Blackbirds in decline

Blackbirds are sadly few in the park these days, so it was good to see the pair from the Rose Garden shrubbery in a tree. This is the male.

There's also a pair in the Dell. Both bred successfully this year, but somehow the population never seems to rise.

There's no shortage of Chaffinches, though. This male is one of a pair often seen near the Little Owls' tree at the Round Pond.

The owl herself was staying in her hole, no wonder on a dank chilly day.

A Pied Wagtail looked for insects in the stinking mess on the gravel strip.

As usual several Robins were singing in the Rose Garden. This one is in the thicket of climbing roses. There was an ugly sawn-off tree here about six feet high, so the gardeners planted roses to hide it, of a very vigorous more or less wild variety that has spread into a huge tangle.

The Rose Garden Robins seem to be a fairly peaceful lot, unlike the dominant one in the Flower Walk which attacks every small bird it sees.

A Magpie perched in the brown leaves of an English oak. Young oaks and beeches keep their dead leaves over the winter but shed them when they grow larger, an adaptation that may help save big trees from being damaged in gales.

The female Peregrine was on the tower for a short time around 2 pm, but had flown off by the time I got round to there. However, Tom sent a fine picture of a Peregrine flying at Rainham a few days ago ...

... and the familiar Barn Owl at Rainham that has a box in a secluded tree and can be seen most evenings when it comes out to hunt.

The Grey Heron on the island had come down from the nest it claims and was standing on the shore. There were no rivals in sight, and no sign of a mate either. This bird's beak and legs are turning pink, a sign of being in breeding condition. It may be the one with a very bright beak that nested unsuccessfully last year in a tree only a few feet from its present place.

A young Herring Gull looked for something to play with but rejected a leaf, a stone and a stick and wandered off. Another was amused for a while by a larger leaf. What they like most is things that roll. A tennis ball is much enjoyed, and quite easy to find as people throw them for their dogs and the dogs don't find them. Small glass bottles that make a tinkling sound are also very popular.

The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull was lunching at the Dell restaurant.

The young Great Crested Grebe was fishing with its mother, an arrangement that benefits both as fish fleeing from one bird my come within reach of the other.

Cormorants perched on the remains of the fallen horse chestnut tree in the Long Water, with Shovellers feeding underneath. The very large tree fell into the lake about 15 years ago and most of it has now rotted away.

The gang of five teenage Mute Swans saw someone feeding the birds at the Triangle car park and joined the crowd converging on the spot.

A pair of Egyptian Geese displayed noisily on a dead tree near the Serpentine Gallery. They do this most in winter, claiming territory before they start nesting. The tree where they display is usually not the one they nest in. A tree with a sawn-off top makes a good display platform, but they need one with a large hole for a nest.