Unseasonal Egyptian goslings

Egyptian Geese have been in England since the 17th century when they were imported as ornamental park birds, but they still haven't got the idea of the northern seasons and may breed at any time of year. This brood of seven has just appeared by the bridge. They took hastily to the water to avoid a passing dog.

The smallest Egyptian gosling of the three at Fisherman's Keep is way behind the other two in development, but it seems healthy and active. There are a couple of very small adults in the park, and it looks as if this is going to be another.

There was a teenage Little Grebe on the Round Pond, certainly one of those hatched on the Long Water. It still has traces of juvenile stripes on its face.

One of the Great Crested Grebe teenagers on the Long Water was pestering its mother by the bridge ...

... and the other was under the arch being given a substantial perch by its father.

The single smaller chick was under a bush on the Long Water with its father and the lone Mute cygnet.

This cygnet and its parents were the only swans on the Long Water when I went by. It seems that the two adults have realised that they need to behave properly and bully the other swans off their territory. The Black Swan, who used to visit the Long Water regularly, hasn't been there for several days. He was in his usual place by the landing stage.

The trio of a Canada Goose and two Canada x Greylag hybrids cruised by the Triangle. The Canada and one hybrid are mates, and the other hybrid must be a sibling of the first. There used to be one more Canada in the group, but it has disappeared.

Moorhens can eat practically anything, and the windborne debris at the corner of the Long Water by the Italian Garden is a useful source of insects and other small creatures. I think the thing it gets at beginning of the clip is a snail, as these tend to cluster on floating objects.

The debris at the Dell restaurant is equally full of insects, and provides a good place for Pied and Grey Wagtails to hunt.

A Grey Heron preened in the willow tree by the bridge, a popular lookout point for herons and there is often rivalry about who gets to perch in the tree.

The heron fishing under the ramp at the Lido glared at a Cormorant. It depends on quiet and stealth, while the Cormorant's active fishing style disturbs everything.

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in the lime tree. Although this is now her usual tree she perches in many different places in it and is often hard to find.

A Robin sang at Peter Pan.

A Coal Tit at Temple Gate had found a small larva.

The female in the Dell was making it hard to get a picture. She peeped out round a yew twig.

It was quite a cold day and the bee activity in the Rose Garden was well down, but there was a Common Carder on a lantana.

A Common Drone Fly rested on a leaf. They haven't been as common as usual this year, outnumbered by European Drone Flies.

The dominant gull dominated

For the last two days the dominant Black-Headed Gull on the landing stage at the Diana fountain has been displaced by a Herring Gull.

The evicted gull was on the shore nearby looking aggrieved, but he had not failed to clear all rival Black-Headed Gulls out of his territory.

A Robin behind the Peter Pan statue ticked irritably at a Magpie in the next tree.

The Robin in the Flower Walk was waiting as usual, always on the same twig.

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in her usual lime tree, on a higher branch than recently.

A Grey Heron stood in the willow at the bridge. When not fishing they like to keep a lookout from high places.

The submerged wire baskets at the bridge, which are full of twigs to act as a fish hatchery, are bent and broken and couldn't be arranged tidily after they were refilled recently. A heron stood on the protruding twisted mesh to look for fish.

The ugly baskets around the island, which were originally supposed to be full of water plants, are also much used as fishing stations by herons. These sure-footed birds seem all right standing on what looks like a most uncomfortable perch.

There has been talk of doing something about these baskets to improve the look of the island. But it takes for ever for anything to happen in the park, except for the pestilential and profitable Winter Wasteland which is already under construction and will blight Hyde Park for months.

The Great Crested Grebe family from the north side of the island were back at their nest site. One of the chicks got a perch from its father.

The family at the bridge were also out. A chick got too noisy for even its devoted parents to bear, and was chased off.

The lone Mute cygnet on the Long Water was with its parents at the Vista, all ignoring some Coots fighting around them.

Shovellers at Peter Pan cruised around shovelling up tiny water creatures and filtering them out with the bristles in their enormous bill.

A small fleet of Tufted Ducks emerged from under the bridge.

Greylag Geese fed on the grassy bank at the back of the Lido.

