All in the same pool

It was a busy scene in the northeast pool of the Italian Garden today, with a Cormorant, Coot, Moorhen, Mallards, the dominant Mute Swan pair, and of course our star the Little Grebe feeding with its Gadwall companions.

Duncan Campbell was at the Vista when a young Lesser Black-Backed Gull flew overhead holding a ball. He got one hasty shot before it went over to the far side of the lake.

I arrived shortly afterwards and filmed it having fun with the ball on the ice. Gulls love things that roll, and what could be better than the level surface of the ice to roll it across?

The ball was the size of a tennis ball, the largest thing these gulls can pick up. But it was a special ball for throwing for dogs, not covered in hair like a tennis ball and therefore marginally less disgusting when covered in dog spit.

A Coot poked around in a little patch of clear water ...

... and Duncan photographed another walking gingerly on the slippery ice.

While the dominant Mute Swans were away, three others had intruded along a pathway of clear water from the bridge.

I went to see if the early sunshine had brought out the Little Owl at the Speke obelisk, but was out of luck. The owls are still there: Neil saw one three days ago.  As usual  I was followed by the four local Great Tits clamouring for food.

At the Round Pond a Pied Wagtail was trotting around on the edge ...

... and the Black Swan was cruising around looking superb as he always does.

Joe Downing sent beautiful pictures of a Redwing merging into a patch of fallen leaves ...

... a Song Thrush on a branch ...

... and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

From Joan Chatterley, a lovely shot of a Greenshank and a Redshank at Brownsea Island ...

... and the Grey Herons' nest colony at Walthamstow Wetlands with a heron and two Little Egrets.