Wet morning

Morning rain kept the Little Owl at the Round Pond indoors.

A Magpie turned over wet leaves.

A flock of Long-Tailed Tits passed through the trees by the Italian Garden. They were not helpful in coming into view, and this obstructed shot was the best I could get.

Pigeons canoodled on the shore at the Triangle car park ...

... and a Pied Wagtail trotted up the edge.

A small tree near the Flower Walk was infested with Rose-Ringed Parakeets. Of course someone was feeding them. You only have to start and a shrieking mob arrives.

The Grey Herons on the island changed places on their eggs as the tree swayed in the wind.

The young heron is staying in the Diana fountain reed bed. Whoever scared it away from the Lido restaurant terrace must have done a thorough job. It's probably for the best, though. The heron at the Dell restaurant that became unbearably bold disappeared mysteriously and I fear it met a sticky end.

The lawn next to the Dell turns into a swamp when it rains heavily, and the waterlogged worms float to the surface. The Herring Gulls know this, and there was a small party working its way across looking for an easy snack.

Now that most of the Cormorants have gone away, a pair of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls have taken possession of the raft on the Long Water. They could nest there if they felt like it, which would be interesting.

The dominant Black-Headed Gull yelled at some Coots that had intruded on his patch.

Coots don't usually do much climbing, unlike Moorhens, but this one had got on top of a clump of dead iris leaves in the Italian Garden. No doubt there were insects to be had.

The Great Crested Grebes from the bridge were mooching around their nest site again. It's quite a good fishing spot as well.

The temporary plastic barriers screening the damage to the bridge have been replaced with metal mesh, and you can see how extensive the damage is. This will take a long time to repair, as massive new sandstone blocks have to be cut.