Another Long-Tailed Tit nest

A pair of Long-Tailed Tits were bustling around in a hawthorn tree in the small clump down the hill from the Queen's Temple. There must be a nest in the brambles underneath.

Work continues on the nest in the Rose Garden, and a bird was bringing a feather.

One of the Robins was waiting in the Wedge-Leaf Wattle ...

... and so was the tatty Blue Tit which was the first one to come to feed in the Rose Garden several months ago. Now it has brought in its friends and relations. It was very impatient and kept landing on the camera, which made it hard to photograph.

The Chaffinch didn't see me till I had left the Rose Garden, but caught up in the Magnolia stellata outside the gate.

The Coal Tits were in the corkscrew hazel in the Dell.

There was a rather obstructed view of one of the Song Thrushes by the Henry Moore sculpture hauling up a worm in the bushes. I've been seeing Song Thrushes in this place for years and there must be a dynasty of them here. It's a good place for them with plenty of scrub reaching down to the Long Water.

The female Little Owl at the Round Pond came out on the horse chestnut in the afternoon.

Pigeon Eater and his mate were away from their usual place at the Dell restaurant, and a pair of Herring Gulls were able to doze peacefully side by side on the roof.

The Grey Heron in the new nest on the island was standing up, so yesterday's sight of it sitting down was no indication that it was nesting. This is a relief, as the nest is too small to be useful, and if it was extended on this narrow branch it would quite likely fall off.

There were herons all round the lake: on the loggia of the Italian Garden ...

... on an umbrella at the Lido restaurant ...

... and on top of a tree at the Triangle.

One of the Coots nesting in the Italian Garden fountains turned over the eggs to keep them evenly warmed.

Another on the Serpentine was washing and shaking down its feathers.

The mother of the eight Egyptian goslings on the Round Pond saw a dog coming and called them, and they obediently trotted over the the safety of the water.

The single gosling on the Serpentine has survived another day.

One of the dark Mallards was in the grass beside the leaf yard, a long way from the water. It may be the one that has a mate, and she may be nesting in the bushes.

Young Grey Heron down from the nest

One of the young Grey Herons from the nest at the east end of the island was down from the nest at ground level for the first time. It watched a Coot diving, a new and interesting event.

The young heron from last year which fishes in the Dell was beside the stream. It's still all grey, without an adult's black and white face, but you can see how much sleeker it is than the dishevelled teenagers.

The new nest on the island had a heron sitting in it. I think the bird was just resting rather than sitting on eggs, but this needs watching.

A Blue Tit at the foot of Buck Hill was flying in and out of a hole in a tree, clearing out debris so that it could have room to nest comfortably.

The Blue Tits in the Rose Garden turned up to be fed. There are at least two pairs here.

A Robin in the flower bed below had pulled up a worm. However do these tiny birds manage it?

There is a Long-Tailed Tits' nest in a broom bush, and Ahmet Amerikali got a fine picture of the pair, one of them carrying a feather to line the nest.

A female Hairy-Footed Flower Bee was in the same bush, browsing on the pink blossom.

There is also a Long-Tailed Tits' nest in the brambles near the Buck Hill shelter, and one of the birds paused fror a moment on a twig.

There are at least two more nests, one at each end of the bridge. Not much activity can be seen at the moment, probably because the birds are already sitting on eggs.

Another good picture from Ahmet, a Chiffchaff at the southwest corner of the bridge.

Blackbirds are now sadly scarce in the park, but there was one poking in the leaf litter in the woodland at the bottom of Buck Hill ...

... and another preening on the opposite side of the Long Water.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker appeared in a plane tree in the Dell. It flew up to the top of the hill and started drumming in the place where I filmed it yesterday.

The solitary Grey Wagtail was by the reed bed at the east end of the Serpentine, calling and flying about. This was an accident: someone was using the Merlin phone app to identify the bird from its call, and played it back to show a friend how the app worked. The lonely wagtail thought there was another one here, and was calling to it and searching for it. No serious harm would have been done, but it shows that you have to be careful.

