The Black Swans have returned from the Round Pond to the Serpentine. The adult went off by himself, clearly wanting to be alone.

But his devoted teenage followers wouldn't leave him in peace.

Later they all flew past, with the young ones still following the adult. I was facing away and their arrival took me by surprise since, unlike Mute Swans, they have fairly silent wings, so all I got was a picture of their retreating backs. But it does allow you to see that the adult, in the centre, has pure white flight feathers, and those of the youngsters are black-tipped.

But I did see this Grey Heron coming as it flapped heavily down the lake.

A Cormorant was fishing very successfully in the wire baskets under the bridge. The baskets of twigs serve as a fish hatchery, but the fish -- mostly perch -- seem to stay there even when they have grown fairly large.

The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull yawned after another heavy meal.

There wasn't much left for the Carrion Crows.

Charlie and Melissa and their two offspring were near the Triangle car park, where there is a snack bar. A pickup drew up with supplies, and the delivery man carelessly left a box open. In an instant one of the crows was exploring it.

The old Coot nest near the bridge has settled into a mixture of hard packed mud and twigs, and no amount of rain seems to dissolve it. It is full of insects, which other birds dig out of it.

A Moorhen attended to its feathers on the edge of one of the Italian Garden fountains.

There is a pair of Coal Tits on the south edge of the Dell, attracted by two bird feeders hanging from trees.

The clouds thickened and by 2pm it was practically dark. But it was just possible to see the Little Owl in her oak tree near the Albert Memorial.

The owl in the lime tree near the Henry Moore sculpture was out for most of the day.