The yew trees are full of squirrels, or at least the trees with fruit. Yews are dioecious: there are male and female trees.

I also saw a Song Thrush eating yew fruit, but it flew off before I could pick up the camera.

A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee in the Rose Garden stuck its long proboscis into arbutus flowers to extract the nectar.

A Seven-Spot Ladybird wandered over a sea lavender flower. This is a British species, always a pleasure to see among the invasive Harlequin Ladybirds. The seventh spot is at the front, divided between the two wing cases, so really it has eight spots.

Little Owl preening

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was preening in her usual lime tree.

The pair of Magpies in the variegated holly tree down the hill from Temple Gate ...

... and the pair across the lake by the Buck Hill shelter are always waiting to come out for peanuts. Both pairs have bred and already thrown their offspring out of their territory.

The regular Robin at Mount Gate was hatched earlier this year, to judge by its unworn plumage. I haven't seen either of the older pairs here for some time.

The Robin at the Lido restaurant terrace is now often seen hunting along the shore like a wagtail.

The Pied Wagtail at the Dell restaurant had caught a tiny white larva.

It was having to skirt around Pigeon Eater.

A Grey Heron was fishing in the reeds opposite Peter Pan.

One of the Great Crested Grebe chicks on the Long Water followed its mother under the bridge to the good fishing ground on the other side.

Mary-Lu Bakker shot a splendid video of one of the older chicks on the Serpentine catching a reasonable sized fish.

An adult at Fisherman's keep rested by a fallen plane leaf.

The lone Mute cygnet on the Long Water was with its parents again today at the Vista.

The Black Swan and 4GIQ were feding at the Triangle. They were gatecrashed by the Lesser Black-Backed Gull that we saw eating a Feral Pigeon here a few weeks ago.

A Pochard drake at the Lido ignored an oncoming wave from the wake of a powerboat.

A Red Admiral butterfly having a leisurely feed of nectar from a Michaelmas daisy was knocked off the flower by a Common Wasp.

We've had pictures of Buff-Tailed Bumblebees punching holes in the side of baby sage flowers to get at the nectar. Here's a video of them at work.

Honeybees were enjoying the last warm day in the Rose Garden on the Michaelmas daisies ...

... and the purslane at the edge of the borders.

Swan family reunited (more or less)

The abundant fruits on the big yew tree in the Dell provided a feast for a Rose-Ringed Parakeet and a Grey Squirrel.

Blue Tits eat fruit quite often but never show any interest in yew fruits. They were here for the insects.

Their favourite tree is the hawthorn, which always seems to be full of bugs.

A Great Tit at Mount Gate carefully and slowly ate a pine nut I gave it, savouring every bite. It took over two minutes to eat this one.

The young Robin arrived and perched in a clump of dead leaves.

So did a Jay, again one of this year's young ones from the family near the Serpentine Gallery ...

... where the female Little Owl was in a very awkward place in the lime tree and it was impossible to get a good picture.

The young Grey Heron was back in a basket of water plants at the Triangle. I just can't see what it's finding there.

The boathouse with gaps under the foundations ...

... and the ramp at the Lido with a space below it are obvious places for herons, with fish lurking in the shadows.

The heron fishing from the electric boat platform had to put up with three Cormorants intruding on its territory.

A Cormorant at the Lido dried its wings on the edge, ignoring people walking by a couple of feet away.

One of the Great Crested Grebe chicks from the Long Water was mercilessly pestering its mother at the bridge.

The lone Mute cygnet on the Long Water, 4THT, was back with its neglectful parents at the Vista. Here it's next to its mother 4DTT, with its father 4HDW resting in the foreground. Neither of them was taking any notice of its juvenile cheeping, and in fact it was the cygnet that had seen them across the lake and come over.

The Black Swan was at the Triangle, amusing himself by bullying the Mute Swans.

The large clumps of Michaelmas daisies in the Rose Garden were still teeming with Honeybees, which have never before had such a feast so late in the year. These little white daisies are the favourite of the many varieties on offer.

A Common Carder bee preferred a Peruvian lily.

Students from Imperial College were enjoying a session on the Serpentine with 'Jezebel', the 1916 Dennis N-Type fire engine that they maintain in working order.