A Wigeon and two Little Owls

Wigeon is not a rare species, but seldom seen in the park. This drake on the Round Pond was restless and seemed nervous. It took off when a Herring Gull flew over it.

Another photographer had noticed it from the other side of the pond.

A party of Starlings enjoyed a splash together on the edge ...

... several Pied Wagtails were hunting insects ...

... and two Mallard drakes had a furious battle, probably over a female.

When I went past the pond in the morning the female Little Owl was sitting well down in her hole and you could only see the top of her head, not worth a picture.

So I came back later, as it happened from the Italian Garden, a route that takes you past the sweet chestnut tree near the Speke obelisk where another pair of Little Owls used to nest. They abandoned that place when they found that last year's drought had killed the tree so there was no leaf cover. In fact I hadn't seen either of them since 22 January. But as I passed the spot I got that feeling that you get when an owl is staring at you and turned round, and there was the male in an oak, displaying his mighty eyebrows.

Two Jays picked me up here and followed me to the Round Pond ...

... where I found Julia photographing the male owl, who had come out on a branch to enjoy the sunshine. He looked down curiously, but both Julia and I are on his list of harmless people and he wasn't bothered.

However, one of the Jays landed on a branch above him, and that did make him uneasy.

He soon retreated to his nest hole. A Jackdaw observed the scene from another branch. These don't trouble him as the other more aggressive corvids do.

Ahmet Amerikali got an extreme close-up shot of a Goldcrest which popped out of a yew tree in front of him.

A partly eaten carcass of a Feral Pigeon was lying on the edge of the Serpentine near the Lido restaurant. The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull's mate was standing on the edge ...

... but didn't seem interested in it, and the male was away. Evidently it was their second kill of the day. Even gulls feel full sometimes.

Two Common Gulls perched on the buoys at the Lido. This is one of their usual places but they haven't all arrived yet.

Two Cormorants were catching carp by the bridge with great efficiency, getting one every few seconds.

Greylag Geese flew out of the Diana fountain enclosure over the heads of the passers by.

The lone Gadwall drake was at Peter Pan, looking dapper in the sunshine.

A Harlequin Ladybird took advantage of a sun-warmed iron railing near the Queen's Temple. They sometimes hibernate inside the temple.

The enormous Caucasian Elm in the Rose Garden was looking magnificent in its autumn colours.