Grebe chick update

The three Great Crested Grebe chicks at the Serpentine island, not seen for several days, arrived back at the nest aboard their mother, who shook them off under the safety of a bush.

One of them climbed on to its father's back. The other two had a wrestling session before joining it.

The two chicks from the other nest on the island could be seen from across the lake under a moored boat.

The single and oldest chick, seen by the boat hire platform, is now quite large.

The fallen poplar at Peter Pan has an ever changing variety of occupants. Today it was the turn of the Pochards.

The efficient Egyptian Geese at Fisherman's Keep had their four goslings arranged in a tidy huddle.

The shore here is in a sad and smelly state. The Czech Black-Headed Gull looked disapprovingly at at the slime.

The male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery appeared in the same place as yesterday, but later in the day when the light was directly behind him so it was hard to get a picture.

The regular Robin was waiting in the Flower Walk.

A Great Tit called from a clump of pyracantha berries. They do eat fruit in the autumn when the supply of insects begins to wane, but there are still plenty of bugs for them at the moment.

When a Great Tit in the Dell comes out under a bush expecting to be fed ...

... usually the Coal Tits notice and appear in the big yew tree.

In the present conditions puddles are a rare and precious thing. Luckily the drain of the Bulgarian drinking fountain at Mount Gate is blocked, and a Feral Pigeon was enjoying the overflow.

The Painted Lady butterflies have set off on their long migration south, but this one was too tattered to join them. It can live out the rest of its life on the abundance of the sea lavender in the Rose Garden.

A Red Admiral was fresh and immaculate.

A Meadow Brown browsed on the spiky flowers of American Blue Vervain, Verbana hastata, in the Flower Walk. It's none too blue.

There was a Common Carder bee on the same plant.

You never know what you're going to see in the Italian Garden.

A rather blank day

It wasn't as hot as yesterday, but the temperature was quite high enough to keep people out of the park. Unfortunately most of the birds were sheltering too, so today's pictures are a dull lot. At least the male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was visible in a lime tree, in the shade of the trunk.

The male Peregrine was also out on the tower. They always perch on the shaded side.

The familiar Jackdaw at the Lido strolled up for the daily peanut ...

... and the usual Jay near the Italian Garden was waiting on a dead branch encrusted with lichen.

A handsome black and white Feral Pigeon basked on the burning hot pavement at the Triangle.

Pigeon Eater's single young one couldn't see its parents, and wandered around moaning pathetically. It's all an act, as the bird is now perfectly able to do its own scavenging. 

There was a huge crowd of Herring Gulls at the east end of the Serpentine, with just a couple of Lesser Black-Backs at the right of the picture. This proliferation must be largely due to the breeding colony in Paddington. The gulls have now spread out over Bayswater, South Kensington and Pimlico, to the dismay of the human residents.

The Coots at Peter Pan have finally abandoned their nest on the post, leaving a place for a Black-Headed Gull to rest.

One of the three young Grey Herons in the fifth nest came out on a branch in front of the nest. They will be down on the shore soon, bringing this year's total of fledged young up to 15. That's two fewer than last year, but still a very successful result from quite a small island.

The brick boathouse is a favourite fishing place for herons, as its walls are supported on reinforced concrete beams just above water level, leaving a space underneath in which fish lurk. If one pokes its head out from under the beam the heron grabs it.

The fallen willow at the bridge is also a good place, with fish hiding in the tangled mass of submerged bracnches.

The number of Cormorants is increasing as this year's young fish are now large enough to interest them. Numbers will build up to a peak in late autumn and slowly decline as the lake is fished out by these ravenous birds.

Ahmet Amerikali was in Southwark Park when a Cormorant flew into the small lake, caught and swallowed one large fish, and returned to the river.

He also got a picture of one of the Little Grebes, much more visible there than they are in the park here although we have a pair and often hear them calling to each other.

The Egyptian goslings at Fisherman's Keep are an obedient lot most of the time, keeping close to their mother, and that's why there are still four of them. But inevitably one will wander off by itself to browse on algae at the edge of the water.

The Black Swan and 4GIQ were together in a shady spot by the bridge.

