The young Grey Wagtail, which we haven't seen for several weeks, made a welcome reappearance at the east end of the Serpentine.

At the island, a Cormorant was stretching its wings in the rain. Whatever reason they have for this habit, it doesn't seem to be to dry their feathers.

There were two Herring Gulls doing the worm dance in the Diana fountain enclosure. At this time the rain had died down to a drizzle, so they needed to imitate the sound of falling raindrops by pattering their little feet to make the worms come up. I saw them eat several worms.

They always choose the same spot, east of the water channel, for their hunt. It may be a particularly wormy spot, but more likely it is just force of habit.

Great Crested Grebes are also creatures of habit. This one spends its time fishing under the floating plant baskets at the east end of the Serpentine.

It is still completely in plain winter plumage, although the other grebes have now grown their chestnut ruffs and brown wing coverts. The timing of this change seems to vary a lot.

A skein of Greylags came down the Vista from Buck Hill, where they had been grazing, turned sharp left, and continued over the bridge to the Serpentine.

Geese can't graze continuously. They have to stop when their gizzards are full and allow the grass to be ground up. It seems remarkable that these large active birds can keep going on an intermittent diet of grass, which is low in energy and none too digestible, except for mammals such as cows with complex digestive systems.

There were at least 20 Magpies under the catalpa trees near the Italian Garden, all poking around busily on the ground. Again, what is so special about this spot? The catalpa seeds must be long gone, having been devoured by Ring-Necked Parakeets in the autumn.

The Coots at Peter Pan were passing the time by fighting.

The male Tawny Owl was in his usual place, not doing anything but looking as majestic as ever.