A pair of Mute Swans made a preliminary attempt to nest behind the railings of the small boathouse. But they were soon chased out by dominant male, who regards the whole western end of the Serpentine as his territory.

A welcome return to the Serpentine: Blondie the Egyptian Goose was back from her brief expedition to the Round Pond and was in her favourite place less than a hundred yards from where she was hatched.

This is another very conservative pair in which the male is the light coloured one. They are almost always near the Triangle car park. One year they made an unsuccessful breeding attempt in this exposed spot.

We haven't had a picture of a Great Crested Grebe for a while. Most of them have left, probably fearing being iced in. I think they go to the Thames upstream from Chiswick, where you can often see them. There may be as few as four remaining in the park. One of them was fishing under the dead willow near the Italian Garden.

Another return: the pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull hasn't been in his usual place for some days, driven away by the human crowds thronging around the entrance to the Winter Wasteland. But today he was back enjoying his lunch ...

... while his mate waited on the shore for her turn.

A splendid picture by David Element of another Lesser Black-Back moving on to the dessert course. Many species of bird are inordinately fond of chocolate cake, but luckily they don't get enough to harm them.

A Black-Headed Gull played with a stick.

There were Grey Herons on three nests on the island. It looks as if the season is well under way.

The male Little Owl near the Henry Moore sculpture was out in front of his hole. This pair are not easily deterred by dismal drizzly weather.

But soon after I took the picture, a mob of insolent Rose-Ringed Parakeets settled in the tree and he retreated. You can just see the top of his head above the rightmost parakeet.

A Carrion Crow posed in front of red dogwood stems near the Lido.

The pump working the Dell waterfall has broken yet again, and the water level in the pool has fallen. A Wren took the opportunity to explore the mud.

I can't think of a better way to say goodbye to a dismal year than this video of a gang of Griffon Vultures and Black (or Cinereous) Vultures clearing up the remains of a dead sheep. Some Ravens wait hopefully for a chance to nip in and grab a morsel.

This video, kindly sent to me by Tinúviel, was shot by Jesús Porras on the plains around Trujillo in Extremadura, Spain. He has an interesting channel featuring the local wildlife here.

May the New Year be better for us all, and warmest wishes to all readers.