Shy Coal Tit

The shy male Coal Tit in the Flower Walk hasn't come back to my hand after he dared to just once a few days ago. He lurked in a laurel bush, hesitating about flying out. Neil tells me that he is not the mate of the confident female, but a new arrival. Anyway, give him time and he will come again.

A male Blackcap lurked more thoroughly in a lime tree. This is one of a permanently resident pair on the east side of the Long Water. They bred successfully this year.

The teenage Little Owl near the Round Pond was back in his usual place in the dead tree.

Fallen leaves made a comfortable resting place for a Feral Pigeon.

When Wood Pigeons poke in the grass they are often picking out dandelion leaves, which many species find delicious. You often see Rose-Ringed Parakeets doing the same. In fact young dandelion leaves, picked in early spring before they get large and bitter, make a fine salad for humans, best with a plain oil and vinegar dressing.

A Wood Pigeon on a branch beside the Long Water was knocked off by one of its own offspring ...

... which perched there with a look of evil delight.

This rough and noisy family at the Steiner bench has frightened away the pair of Song Thrushes that used to be seen foraging here. Possibly these are the thrushes that are now seen at the bottom of the lawn around the Henry Moore sculpture 100 yards down the path.

A Robin at the edge of the lawn will now come out to take seeds thrown on the ground. There are two Robins here, but of course the pair has broken up after the breeding season and won't be back together till next spring.

A Grey Heron was also on the lawn in an odd position. You could say that it's sitting, but in fact its tarsi (the backward-bending leg joints) correspond anatomically to human heels, so it's it's in the same posture as a human standing normally.

You think there are only a few herons in the park until they see from their lookout posts that someone who feeds them is approaching.

A Herring Gull was digging around in the grass beside the Serpentine, apparently finding small insects or larvae. It's a mystery to me how they find these creatures; perhaps smell plays a part. I have been told that gulls can hear worms tunnelling underground, but those are bigger and make more noise (in a very small way).

A Black-Headed Gull perched on a buoy on the Round Pond. They are used to the model yachts that are raced here on Sunday mornings, and pay no attention as they whizz round the buoy.

A teenage Mute Swan approached on the Serpentine. I still haven't made sense of the three swan families' territorial manoeuvres.

A few days ago Des McKenzie counted 65 Common Pochards on the Long Water, the most I've known here. They hide under the bushes and are hard to count, but if anyone can get it right Des can.

But as the number of Pochards rises, Shovellers are getting fewer and we are lucky to see 10.

A decade ago it was normal to see 50 every winter, and once someone saw 200 though these must have been passing through on migration. This picture was taken in 2014.