Blossom time

A Wood Pigeon ate the buds of the blossom of a myrobalan tree in the Rose Garden.

Lower in the same tree, a Blue Tit waited for service ...

... and a martenitsa hung. This is a Bulgarian or other Balkan charm given to a loved one on Baba Marta Day, 1 March, and worn until a Swallow, a Stork, or a flowering tree is seen, and then hung in the tree. The Swallows must arrive earlier in Bulgaria, as we don't have any yet, and Storks are not to be hoped for.

A Blue Tit seen near the Buck Hill shelter went into a tiny hole in an old tree, where evidently it will be nesting.

The female Chaffinch appeared in the Flower Walk.

A Starling sang its scrappy song in a tree near the Rose Garden.

Ahmet Amerikali found one of the Long-Tailed Tits in the leaf yard carrying a feather to line its nest.

He also got a notable coup in Battersea Park: a Firecrest. These are very seldom seen here, and in all my time in the park I've only seen two and never got a picture.

The female Little Owl came out briefly on a branch but found the Saturday crowds annoying and went back in her hole.

The three Grey Heron chicks were shuffling around in the nest at the east end of the island.

At the upper nest, an adult perched in a branch above the nest to get away from its two demanding young.

There really are a lot of herons in the park now. As well as the four pairs on the island there is the young one in the Dell stream ...

... and on the Long Water, another young one reclining on the gravel strip ...

... three more along the east shore ...

... and one on a fallen tree opposite Peter Pan.

And that's only the ones I saw today: there may well be more.

The three pairs of Great Crested Grebes on the Serpentine are jostling for territory, and one got chased off another pair's patch.

The Egyptian Geese on the Serpentine are now down to three goslings ...

... but the pairs on the Round Pond are holding on to nine ...

... and six, which shows the difference in survival when there are fewer Herring Gulls.

Yesterday I mentioned the odd memorial by the leaf yard with a small casket, evidently of ashes, and a trowel hung on a tree which I thought commemorated a park gardener. Abigail had seen and photographed it earlier, when there was a name plate wedged in the bark of the tree. The gardener can have hardly have been called Shanty, so it was most likely a dog -- but in that case, what was the trowel for? 

However, today some small-scale grave robber had taken everything away.

Birdsong gets under way

As spring gathers pace we're beginning to hear proper birdsong, though the Blackbirds really haven't got going yet. The Chaffinches are in full swing and I heard a Chiffchaff  singing yesterday, A Song Thrush was in good voice in a treetop behind the Queen's Temple. This one has been singing all winter on sunny days.

A Robin sang in the bushes at the back of the Albert Memorial. It allowed me to film it from close up because it knew it was going to get some pine nuts afterwards. Bribery will get you everywhere.

Another posed in cherry blossom buds in the Flower Walk.

This Robin in the Rose Garden, now reunited with its mate, has become very aggressive towards the other small birds and constantly chases them away.

The male Chaffinch avoided attack by staying at ground level.

A Goldfinch was looking for insects in a treetop at the foot of Buck Hill, probably the same one as I filmed yesterday.

Three Jays followed me along the path from the Italian Garden to the bridge.

The two pairs of Long-Tailed Tits at the northwest corner of the bridge were busy in the bushes.

There was also a pair  by the Round Pond ...

... where the female Little Owl was out on a branch.

Since Virginia saw the Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery I've been keeping an eye on the area, but there has been nothing to show so far. I don't think they'll be able to use their original nest tree. The pair of Carrion Crows that nested in it last year are still there ...

... and their original hole has been blocked with dead leaves by squirrels building a drey. There are other ways in and out of the hollow tree, but a squirrel was looking out of one of them.

Both the Peregrines were on the tower in the morning, but flew away before I could get close enough for a picture.

Theodore saw a Red Kite flying over the Albert Memorial.

Although Red Kites are reoccupying much of the territory they were driven out of, they are reluctant to return to inner London. They were common scavengers here until the 18th century, when they were shot in the mistaken belief that they were foul pests -- when in fact the reverse was true as they were cleaning the city up. Their place was taken by Carrion Crows, and this seems unlikely to change.

There's a new pair of Grey Herons in a nest on the island. One of them is only a year old and still grey all over.

There are three pairs of Great Crested Grebes on the Serpentine. The pair nearest the bridge were displaying. There are also two pairs on the Long Water.

Coots were rebuilding their nest on the wire baskets by the bridge.

