One of the Little Owls showed itself yesterday, and Alan Clubb got a fine shot of it.

No sign of it today when I was in the area, which is the south side of the leaf yard and the adjacent sweet chestnut trees. A few days ago one Little Owl was seen on the chestnut tree where they nested this spring, but it is far too ealy for them to think of such things. They are not native and are used to a warmer climate, and don't nest in the depth of winter as Tawny Owls do.

Both the Tawny Owls were in their usual places on their nest tree.

People trying to feed the ducks at Peter Pan attracted the usual screaming mob of Black-Headed Gulls seizing food in midair before it got anywhere near its target. Here two of them rocket up for a piece of biscuit.

The winner is not home clear yet, as it has to run the gauntlet Common Gulls, bigger, stronger and seemingly just as agile as their smaller relatives. Here a Common Gull gives vent to its feelings on an urn in the Italian Gardens.

One of the young Mute Swans had been exploring the lake and had rashly come down on one of the small ponds in the Italian Gardens.

The pond is not large enough for its long takeoff run, so it will have a bit of a hike to find a place where it can get back on to the lake.  Swans can take off from land in an emergency, but it is a tremedous effort for them and they prefer not to.

A few years ago a young Great Crested Grebe on an exploratory flight came down in one of these ponds and was stuck, because they can't take off from land and are hopeless at walking. It had to be captured in a net to get it back on to the lake.

As I left the Italian Garden at sunset, a pair of Kingfishers flew out of the reeds under the parapet and whizzed off down the edge of the lake in line astern.