pressed right up against it. The boat people have been asked not to moor boats so that they endanger the nest, but they have taken no notice and have just added another boat pushing the first one across. What a loss the old firm of Bluebird Boats is. All the staff really cared about the birds.

The Coots on the nesting raft absolutely refuse to leave, despite the Black Swan's attempts to evict them. I have a feeling that their persistence will win in the end.

The Mute Swan from the east end of the Serpentine was on the edge of the Dell restaurant terrace, hoping to win snacks by showing off her cygnets. She preened, so they all did.

The Mandarin was on the Long Water with her two ducklings. They were in a cloud of midges and were catching them, a useful source of protein for the growing ducklings.

A Red-Crested Pochard drake cruised by the Lido. They visit irregularly from the other parks.

The foxgloves in the Rose Garden are popular with the Buff-Tailed Bumblebees, which can only be photographed as they emerge from each flower.

This is a White-Tailed Bumblebee feeding on a sisyrhynchium. Its stripes are bright lemon yellow and there is no trace of buff at the border of its white tail.

I'm not sure what this bee is. It seems too early in the season for the Common Carders to get bleached and worn. It has quite dark wings.

But I'm pretty sure that this hoverfly on a catnip flower is Eupeodes luniger. There are other similar species of Eupeodes but this one seems to fit exactly.