Savouring a pine nut

Tits are particularly fond of pine nuts and like to enjoy them piece by piece rather than swallowing them whole. This Great Tit in the yew at the corner of the Dell took more than two minutes to eat its treat, and I'm only showing the beginning and end here.

The two Coal Tits saw that there was food to be had and came out ...

... and a Blue Tit, also one of a pair, waited on the railings.

On windy days Carrion Crows love to play in the air.

A Jay by the Serpentine Gallery was expecting a peanut. The tree is an Indian horse chestnut. These don't suffer from the leaf miner moth that affects European species, but the trees are smaller and they are no substitute for our native horse chestnuts.

The male Little Owl was on his usual branch in the plane tree, which I thought he'd got bored with but he seems content to perch there for the time being.

Pigeon Eater is going into his winter plumage, with a dark streaked head. It isn't as smart as his summer outfit, but he needed the new feathers as he was beginning to get slightly tatty.

The Little Grebe chicks had moved up the Long Water and were opposite Peter Pan.

Again, there was no sign of an adult, though they seem to be too young to cope on their own.

The Great Crested Grebe chicks from the Long Water were on the Serpentine side of the bridge ...

... with the family from the north side of the island a hundred yards farther down the lake, distant enough to avoid territorial conflict.

The single young grebe from the Dell restaurant is now adult sized and spends much of its time fishing alone, though it's not fully independent yet.

A Moorhen led three chicks down the edge of the Lido restaurant terrace, a secluded spot because a row of planters by the railings screens the diners from the birds.

The Moorhen in the Dell, which recently had a companion, was alone again, and was under the small waterfall. Since it lost its mate several years ago it really seems to want to be single.

The two Mute cygnets from the nest in reeds by the lake outflow were out with their parents.

A fox on the lawn around the Henry Moore sculpture was joined by a cub.

A Speckled Wood butterfly rested on a fallen leaf by the Dell.

Small Copper butterfly

The Little Owls at the Serpentine Gallery were calling to each other in the plane tree, but I could only find the male. It's a very large leafy tree and easy to hide in.

As usual, the Jays demanded peanuts all the way to the bridge and along to the Vista.

A Jackdaw perched on the fallen tree at Peter Pan.

A Blue Tit in the Rose Garden was impatient at being photographed ...

...and so was a Great Tit at Mount Gate.

The young Pied Wagtail on the edge of the Dell restaurant terrace will come right up to you and run almost under your feet.

The Czech Black-Headed Gull admired his reflection at Fisherman's Keep.

The single young Great Crested Grebe on the Serpentine was looking for small fish and water creatures in the shallow water at the edge.

One of the two from the east end of the island was given quite a large fish ...

... but is now big enough to deal with it.

Two of the chicks from the Long Water were on the Serpentine side of the bridge ...

... while the third was preening with its father on the other side.

The Little Grebe chicks were by themselves on the east side of the Long Water. It looks as if they are fending for themselves now.

The lone cygnet on the Long Water was at the Vista with the gang of adults and seemed to be tolerated by them, but again there was no sign of its parents. 

A Red-Crested Pochard drake at Peter Pan was beginning to change into his breeding plumage ...

... and a Shoveller drake was getting his green head.

A Small Copper butterfly fed on vervain and daisies in a planter in the Italian Garden.

There was a hoverfly on a convolvulus in the same planter, I think Eupeodes luniger but there are several similar species.

Confident young Robin

The young Robin in the Rose Garden has become a regular customer for pine nuts ...

... along with the Robin at the bridge ...

... and two in the Flower Walk. The Robins at Mount Gate aren't seen very often, but probably when the weather gets colder they will start turning up.

A Blue Tit in the Dell ate a pine nut ...

... and a Coal Tit waited for one in the corkscrew hazel bush.

The male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery seems to have abandoned the branch in the plane tree where it was easy to find him, and now there has to be a considerable search to glimpse him among the leaves.

The young Pied Wagtail was back at the Dell restaurant hunting insects in the debris at the edge.

