The Long-Tailed Tits have still not closed off the top of their nest. It seems that they thought they hadn't made it large enough, because they have extended the upper edges quite a bit. The flexible, stretchy nest will adopt any shape they push it into, and if all goes well the growing nestlings will cause it to expand considerably.

The local Great Spotted Woodpecker hung from a branch before flying down to the feeder.

Zichen Zhou took this splendid picture of a Sparrowhawk on a branch at the back of the Lido.

The pair of Sparrowhawks range all over the park, as can be seen from the sad rings of pigeon feathers where they have made their kills. But they aren't seen very often, probably because they hunt in the early morning.

Wood Pigeons have a great appetite for fresh new leaves.

But they only damage trees and bushes slightly -- unlike the voracious Rose-Ringed Parakeets, which can strip and ruin and ruin a tree in minutes because they tear off far more than they eat.

The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull and his mate have been very close for the past few days. If she disappears we can assume that she's nesting -- and I think they use the roof of the Dell restaurant, though I have no way of being sure of that.

A pair of Egyptian Geese waded in a puddle until it was thoroughly muddy, and then drank from it. It seems that they actually like a bit of mud to flavour their drink, much as we prefer tea or coffee to plain water.

After several Cormorants returned to the Long Water yesterday, at least three remain. There must still be enough fish to keep them going, at least with a bit of work. I still haven't seen one catch anything recently.

A visit to the Round Pond found the Black Swan in good order.

A walk up the Regent's Canal to Regent's Park didn't find much -- I had been hoping to see some Mandarins. But there was a Common Buzzard circling over the twee neoclassical lodges designed by Quinlan Terry.

In the park, several Mistle Thrushes came quite close, as they will if you stand still for a few minutes.

A Robin wasn't worried by being photographed.

There was a small flock of Shovellers, though ours left some time ago ...

... and plenty of Red-Crested Pochards, which are always more numerous in the other parks, and in fact the ones we get are visitors from Regent's Park and St James's.

Two pleasing pictures from St James's Park by Mark Williams. There is a new family of Egyptian goslings.

A Moorhen ate a tomato.

Usually birds scorn salad stuff, but they find red things exciting. Presumably tomatoes, like all red fruits, have evolved to be eaten by birds, whose hasty digestion passes the seeds through undamaged so that they can germinate wherever they are dropped. Most mammals can't see red and don't eat the fruit; their more thorough digestion would make most of the seeds unviable. There are exceptions: fruit bats and some primates including humans can see red and do eat fruit. Certain fruits have evolved other defences against mammals: for example chillies are 'hot' tasting to mammals but not to birds, which simply experience them as sweet fruit.