Wasps' nests are appearing all over the park, and this one is beside the path at the back of the Lido. They usually make their nests underground in rat burrows, of which there are plenty in the park flower beds.

The floating baskets at the Triangle were planted with common reed, water mint and other marginal plants, and these have come up well enough. But they are already being crowded out by self-seeded purple loosestrife and great willowherb. There is also a single sunflower, no doubt from a seed that someone was trying to feed to a bird.

Birds feeling the heat

On a hot afternoon a Grey Heron and a Cormorant at the Serpentine island panted rapidly to cool down.

Canada Geese, Tufted Duck and Coots shared a patch of shade at the Triangle.

A Feral Pigeon was flat out on the grass. I don't think they're enjoying the warmth for its own sake. I think the heat brings their fleas and lice to the surface so that they can be preened off.

A Song Thrush near Peter Pan was feeling hot.

The tatty Robin in a shady bush in the Flower Walk was as keen as ever for pine nuts, and came out both times I passed.

Starlings enjoyed a splash together on the edge of the Dell restaurant terrace wile they waited to raid a table.

After bathing a Starling shook itself dry and preened in the willow at the Dell restaurant.

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in a lime tree. 

Two visits showed owlets in two different places ...

... but actually both seem to be the female, which had moved while I was away.

A Peregrine was alone on the barracks tower. This time it was the male, as you can see from the dingy colour of the stripe on the side of its face.

Pigeon Eater had eaten enough of his latest kill and was preening on the resturant roof. His mate had had her share and was resting in the water. The scanty remains were being finished by a young Herring Gull with a peculiar pink plastic ring that I have never seen before.

The heron in the Italian Garden had caught a large fish just before I arrived, and was standing still in the irises as it digested its meal.

I didn't see any of the Great Crested Grebe families, which was disappointing but a sign that they are being kept in secluded safe places. There was a pair by the bridge. The female shook out her feathers to settle them.

The three Moorhen chicks under the willow by the bridge squeaked plaintively as they swam about. They are now feeding themselves and not begging, but the call helps their parents to know where they are.

The Mute Swan 4DVZ took her cygnets past Fisherman's Keep.

A male Emperor dragonfly resting on an iris in the Italian Garden was very tattered but still airworthy.

Black-Tailed Skimmers prefer the spikes of the sun-warmed iron railings.

Starlings surprised

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery posed elegantly in a lime tree.

The male looked out from the leaves of the big plane tree.

The old female Chaffinch in the Flower Walk was eating pyracantha berries, but flew out to catch a thrown pine nut.

The regular Robin was tatty but cheerful, and came out for three pine nuts.

There was a brief burst of Robin song beside the Long Water, the first since they fell silent for their summer break.

One of the Coal Tits appeared in the big yew tree in the Dell.

Feral Pigeons took turns to drink and splash on a duckboard in the Italian Garden fountains, but it was clear that the pale one was the boss of the gang.

Starlings feasting on scraps at the Dell restaurant got a shock when a Lesser Black-Backed Gull and a Magpie arrived on the table.

Cormorants lurched and grunted on the fallen poplar at Peter Pan.

Grey Herons wandered over the Serpentine Road by the island. With 15 young herons hatched this year there is serious overcrowding in the area.

The heron in the Italian Garden was fishing in the northwest pool ...

... which left the young Coots in the southwest pool free to reclaim their nest in the water lilies ...

... while a parent watched from a duckboard.

The only Great Crested Grebe family in sight was the one from the east end of the island with two chicks, which again could be seen on the south side of the island by looking across the lake.

A grebe did a big shrug to settle its feathers after preening.

The four Egyptian goslings at Fisherman's Keep were obediently staying close to their mother.

Yesterday I wrote that the boss Mute Swan on the Long Water, 4HDW, was much less aggressive than the old boss 4DTH. Today he proved me wrong as he advanced under the bridge ...

... with his mate 4DTT and their cygnet to bully the swans on the Serpentine.

Some of the Tufted Duck family could be seen by the reeds east of the Lido. The young ones are now almost adult size but it will be a while before they grow their flight feathers.