Coots get a nasty surprise

The female Canada Goose nesting on the little island in the Long Water was taking a spell off the eggs to eat and drink and display with her mate. The Mute Swans who previously used the island tolerated the Coots nesting on the edge but the Canadas find them annoying and have started chasing them away.

Two Mandarin drakes were wandering around in the Dell. They had been on the Serpentine with a female, so it looks as if she is nesting in a tree here. The Dell would be a good place to bring up ducklings, as gulls seldom visit and as far as I know there are no pike in the stream.

There is also a pair on the Round Pond but there is no sign of nesting here yet. The drake was resting on the edge.

A pair of Egyptian Geese here have just brought out seven goslings.

This is the third brood on the pond this year. One other pair has four, and one pair has a single one but they are keeping a close watch on it and it has a fair chance of survival.

The pair with five at the Lido restaurant were on the edge of the terrace, where the wall of planters screens it from public view and also makes it difficult for gulls to swoop down on the goslings.

Bill Haines reports that a Greylag ringed by him, White U594, has turned up at Lakeside Country Park, Eastleigh, near Southampton. This is the first time one of his ringed geese has been seen more than 100 km from London. (But it's not up to the astonishing sighting of one of his Coots in St Petersburg a couple of years ago.)

The two young Grey Herons were down from the top nest, I think for the first time. One of them gazed at the new world from a wire basket.

The other landed on the edge and was promptly chased away by two adults. The young birds will still be returning to the nest to be fed.

One of the young herons in the second nest made a trip outside in a strong wind and had to flap to keep its balance on a branch. The young birds take what seem to us terrible risks before their flying skills are developed, or even before they can fly at all, but I've never seen one crash on one of these explorations.

A Chiffchaff sang and leapt around in an alder tree near the Italian Garden.

A Wren sang in a blossoming cherry tree by the leaf yard.

A Robin at the edge of the Diana fountain was carrying worms to a nest in the nearby shrubbery.

An anonymous contributor sent a picture of a Blackbird doing the same by the Henry Moore sculpture.

The familiar male Chaffinch followed me from the Serpentine Gallery to the bridge, and then when I was coming back on the other side of the Long Water accosted me at the other end of the bridge. This bird certainly knows my route, and has appeared all over Kensington Gardens to demand pine nuts, and even in Hyde Park after flying under the bridge.

The Jackdaws also know exactly where to find me. This one trotted up through the daisies at the Round Pond to request a peanut.

In the Rose Garden a Blue Tit hung from a cabbage palm leaf ...

... and a Great Tit came out in the pink blossom of a crabapple tree.

No visit would be complete without seeing the Coal Tits in the Dell.

Greenfinch eating cherry blossom

A Greenfinch ate blossom in a cherry tree beside the Long Water.

A male Chaffinch called against the background of song from a Great Tit and a Robin. Thanks to Julia for this video, which she shot yesterday when it was sunny.

Julia also filmed the Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery calling in the old chestnut tree. It was too chilly for him to come out today.

A Great Tit near the Italian Garden was carrying fluff for a nest lining.

Two Wrens allowed themselves to be photographed, one near the Buck Hill shelter ...

... and the other in the Flower Walk.

The hawthorn tree north of Peter Pan where Greenfinches are often seen had several Blackcaps jumping around in it ...

... a Song Thrush ...

... and a Jay.

Chiffchaffs were singing everywhere but I didn't get a good picture. Here is one taken by Ahmet Amerikali yesterday in Southwark Park.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker climbed a plane tree near the Rose Garden.

On the posts by the bridge a Pied Wagtail leapt out to catch midges, and a Grey Wagtail preened.

A young Herring Gull at Fisherman's Keep was eating a baby songbird. They couldn't raid a nest in a bush directly, so probably the poor creature had fallen out. Perhaps it's better to be eaten quickly than to die of exposure.

The stray young Black-Headed Gull on the Serpentine has now been joined by four adults.

The Grey Heron at the Lido restaurant had called its mate over, and both were walking up and down the edge of the terrace begging for snacks.

A Moorhen amused itself by climbing in the reeds under the Italian Garden.

A Coot has started nesting on the Mute Swan nesting basket by the Triangle, which as been completely ignored by swans.

The Black Swan's reluctant Mute girlfriend 4GIQ finally consented to sit on the nest he made for her near the landing stage. But she was still playing hard to get, and left the nest as soon as she saw him approaching. As always, he followed her closely across the lake.

A Canada Goose tasted a clump of sprouted wheat thrown into the lake after Nowruz, took one mouthful, and abandoned it.

One pair of Egyptian Geese at the Round Pond has four goslings, now quite well grown, while the other is down to the last one.