Both the Little Owls at the Round Pond were out enjoying the sunshine, in the same tree but a discreet distance apart. The male is shown first here.

The single Egyptian gosling on the Serpentine has survived another day.

A few days ago workmen were clearing scrub beside the Long Water. This is illegal after 1 March under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which forbids disturbing nesting birds of any species. I reported this to the Wildlife Officer, the park ecology department, and the police. Today they were at it again on the Hyde Park side of the bridge. The tree they are cutting down has been used as a nest site by Goldcrests. Evidently the park management considers itself above the law.

Woodpecker drumming

It was a mostly grey day with occasional drizzle, and very little was happening. Apologies for a dull blog post today.

The most interesting moment was being able to film a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming in the Dell. They avoid concussion by having a shock absorber for their brain, and also have reinforced eyelids to stop their eyes from popping out.

Song Thrushes are singing at full blast all over the park, I've never heard so many. This one was in a tree just to the west of the leaf yard which has been a favourite singing post for some years, probably for a family succession of thrushes.

A female Magpie by the Steiner bench fluttered her wings and called to her mate. She was checking that he would bring her food when she was on the nest.

It was business as usual in the Rose Garden, with visits by the male Chaffinch ...

... the Coal Tit pair ...

... several Blue Tits ...

... and the pair of Robins.

This is a third Robin a short way off, unaccustomed to being fed and looking suspicious, while the stare of the previous one is expectant.

The Wren near the Buck Hill shelter is getting quite used to being photographed.

Everyone takes pictures of the young heron fishing near the bridge and some people feed it, so it's always hopeful.

The three teenagers in the east nest looked as goofy as ever.

A pair of Great Crested Grebes rested peacefully side by side on the Serpentine.

The Coots flanking the entrance to the Mute Swans' nesting island, and the swan herself, have no interest in each other. But the pair do have an unmistakable air of nightclub bouncers.

A swan made a short flight across the Serpentine for no apparent reason. It seems that, despite the considerable effort of taking off, they enjoy flying for its own sake.

The trio of the Canada x Greylag Goose hybrid, its pure Canada mate, and the spare hybrid were together at the Triangle.

The Canada pair on the Long Water were cruising around in the drizzle with nowhere to go.

A pair of Shovellers revolved together under the fsllen poplar north of the Vista.

For some days there has been a solitary and slightly tatty Gadwall drake on the edge of the Serpentine.  People were worried that he was ill or injured. But he is walking around and can fly, and when I gave him some sunflower seeds he ate them with gusto.

Blackbird in full song

The Blackbirds, always slow to start, are now singing full out. This one was in the Rose Garden.

Also present were the Robin pair ...

... the male Chaffinch ...

... and both Coal Tits. The odd wavy leaves in this picture belong to a Kohuhu, Pittosporum tenuifolium.

The Robin in the Flower Walk came out the moment I appeared at the gate.

The Coal Tits in the Dell were eager for their daily treat of pine nuts.

A Wren at the foot of Buck Hill sang and hopped around in a bush.

It was quite warm in the sunlight, and a good number of people were sitting at the outside tables of the Lido restaurant, watched hungrily by the Starlings.

The sunshine also brought out the female Little Owl at the Round Pond.

The three Grey Heron chicks in the top nest were making a tremendous clattering, but you couldn't see enough to make it worth photographing them.

The three in the east nest were jostling restlessly.

There is still a single adult in the west nest showing no signs of getting on with nesting. Visits from its mate are infrequent.

A young heron at the Triangle thought it was all so tiresome.

The Egyptian Geese at the Round Pond still have eight goslings, which are now growing fast.

The single survivor on the Serpentine is somehow clinging to life amid the gulls.

Yellow wallflowers in the Rose Garden borders attracted several Hairy-Footed Flower Bees ...

... and a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee visited the blackthorn bush at the east end of the Lido swimming area.