The Egyptian Geese on the Serpentine still have four of their original nine goslings. Constant vigilance is needed to ward off Herring Gulls and Carrion Crows, and there is also a threat from foxes and uncontrolled dogs.

When several years ago one of the park gardeners died, a tree was planted in his memory by the leaf yard. Sadly, I've forgotten his name, but will ask one of the gardeners who was working here at the time. Today I saw this by the tree. Probably the little box contains his ashes, and the trowel is a memorial of what he used to do.

Tinúviel sent me a scene from a busy street of Madrid, where a peahen had started wandering around and was in danger from the traffic, so the fire brigade were called to rescue her. The fireman at the end says  'Con lo bien que estabas en la ventana' -- 'You were perfectly all right in that window (but we still had to come and disturb you).'

Three Little Owls

The Little Owls at the Serpentine Gallery are seldom seen. Their nest tree, an old sweet chestnut, had a Carrion Crow's nest in it last year, and the crows are now looking at it again for possible reuse. They could, of course, find somewhere else to go, and the other one of the two old chestnuts here would be suitable as it is hollow and has lots of gnarled branches offering protection. But yesterday Virginia saw the male owl in their original tree, and here is her picture. He was being harassed by the local Jays, and soon flew off.

Both the Little Owls at the Round Pond were out in the sunshine, in the same horse chestnut, with the female on a lower branch ...

... and the male right at the top.

The Fieldfare and a few Redwings could be seen under the trees on the Parade Ground.

A Goldfinch looked for insects in a treetop at the foot of Buck Hill.

The small birds are much less hungry now that the weather has warmed up and there are more insects, but one of the usual Blue Tits ...

... and one of the pair of Robins were waiting at Mount Gate.

The Long-Tailed Tits at the northwest corner of the bridge were leaping around in the waterside trees.

One of the three Magpies in the Triangle posed in myrobalan blossom. There is a pair and their single offspring from last year. They haven't started nesting yet.

A Jackdaw looked down from the next tree.

The male Peregrine was on the barracks tower.

Pigeon Eater, on the left here, and his mate were in the water by the Dell restaurant. The picture shows the difference in head shape between a male and a female gull. She's sitting more upright, making her neck look longer.

The two Grey Heron chicks in the upper nest were surrounded by blossom, making them look even tattier.

A Moorhen knocked a Black-Headed Gull off a post at Peter Pan, but itself was displaced by one of the Coots nesting here. A Coot then tried to shift a Common Gull, but it wouldn't go.

Two terrapins basked in the sunshine on the opposite shore.

The Black Swan was cruising around the Serpentine with his usual companion.

The two dominant Mute Swans have the Long Water all to themselves, and were resting on the gravel under the Henry Moore sculpture.

One of the Egyptian Geese from the Italian Garden was on the swans' nesting island. The plants which have grown up since it was last used are now trodden down, showing that the swans have already visited it.

The first butterfly

The first butterfly of spring was a male Brimstone at the leaf yard ...

... and a dandelion flower had come out behind the railings at the Triangle.

The Fieldfare was still on the Parade Ground, in a tree.

It flew down to join three Redwings ...

... looking for worms.

The Little Owls at the Round Pond were having trouble with a pair of squirrels that have invaded their hole, as happened last year. They can leave by an upper hole if their usual exit is blocked, but it wasn't till mid-afternoon that the female appeared in a horse chestnut tree.

A Long-Tailed Tit at the leaf yard was pulling little bits of lichen off a tree.

When I went past later on the way to find the owl, the same bird or its mate was in the same place. It had just got a clump of moss and was about to fly off with it.

A Starling at the Round Pond shone in the sunlight.

The usual small birds were waiting in the Rose Garden, including this Blue Tit in a tree.

A Robin at the southwest corner of the bridge is also a regular customer.

The three Grey Heron chicks could be seen in the nest at the east end of the island ...

... and so could the two older ones in the upper nest.

Pigeon Eater was on the Dell restaurant roof gazing down majestically on his territory.

A pair of Great Crested Grebes were looking their best at Fisherman's Keep.

Coots mated on the nest in the planter in the Italian Garden fountain. The female was at first reluctant to respond to the male's squeaks, but relented.

The Egyptian Geese at the Round Pond have managed to keep all their nine goslings so far. It's a slightly safer place than the main lake, as there are fewer Herring Gulls.

The Black Swan flew to the Round Pond in the morning but returned to the Serpentine early in the afternoon, where it was hanging around with a pair of Mute Swans. I do wish we could find a friend for this restless and lonely bird.