When the wind is in the east, 'tis neither good for man nor beast

A chilly day with a biting east wind brought out hungry small birds. There were mobs of Great Tits ...

... and Blue Tits in the Flower Walk ...

... and the Robin at Peter Pan took three pine nuts.

Jays waited in a holly tree by the Vista.

A young Lesser Black-Backed Gull on the edge of the Serpentine lay down to avoid being buffeted by the wind.

A pair of Herring Gulls waved leaves at each other and called in a bonding ritual.

Black-Headed Gulls washed and preened together on the edge of the Serpentine.

The young Grey Heron at the southeast corner of the bridge stared fixedly at a woman on a bench. Usually if people have food this makes them throw down a morsel, but she didn't have any so it was disappointed.

A heron stood on the swan nesting basket east of the Lido. No swans nested here so the basket remains in fair shape, unlike the one on the other side of the lake which was completely trashed by the Black Swan and 4GIQ.

The number of Cormorants continues to fall, but the one in the Italian Garden was still trying its luck in the pools. Probably it will fly back to the river soon.

The Great Crested Grebe teenager was fishing in the reeds below the parapet.

This is the first time I've seen one of the young grebes at the bridge catch a fish. In fact it got two in five minutes, so it's now fit for independent life. This was filmed over the wire baskets at the bridge, which are filled with twigs to make a perch hatchery.

Three female Common Pochards dived together at a distance from the drakes to avoid being bothered by them. Girls' clubs are also common in other duck species.

The Pochards under the trees farther down the lake are almost all male.

A squirrel in the Dell ate yew fruit next to a Stinking Iris. I've examined one of these plants and to my dull human nose it doesn't smell bad, but evidently the fruit is unpalatable as I've never seen anything eating it.

The Rose Garden is fairly well shielded from the wind, and a few tough insects were out. A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee browsed on a clump of blue sage ...

... and there were several Common Wasps in the autumn-flowring camellia.

Jay taking peanuts in flight

Jays don't always succeed when they fly down to grab a peanut from your fingers. This one missed the first time and had to do a go-around.

A Jay looked out from the ginger autumn needles of a swamp cypress by the Italian Garden.

It was a cheerless day of intermittent drizzle, but that didn't stop the Jackdaws beside the Serpentine from coming out to apply for peanuts.

At the Buck Hill shelter one of the Magpie pair had got a peanut and the other was waiting for service.

A Blackbird in the Flower Walk paused on a yew hedge before flying down to look for worms brought up by the rain.

A flock of Starlings worked over the grass beside the Round Pond looking for wireworms. These are the larvae of click beetles and eat the roots of plants, so the numerous and efficient birds are improving the lawn.

The Coal Tit at the southwest corner of the bridge is now a regular customer. It mate is interested but timid. It may join the party soon.

The Great Tits in the Dell have no hesitation, and there are now four of them. This one was in a bearberry bush.

The Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was out for a while, but later retired to her hole to keep dry.

A male Great Spotted Woodpecker could be seen at a distance on a dead tree on the island.

The Big Bird statue by the Diana fountain has just been cleaned and polished to make a fitting throne for the dominant Black-Headed Gull.

A Grey Heron walked through a blue landscape of electric pedalos at the charging platform. These craft have little resemblance to boats, looking more like 1950s sofas.

The Coots have not yet rebuilt their nest on the wire baskets at the bridge, which lasted for years till it was destroyed by refilling the baskets with twigs. A Grey Heron stood on the site looking for fish in the gaps.

This is almost certainly the same heron that I saw at the other end of the bridge facing off a pair of Carrion Crows.

The Great Crested Grebe family at the bridge are now ranging over the lake, and it's unusual to get all of them in the same picture.

A Mute Swan sneaked under the bridge to the Long Water ...

... unnoticed by the boss and his mate, who were dozing with their teenager on the gravel strip.

Digging for ants

One of the pair of Green Woodpeckers on Buck Hill was digging up an ants' nest.

Ahmet Amerikali found a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

The Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in her usual tree facing the wrong way, but addressing her in courteous tones made her look round.

