The Bearded Tits flew out of their reed bed at 10 this morning, heading east. All the watchers waved them a sad farewell and wished them luck on their perilous journey to find more of their kind. But it was a complete anticlimax, because a few hours later they were seen again in the reed bed at the east end of the Serpentine. They are farther away and harder to photograph here, but they will get more peace away from the crowds.

The leaf yard and the area to the southwest of it were alive with Great Spotted Woodpeckers, at least six and probably more, calling and drumming and chasing each other.

They have nested before in the leaf yard, in a tall dead tree near the southwest corner. Again, it is not an ideal spot for pictures. But these shy birds are difficult to approach anyway.

A railing near the Lido gave the chance of photographing the four species of gull commonly found on the lake: from left to right a second-winter Herring Gull, an adult Lesser Black-Backed Gull, an adult Black-headed Gull and an adult Common Gull, with one more Black-Headed Gull at the far right.

Last night's excellent lecture by Martin Garner at the Lookout mentioned the presence of Russian Common Gulls in Britain. These are darker grey than the usual kind, with more black on the wingtips and a smaller white 'window' amid the black. There are a lot of Common Gulls in Hyde Park at the moment -- Des counted 80 this morning -- and one of them is certainly darker than normal. I couldn't find it today, but am keeping an eye out for it.

A Great Crested Grebe, looking superb in fresh breeding plumage, takes a rest on the Serpentine.

This one is certainly male, judging by the width of his V-shaped black crest. Females are a little slimmer and have a narrower crest. But there is a lot of overlap between the sexes, and the grebes themselves are confused about who is what. Both sexes perform their displays and rituals in exactly the same way, and they take turns to sit on the eggs and carry and feed their chicks.