A quick early visit to the park today, to make sure the Egyptian Goose family were all right ...

... and to admire the Little Owl near the Albert Memorial.

A new Great Crested Grebes' nest is going up on the Long Water opposite Peter Pan.

A Carrion Crow perched regally on the crown in the Italian Garden.

Then off to Rainham Marshes, where Tom is having an exhibition of his fine photographs, some of which have appeared in this blog.

There were hundreds of Wigeon ...

... and a distant view of a solitary Pintail, a most elegant duck.

A pair of Teal which had been dabbling on a mudbank slid down its steep edge into the river.

A Shelduck came down on the water.

A Little Grebe was fishing in a waterway.

There are six Jack Snipe in this picture, but they are remarkably well camouflaged. I didn't see the ones in the middle when I was taking this picture.

Two Redshanks were chasing each other.

The main aerial performance came from the Lapwings. Large numbers were flying around in courtship displays, uttering squeaky calls.

A Carrion Crow joined in the flight. I don't think it was chasing them or they were chasing it -- it just saw some fancy flying going on and wanted to be part of it.

But all flights have to come to an end.

A visit to Rainham wouldn't be complete without seeing some House Sparrows, which are sadly missed in central London. People think of them as drab birds, but this male is looking splendid.