Doves of war

Stock Doves fought in an old chestnut tree by the leaf yard.

A Little owlet at the Serpentine Gallery was calling, making it easy to find in a small lime tree.

The male adult at the Round Pond was in his usual place. I wonder how long he'll keep up the habit: they have a tendency to get bored suddenly and move elsewhere so that you have to rush around desperately to find them again.

It was time to turn the eggs in the Great Crested Grebes' nest opposite Peter Pan.

Grebes have commandeered the empty Coot nest in deep water at the Serpentine outflow. They'll have to be lucky to get away with it, contending with both the Coots and the weather, as a strong west wind will raise waves large enough to wash it away.

The nest at the Dell restaurant has gone. I think some oaf in a pedalo must have rammed it.

The larger Coot chicks at the bridge are now almost adult size ...

... and the smaller ones are coming along well.

The four small chicks in the Italian Garden were in the water lilies.

The older brood of seven is still intact.

The ten Egyptian goslings at the Round Pond are now healthy teenagers.

The Mandarin duckling at the Triangle car park is hanging on bravely.

A pair of Black-Tailed Skimmer dragonflies mated in the long grass by the Round Pond.

A Honeybee worked over the many florets of the strange spiky flower of an eryngium at the back of the Lido.

Other flowers attracting their attention were cornflowers ...

... and bindweed.

A Small White butterfly preferred lavender. It's a male, as you can see because the inner of the two dark spots on its wing are very faint, almost invisible.

I've been having very bad luck photographing Comma butterflies. The warm weather is making them hyperactive and they won't perch long enough to capture. But Joan Chatterley, who was at Titchwell Marsh in Norfolk, took a pleasing picture of one with a Honeybee.

Ahmet Amerikali was at Rainham Marshes where he got good flight shots of an Oystercatcher ...

... and a Little Egret.

Mandarin duckling eats a dragonfly

All the Little owlets were silent on a hot afternoon, but I found one in the top of the sweet chestnut tree at the Serpentine Gallery.

The adult male at the Round Pond was on his usual branch in the small lime tree, which gives both him and me a good view.

The Peregrines were on the barracks tower. While I was photographing them the female took off.

A view of a male Blackcap directly overhead.

The Wren whose mate is nesting in the chestnut at the southeast corner of the leaf yard was dashing around outside the hole.

Bathing in Feral Pigeons would not be my choice of activity. I wonder whether the fleas transfer to humans.

The old Grey Heron at the Henry Moore sculpture was staying cool in the shade ...

... and so were the Egyptian Geese with five goslings at the boathouses.

The single Mandarin duckling on the Serpentine was with its mother, who was having a flap.

It wandered off, found a downed Black-Tailed Skimmer dragonfly. and ate it. I don't think it could catch one in the air, though I've seen a Little Grebe do this.

A cygnet led the Mute Swan procession.

A closer view of the single cygnet from the nest in the reed bed under the Diana fountain.

The fountains in the Italian Garden have broken down, giving the four Coot chicks in the northwest pool a new playground.

The seven on the southwest pool were milling around with their parents.

The Great Crested Grebe opposite Peter Pan was comfortably installed on the nest.

The Moorhen pair in the Dell still have possession of their favourite rock, as the Mallards are away.

 

A Meadow Brown butterfly drank from a Creeping Thistle flower.

Duncan Campbell found this caterpillar eating an oxeye daisy. It's a rather striking creature but he can't identify it, and neither can I.

Update: Haddock has identified it as a Chamomile Shark, Cucullia chamomillae. The caterpillar is very variable and sometimes also has pink marks.

More owlets

A Wren and a Blackcap exchanged songs beside the Long Water.

At the Serpentine Gallery a Little Owl and an owlet perched side by side in a sweet chestnut tree. It's the first time this year I've managed to see either of them.

The male owl at the Round Pond was on his usual lookout post. One of the owlets could be heard but not seen in the horse chestnut opposite.

The female Peregrine was dozing on the ledge of the barracks tower. She looked around for a moment then went back to sleep.

A Stock Dove has occupied the Starlings' nest hole in the plane tree next to the boathouses. They constantly steal other birds' holes, but the Starlings aren't bothered as their three fledglings were out and about weeks ago.

Mark Williams photographed a young Starling sunbathing on an empty table at the Lido restaurant, confident of its ability to streak away if danger threatened.

A young Magpie at the Triangle car park has graduated from begging its parents for food to begging directly.

A pair of Great Crested Grebes were diving under the baskets at the east end of the island and coming up on the other side. There is a good nest site in a bush here, and they must be using it.

For a Coot chick the water lilies in the Italian Garden fountain are an adventure playground.

All seven of the brood are still with us. Here they are feeding on algae.

The unfortunate Coots at the east end of the Serpentine were still doggedly occupying their empty nests, while the Lesser Black-Backed Gull who took their chicks was circling the lake, in St Peter's words, seeking whom he may devour.

The Mute Swans nesting at the end of the Diana fountain reed bed have come out with just one cygnet.

The Mandarin, against all probability, still has her one duckling.

The Egyptian Geese with five were keeping out of the way of the Saturday crowds at the side of a boathouse.

A moulting Egyptian preened its half-emerged new flight feathers.

The two Emperor dragonflies in the Italian Garden were laying eggs together again. They really do seem to be best friends.

A Meadow Brown butterfly uncoiled its long proboscis to drink nectar from a bramble flower until it was driven off by a rival.

Little owlet by day

One of the Little owlets at the Round Pond looked down curiously from the top of a horse chestnut.

Its father kept an eye on it, and me, from his usual branch in the small lime.

A Song Thrush rather surprisingly allowed itself to be photographed beside the path near the Italian Garden.

A tiny Wren made an enormously loud fuss in the Dell.

A young Great Tit chased its parents through a bush near the bridge.

Two interesting pictures from Ahmet Amerikali: a Whitethroat near the leaf yard ...

... and what's this? I think it's a female Blackcap that has got very tattered from nesting and feeding chicks.

A Carrion Crow on the edge of the Serpentine had a quick dip and preen and flew off, still wringing wet. I'm always surprised they can take off in this state.

The Great Crested Grebes on the Long Water are nesting again, this time with a better prospect of success as there are plenty of small fish to feed the chicks. They saluted each other ceremoniously.

The nest at the Diana fountain reed bed needed maintenance. I hope this sloppy mess doesn't disintegrate before its time.

The Coots nesting at the outflow, whose three chicks were seized by the pigeon-eating gull yesterday, were back in business. I couldn't see whether there are any more chicks or eggs ready to hatch. I admire their indomitable spirit, but the gull is always waiting.

One of the Mute cygnets on the Long Water chased a Mallard ...

... then the cygnet itself was chased by a Coot ...

... which brought a furious response from its mother. The Coot fled to a safe distance.

More bee plants are coming into flower. A Common Carder fed on an Acanthus in the Dell ...

... and a Honeybee on an Eryngium at the back of the Lido.

This Honeybee is on a flower which PlantNet tells me is an Apple Geranium, Pelargonium odoratissimum. I squeezed a leaf, expecting it to smell of apple. It had a strong and pleasant fragrance, but nothing like the scent of an apple.