Green Woodpecker

A Green Woodpecker climbed a tree by the Queen's Temple. Several can be heard laughing around Kensington Gardens at the moment.

After a chilly start, afternoon sunshine warmed the day and the Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery came out on a branch.

A male Blackcap was singing in a hawthorn between Peter Pan and the leaf yard ...

... and on the other side of the path several Jackdaws came out to be fed.

A Song Thrush singing in a treetop by the leaf yard was answered by a Chiffchaff.

A Wren at the northwest corner of the bridge had caught a midge.

Another appeared at the other side of the bridge on an acanthus in the Triangle shrubbery ...

... where the male Chaffinch from Kensington Gardens had followed me again.

All three Robins at Mount Gate were waiting to be fed. This is the single one, which is quite well tolerated by the pair when they all come out in the flower bed.

The male Pied Wagtail was hunting along the edge at Fisherman's Keep, twittering loudly. I haven't seen his mate for a couple of days.

Every year a pair of Coots build a nest under the Dell restaurant balcony. The water is about three feet deep here, but a substantial pile of waterlogged branches brough in by the Coots in earlier years lasts through the winter and provides a base for the new nest.

The odd trio of a Gadwall drake mated with a female Mallard, and a spare Mallard drake, were on the edge of the Serpentine near the Triangle. Ducks often appear in trios with a spare male, but it's unusual to have one of two species.

The Egyptian Geese with six fast growing goslings enjoyed a rest in the sunshine, at peace until the next loose dog coame along and tried to chase them.

A Mute Swan at the Vista tried one of the clumps of sprouted wheat thrown into the water after the Zoroastrian Nowruz, the New Year celebration at the spring solstice. The swan took one bit and left it. None of the birds seem to like these attractive-looking green shoots: even Coots won't eat them.

There were plenty of insects in the herbaceous border in the Rose Garden, but nothing unusual. A Yellow-Legged Mining Bee explored a clump of polyanthus ...

a male Hairy-Footed Flower Bee fed on a pansy ...

... a female preferred a pink hyacinth ...

... and a Eupeodes luniger hoverfly, which has no satisfactory common name, browsed on a wallflower.

RIP Boss Swan

Sad news: the boss Mute Swan from the Long Water was found dead on the gravel strip this morning, from unknown causes. He was a very good swan from a swan's point of view, a powerful alpha male, whatever humans thought of his violent behaviour.

You might have expected that his mate would be drooping and inconsolable. But in fact she seemed remarkably unconcerned, seen here on the left of the picture preening with a group on the Serpentine shore by the Triangle, and she accepted a snack and gobbled it up enthusiastically. She hadn't been with him for very long, only a few months, and perhaps it takes longer than that for a pair to bond strongly.

The Long Water is now crowded with swans. This is a view up the Vista towards Kensington Palace.

A pair were already making a nest in the spot under the Italian Garden originally chosen by the boss.

The Canada gander was patrolling the water in front of the island where his mate is sitting on her eggs. I heard that some swans had tried to land and he had repelled them.

Better news: the single young Egyptian Goose to be brought up on the Serpentine last year, who was limping with a badly swollen foot, is now walking normally and the swelling is much reduced.

The male Pied Wagtail who was very lame from an avian pox blister on his foot is also much better now, running without a limp as the blister subsides.

The six eldest Egyptian goslings from this year are now quite large and beginning to get proper feathers. One of them strayed, but was called by his mother and hurried back.

The pair in the Rose Garden seemed delighted that the Huntress fountain is working again, but the goddess looked peeved at having an insolent Feral Pigeon perched on her bow hand.

A Great Crested Grebe on the Serpentine darted around catching midges flying near the surface of the water.

A pair of Coots at the bridge struggled to fit some long and irregular twigs into their nest, but Coots are good at this and they managed.

The two young Grey Herons in the top nest were playing again, but they had both just been for a short flight round the island, landing as neatly as adults. They are by no means independent yet and will remain in the nest to be fed for some time.

The Cetti's Warbler at the Vista appeared in willow catkins on the south side.

A pair of Long-Tailed Tits jumped around in the next tree.

A Coal Tit I haven't seen before came out in the top of a big yew tree at the northwest corner of the bridge.

In the Rose Garden, a Blue Tit waited in a cabbage palm.

The single Robin at Mount Gate was singing in cherry blossom on the other side of the path, but soon flew over to take several pine nuts.

A Jay looked expectant in a cherry near the Italian Garden.

A female Hairy-Footed Flower Bee browsed in a red deadnettle across the road from the Serpentine Gallery. They have orange hairs on their legs, but here the garish colour seems to come from pollen, as there is also a dusting on her face.