Black Swan in mischievous mood

The Black Swan has taken to hanging around the boss Mute Swan and his new mate, retreating when confronted but coming back, and doing his best to be as annoying as possible. First he was at the Vista ...

... and got chased off, under the bridge and on to the Serpentine.

The boss swan's mate remained at the Vista. She has the ring 4DTT -- he is 4DTH, but the order in which swans get ringed is a matter of chance. She is a surprisingly mild-mannered and gentle bird, unlike the boss's late mate 4EFI who was almost as violent as him. No doubt she will get fiercer if the union progresses and they have cygnets.

The boss swan was then on the Serpentine, and the Black Swan came back several times and was shooed again and again.

He went to the middle of the lake and started chasing other swans and flapping and calling, and generally throwing his weight around. The boss seems to tolerate this behaviour up to a point, as long as the Black Swan retreats when threatened -- as he has to, for he would be mauled in a straight fight with the enormous boss.

The proceedings were watched by a young Cormorant on the nesting basket by the Diana reed bed. I haven't yet seen a swan take any interest in this basket, but a Grey Heron is often seen using it as a fishing station.

A pair of Shovellers revolved on the Long Water, the wake of each one stirring up little creatures for them to filter out of the water with the strainers inside their bills. They work in exactly the same was as Blue Whales, but on a slightly smaller scale.

Pigeon Eater and his mate had finished their lunch and were resting on the Dell restaurant roof ...

... while another Lesser Black-Backed Gull ate the little that was left. Pigeon Eater doesn't defend his leftovers, as he knows he can get another pigeon whenever he wants.

A Song Thrush sang on the edge of the leaf yard, answering another on the other side of the lake. They were impossible to film, as the demonstration at the Iranian embassy was louder than ever.

The Robin at the Buck Hill shelter struck a pose as grand as the Monarch of the Glen before flying over to take several pine nuts.

The one in the Rose Garden came out under a bush ...

... with Blue Tits ...

... and both Coal Tits waiting on the twigs above.

The Robin in the Dell was in a bossy mood, standing on the railings and shooing away the tits.

One of the Coal Tits had to retreat to the yew tree on the corner, but it still managed to fly down to the railings for a few pine nuts. They may be tiny but they are good at devising strategies for getting fed.

A premature daffodil has come out in the Rose Garden.

The boss swan has made his choice

The boss Mute Swan on the Long Water seems to have hit it off with his new mate, the second candidate since he lost his original mate on 2 January. They were displaying near the nesting island ...

... which already shows traces of a visit with trampled plants and a few white feathers.

His six teenagers from last year are now part of the ordinary population of the Serpentine, though they arrived quite high in the pecking order thanks to their ferocious father.

The nesting basket at the east end of the Lido was occupied by a big male, 4GIS, who was snorting fiercely. I didn't see any possible mates in the area.

Two of the three Red-Crested Pochard drakes, in full breeding plumage with their ginger bouffant hairdos, dived for algae at the Lido.

A few more Shovellers have arrived on the Long Water.

A Cormorant was fishing in the pools in the Italian Garden.

A young one, still with a pale front, stood on a post at the Serpentine island.

There was a Grey Heron on the nest at the west end, but no sign of other activity.

Three Black-Headed Gulls perched on a notice by the Dell restaurant. Two of them had rings put on by Bill Haines -- he changed from orange to blue plastic rings as the orange ones were not visible enough against the colour of the gulls' legs.

A Robin sang quietly to itself in a bush in the reed bed by the Diana fountain.

The Robin near the Buck Hill shelter was waiting as usual ...

... and so was the female of the pair at Mount Gate, with her mate singing out of sight.

Great Tits crowded into a wintersweet bush in the Flower Walk ...

... and one of the Coal Tit pair perched among hazel catkins.

There was another in the cercis bush in the Rose Garden ...

... along with plenty of Blue Tits ...

... and the male Chaffinch.

More January sogginess

Rain increased from a light drizzle to a steady downpour, but plenty of small birds came out from the shelter of the bushes to be fed: Great Tits ...

... Blue Tits ...

... and Coal Tits in the Rose Garden ...

... and the familiar male Robin ...

... and his mate at Mount Gate.

The rain encouraged Song Thrushes to sing, cheered by the prospect of abundant worms. This one by the leaf yard couldn't be filmed because of the loud roar of the diesel engine that runs the leaf compactor ...

... but the one at the Diana memorial fountain was quite audible, though you can hear the noise of the protest outside the Iranian embassy, which has been going on 24 hours a day since the troubles began.

A Magpie was out when the rain was at its heaviest, but came over to take a peanut from the railings.

Rose-Ringed Parakeets, so well camouflaged when the leaves are on the trees, are absurdly conspicuous in winter.

It was business as usual for the Pied Wagtail, which perched on the handrail of the Lido jetty.

The dominant Black-Headed Gull by the Diana fountain trotted up and down the landing stage.

The middle gull, Blue 2331, had a comparatively dry moment to preen on his usual post.

A Grey Heron stood on the parapet of the bridge, ignoring passers by.

The usual one was fishing from the nesting basket by the Lido restaurant.

Another Great Crested Grebe has returned to the Serpentine, which hadn't had any since the icy spell. I looked carefully to check that it isn't one of the three from the Long Water. She was calling, so maybe there was another out of sight.

The three Red-Crested Pochard drakes were diving together inside the Lido swimming area.

The dominant Mute Swan on the Long Water was back with his second candidate for a mate (or at least that looked like her).

The Black Swan followed 4GIQ across the lake, hooting at her. But when they came back she was following him. While not very enthusiastic, she seems to find his strange approach interesting.

Black Swan's lonely nest

The Black Swan, who has been following several Mute females without acknowledgement, was making a lonely nest on one of the nesting baskets. There's an unattached female Black Swan in St James's Park, but matchmaking for swans is not straightforward, and if she was kidnapped and brought here she would probably fly back at once.

He went off after a new female, 4GIQ.

The dominant swan on the Long Water, who has been looking for a new mate after losing his, may have gone off his latest choice. He was cruising down the lake alone ...

... leaving her behind in a reed bed. But we shall see.

There are now three Red Crested Pochard drakes at the Lido. They are usually quite shy, but this one came close.

A third Coot nest in the Italian Garden fontains is now occupied. This is an old one from last year where two broods were raised, and it's probably the same pair on it.

The other Coot was nearby having a furious wash.

A Moorhen evicted a Black-headed Gull from a post at Peter Pan. Gulls usually leave immediately when they see the determined bird advancing up the chain.

The dominant gull at the landing stage was looking out on his territory from the head of the Big Bird statue. He is a tough customer and might well stand up to a Moorhen.

Herring Gull pairs wave things at each other to suggest nesting (though they wouldn't nest in the park). Any object will do: a leaf, a stick, a feather.

Cormorants preened in the sunshine on the fallen poplar at Peter Pan.

A Grey Heron was fishing from the nesting basket at the Triangle.

A young one peeped round the corner of a boathouse.

There was a good turnout of tits in the Rose Garden.

A Blue Tit ...

... a Coal Tit ...

... and a Chaffinch waited in a rose bush.

The Robin by the Buck Hill shelter is good at posing in an attractive sunlit spot while waiting. It's always rewarded with several pine nuts afterwards.