A Jackdaw by the Italian Garden sidled up delicately hinting that it would like a peanut. They are the politest of corvids.

Jays just stare at you till you comply. This was one of four chasing me along the Flower Walk, and perched in the corkscrew hazel bush.

One of the Coal Tit pair at the southwest corner of the bridge is getting quite bold about coming to my hand.

They are completely unfazed by the attempts of the Robin to bully them out of the tree.

The Robin at the Lido restaurant is also getting more familiar. It came out from under a bush and accepted some pine nuts dropped on the ground.

Pigeon Eater and one of the Herring Gull pair on the Dell restuarant roof were being surprisingly civil to each other.

The dominant Black-Headed Gull had the landing stage to himself without the intrusion of the the Herring Gull, but no doubt it will be back. The place is an ideal perch, separated by a fence from from humans and dogs.

The Czech gull that dominates the other end of the Serpentine came ashore with a morsel snatched from the Dell restaurant.

The number of Cormorants is going down earlier than usual this year, as they have efficiently hoovered up most of the medium-sized fish in the lake. This is their favourite branch at the west end of the island, chosen because it's open and easy for these clumsy birds to land on.

The young Great Crested Grebe at the north end of the Long Water is still keeping to itself by the reed beds.

This young Mute Swan at the Triangle is a newcomer to the Serpentine, though it may have been on the Round Pond after it flew in. It has a metal ring, not one of Bill Haines's as he always puts on a plastic ring as well. It's a British ring and I've reported the number, so maybe we'll be able to find out where it's from.

The teenager from the Long Water went under the bridge, following its father who was going on to the Serpentine to beat up some of the other swans.

Mute Swans are not absolutely mute, and the other two teenagers preening sociably together by the boathouse managed a few muffled grunts and squeaks.

Despite the chilly day and sharp northeast wind, a tough Buff-Tailed Bumblebee was still at work on baby sage flowers in the Rose Garden.

A Japanese maple at the southeast corner of the bridge had a fine display of red leaves.

Ding dong gull

Young Herring Gulls love to play with things they find, and this one was absolutely delighted to haul up a small brass bell which had somehow fallen into the lake. It played with it for several minutes and then flew away carrying it.

The Robin by the Buck Hill shelter is usually very camera shy, but today it allowed itself to be filmed singing in a bush.

The Magpie pair were in a hawthorn on the other side of the path.

The female Chaffinch in the Flower Walk flew out several times to catch pine nuts thrown in the air.

Long-Tailed Tits gathered in a tree at the edge of the Vista before crossing the gap in a flock for safety.

There was certainly danger about. Starlings fled from a Sparrowhawk over the Serpentine.

The Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery looked out between the leaves.

One of the young Great Crested Grebes from the east end of the island was fishing busily. They must be catching fish, and indeed this one or its sibling has been seen with one, but it's taking the inexpert young birds much longer to get one than it would for an adult.

The slightly older one at the north end of the Long Water seems satisfied with the fishing in the reed beds, because it hasn't moved away from there since it mysteriously arrived several days ago.

Cormorants are not often seen in the Italian Garden pools, which they have more or less fished out apart from the older carp which are too large for them, but today one visited and caught a small carp. It dried its wings on the kerb, ignoring the Sunday visitors.

Canada Geese massed on the gravel strip opposite the Vista.

Ahmet Amerikali got a good shot of a Greylag in flight yesterday when it was sunny.

The smallest young Egyptian Goose remains half the weight of its siblings, but it has grown an impressive set of flight feathers.

The Huntress fountain in the Rose Garden has broken down yet again but is still the base of a pair of Egyptians.

The Black Swan and 4GIQ were in their usual place at the southeast corner of the bridge, again accompanied by the young Grey Heron. On 9 September I photographed the pair at the Vista, and what I am almost sure was the very same heron was with them.

On a rather chilly day there were few insects about, but Buff-Tailed Bumblebees are hardy creatures and there was one feeding on a clump of baby sage in the Rose Garden. I've photographed these bees here in every month of the year.