Long-Tailed Tits worked through the red stems of a clump of dogwood near the Lido.

A Robin in the Rose Garden sang at the top of its voice to be heard over the noise of a drain clearing machine.

A Wren perched on a post beside the Long Water.

A Grey Heron stood on a willow branch just strong enough to bear its weight. They are lighter than they look, weighing about three pounds.

A Cormorant had a typically furious wash.

A second-winter Lesser Black-Backed Gull, with its dark grey adult feathers coming through on its back. British Lesser Black-Backs are far from black, but the species is named for its darker Continental subspecies.

I was going to photograph a Moorhen knocking a Black-Headed Gull off a post, but another gull got in first.

The Moorhen family from last year have stayed together in the Italian Garden ponds, with two generations of young. The young ones are still in plain teenage brown and are only just beginning to get their adult red and yellow bills.

Two pairs of Coots were having a fight, and a fifth joined in just for the fun of it.

A pair of Mute Swans courted under the fallen willow near the bridge. Swans have tried to nest on the bank here, but it's a dangerous site exposed to foxes and they have never succeeded.

Throwing bread in the water always results in a riot. A Canada Goose got the biggest piece by brute force.

A small group of Shovellers fed at the water's edge at the Vista. The shallow water here seems to have more of the small creatures that they filter out with their huge bills. They are not interested in the food that humans throw in for the other ducks.

The Red-Crested Pochard in the trio with two Mallards rested under the dead willow near the Italian Garden.

His companions were together on a nearby branch. It's looking as if the female has transferred her affection to the new pale-fronted Mallard drake which ousted his rather feeble predecessor who was definitely the minor partner.

Another dead tree on the bank has rotted out to a thin shell, and you can look through the holes and see squirrels running about inside.