More Coot chicks in the Italian Garden

More young Mapgies have come out, this time from the pair nesting in the Triangle shrubbery.

The Jays, absent for some time while breeding, are reappearing but I haven't seen a young one yet.

Young Great Tits couldn't be more noticeable. Two were yelling for attention on either side of the Flower Walk.

On the path below, rival Feral Pigeons went for each other. Doves of peace? Forget it.

Two young Long-Tailed Tits were quietly hunting for insects by themselves on a winged elm by the Long Water. They've become independent very quickly.

A Song Thrush was on the path picking up fallen fruit from a Bird Cherry tree. This is a distant picture because some people blunderd past and frightened it away before I could get any closer.

On a nearby hawthorn there was a Yellow Shell moth, Camptogramma bilineata. The name was conferred on them by Linnaeus in one of his vaguer moments, as they never have fewer than three wavy white lines.

A Robin was looking at it from the nest tree, but seemed inclined to leave it alone.

Pigeon Eater, in his usual place on the Dell restaurant roof, pretended not to be watching two pigeons coming dangerously close.

But we know what was going through his head.

In addition to the existing Coot family with eight young, two more broods have now appeared in different pools in the Italian Garden. There is no sound from the fountains, as they have broken down yet again.

The Coots nesting on the post at Peter Pan are unstoppably building up their nest again for a third breeding attempt this year. They just do not learn from experience.

A nest on the gravel strip on the Round Pond: not much chance of success here either.

The Mallard family passed by in close formation ...

... and as usual the Mandarin ducklings were straying away from their mother.

The Mute Swan on the nest at the Diana fountain landing stage, 4GIQ, stood up to reveal at least four eggs. But she has been sitting here for over six weeks and nothing has happened yet.

The Wool Carder Bees in the Rose Garden are always on the Lamb's Ears plants, since these provide not only nectar from the flowers but also fibres from the hairy leaves which the bees gather to line their nests.

A proper English summer day

A female Blackbird, a Feral Pigeon and a Mallard drake visited the Huntress founatin in the Rose Garden on a cold drizzly English summer day.

A young Magpie, still with blue eyes, took a moment off pestering its parents to look around its new world.

You can hear a Wren ticking at the dangerous little predator. It came out from under the yew hedge.

Two slightly older Magpies played with a stick, watched by their parents on the lawn by the Diana fountain.

As usual, Great Tit fledglings were making a racket all over the park. This one was in the Flower Walk.

One of the Robin parents at Mount Gate arrived to collect pine nuts and took them back into the bushes. I still haven't had a clear sight of the chicks here.

The male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery came out between showers. He's a tough bird and I've seen him outside in the rain sheltering under an overhanging branch.

At the Round Pond there has not an owl to be seen, unsurprisingly as it was windy as well as drizzly. The Mallard ...

... and Mandarin families were in good shape and (fingers crossed) the ducklings are growing fast.

Three Mandarins turned up at the Vista. The drake is now well into eclipse and looking sadly tatty after his former glory.

The Black Swan, still on the Serpentine, flapped his odd white wings. He hasn't started moulting yet.

A fourth Canada x Greylag Goose hybrid has turned up on the south shore to join the others for the June moult. These geese, presumably siblings, are not the same as the two that associate with a Canada on the other side and are often seen at the Triangle.

The Coot nesting on a chain at the island was doing some maintenance, necessary as the nest keeps sagging down off the chain. This nest has a slight chance of success as long as the Cormorant that likes to stand here stays away ...

... but this one at the other end of the island stands no chance at all, partly because a Grey Heron likes to use the tussock of grass on the wire basket as a fishing station, and partly because if any chicks were hatched here they wouldn't be able to climb up to the nest from the water ...

... and this one is just plain hopeless, though the Coot has persisted on it for more than a week now.

This year's young herons have quickly learnt the good fishing spots by the boathouses ...

... and the reed bed east of the Lido.

Three Litte Owls

There were plenty of Little Owls to see: the male at the Round Pond in a horse chestnut tree ...

... who was calling to his mate on her usual lime branch ...

... and the male at the Serpentine Gallery in the hornbeam tree.

Julia filmed a Great Spotted Woodpecker prising up a long strip of bark from a dead branch in an oak tree near the Speke obelisk, looking for insects underneath.

A male Wood Pigeon at Mount Gate sidled up to a female, pecked her gently, and bowed in the Wood Pigeon's ritual gesture.  She wasn't interested and he gave up.

A Coal Tit came out on a branch below.

Young Great Tits were clamouring all round the Long Water. This is one of the large family at the southwest corner of the bridge ...

... and there are two other families across the water.

A Song Thrush foraged at the edge of the path near the Italian Garden ...

... and a male Greenfinch twittered from a dead tree beside the lake.

Pigeon Eater, having lunch with his mate, was annoyed by an intruder and chased it away.

A Pied Wagtail, working over the puddles at the edge of the Round Pond, found one of the little white larvae I've often seen them get before. I have no idea what they are.

The Mandarin and her three ducklings were having a quiet moment on the edge ...

... until the Mallard came by with her six, too close so she was attacked.

The single Mute cygnet was in good order on the edge of the Serpentine.

A Holly Blue butterfly perched in a bush behind the Dell restaurant.

I also saw a Camberwell Beauty on the west side the Long Water between the bridge and the Vista, but it wouldn't stop and I couldn't get a picture. A shame, because cold wet weather is due and we shan't be seeing butterflies for some time.

A Honeybee browsed in the patch of cranesbill at the back of the Lido.

A Wool Carder Bee in the Rose Garden fed on a Lamb's Ears flower.

Just one more cygnet

A large family of Great Tits by the bridge clamoured and fluttered at their parents to get fed.

It was the same scene in the Flower Walk, and in several other places around the park.

The Robin nesting by the Henry Moore sculpture came out of the bushes with a pink caterpillar ...

... and decided it would be a good idea to collect a pine nut as well before returning to the nest.

Julia photographed a Great Spotted Woodpecker feeding a fledgling near the Speke obelisk.

A Chiffchaff sang in a treetop by the Steiner bench.

On the other side of the path a female Blackcap saw me raising the camera and fled, so I got just one shot.

The male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in the top of the chestnut tree. He too is shy and you have to be quick about photographing him. His mate is much more tolerant.

The Coots nesting on the wire basket at the bridge, which had chicks but lost them, now have a second clutch of eggs.

The Mute Swan nesting in a reed bed at the east end of the Serpentine has hatched just one cygnet. This is the only one on the Serpentine, as the killer swan is staying on the Long Water at the moment. Let's hope he doesn't find it until it's able to get away from him.

The Mallard on the Round Pond and her six ducklings were looking for small water creatures in a puddle washed up by the waves.

The three Mandarin ducklings were scooting about the pond at great speed, and their mother sometimes had to fly to keep up with them.

Jon Ferguson has found another family of Gadwall x Mallard hybrids on the Grand Union Canal. It's the fourth sighting: there really is a lot of miscegenation going on here. This is one of the ducklings that has Gadwall looks.

A Mint Moth, also called a Small Purple and Gold, Pyrausta aurata, browsed in a patch of catmint in the Rose Garden.

Tom, at Rainham Marshes, found a Small Copper butterfly, Lycaena phlaeas.

A Common Carder bee worked over a knapweed flower at the back of the Lido ...

... where there was also a Common Blue damselfly in the grass.

There was a report of a Red-Veined Darter dragonfly at the Round Pond. I went round looking for it without success. One more fine day is forecast before the weather turns nasty again, so there's still hope of finding one.