The oldest Great Crested Grebe chick on the lake, a single survivor from the nest at the restaurant, is now a teenager with the beginnings of a crest. It's diving with its parents, and also trying to fish on its own. It doesn't matter if it's not catching much yet, as its parents are still feeding it. What matters is acquiring vital skills for when it becomes independent.

The three Little Grebe chicks have reached the same stage in a fraction of the time. They grow up much faster than their larger relatives. They were fishing under the bridge.

The area around the bridge seems to be one of the best fishing spots, and is also used by the Great Crested Grebes from the Long Water, here seen in the reflection of the stonework.

The number of Cormorants is building up to its autumn peak, and they are occupying all the posts at both ends of the Serpentine island.

The Mute Swan situation on the Long Water remains unclear. There is a crowd around the Vista, but no sign of the former boss pair trying to sort them out. Indeed the pair seem to have merged into the mob. I last saw the female 4DTT sveral days ago, and I haven't seen her mate 4HDW since the incursion started. Their lone cygnet remained unattended near the Italian Garden.

The Black Swan was preening at the Vista, but quickly stopped and came over for some sunflower hearts.

A Mandarin at Peter Pan was evidently an adult female, judging by her very long wings.

The Egyptian family on the south side of the Serpentine are down to three goslings, which is sad but not unexpected on the dangerous lake.

The paired winged seeds of a sycamore provided a snack for a squirrel in the Dell.

A Common Carder bee browsed in the patch of lavender at the corner.

A male Migrant Hawker dragonfly posed perfectly in the reeds by the Diana fountain.

Lost baby squirrel

The Little Grebe chicks are now practising fishing, though they aren't yet getting much. Two of them brought up a leaf and a strand of algae. The third was preening, which caused it to revolve.

Of course they are still being fed. Here they were by the swan nesting raft at the Triangle.

The three Great Crested Grebe chicks were also being fed under the bridge, where both families spend a lot of their time.

These two chicks are from the nest on the north side of the island. Shortly after they were hatched the whole family disappeared, and it took us some time to find them on the far side of the lake where they were hidden by the bushes at the edge of the reeds east of the Lido. This clip was shot by poking the camera through the bushes.

Moorhens enjoy climbing up the chains to the posts at the bridge and knocking off the little Black-Headed Gulls, which are easy to scare. But a Lesser Black-Backed Gull was more of a challenge, and the Moorhen wisely decided to retreat.

There is still a confused mob of Mute Swans on the Long Water. The single cygnet was near the Italian Garden, but again without its parents. The Black Swan was at Peter Pan, and when he saw me he hurried over to the railings for some sunflower hearts.

The grass is growing back patchily after the drought. There was enough at the Vista to interest some Greylag Geese. It's a difficult place to graze, as they are constantly interrupted by dog owners taking their pets to swim in the lake.

Black-Headed Gulls have feet of quite varied colours, from beige to deep beetroot red, darkening as they age. This one by the Triangle had a bright orange pair.

Pigeon Eater was on the shore by the Dell restaurant, pretending to be resting but actually keeping a sharp eye on the Feral Pigeons to see if any of them had dropped its guard.

The young Pied Wagtail which is often here caught a larva.

The Little Owls at the Serpentine Gallery called to each other. I couldn't find the male, but after some frantic scurrying around I got a glimpse of the female in the middle of the plane tree.

The four Jays were constantly interrupting with demands for peanuts.

The Robin at the bridge came out to take several pine nuts.

The tits were also waiting in the big yew tree in the Dell. A Blue Tit ...

... and a Coal Tit came out on the same twig in turn.

A small young squirrel near the Buck Hill shelter had got separated from its family. People had given it peanuts and it was reluctant to leave them when put on a branch, but it had to go and hope its mother would find it. It was unexpectedly bad at climbing, and just clung there looking pathetic. All we could do was find it a more comfortable branch and go away.

A Common Carder bee browsed on purple loosestrife growing wild near the Italian Garden. It's a pretty plant, but the gardeners must regret introducing it in the pools, as it has now seeded itself all over the park.