A very successful worm dance

A colder day with a rising wind sent the Little Owl back out of sight in her tree. There wasn't much to see of the small birds in the Flower Walk either, just a flock of Long-Tailed Tits going over.

At Mount Gate, one of the Blue Tits came out to be fed.

The Rose Garden was a bit more lively, and there was another Blue Tit in the shrubbery ...

... with the male Chaffinch on the ground below ...

... and a Robin singing in the hedge. The Wasteland is still making a hideous racket that almost drowns its song, but it closes on 6 January. However, there will be heavy lorries trundling down the Serpentine Road for a couple of weeks before some kind of peace is restored.

I was followed around by a Coal Tit. Here it is eating a pine nut in a tree next to the gate I was leaving through.

It's a long time till the mating season, but that doesn't stop Feral Pigeons. They often nest in deserted buildings, getting in through broken windows, where they are shielded from the winter weather.

The Jays in Kensington Gardens were out in force again. This one was by the Serpentine Gallery.

A Carrion Crow had won a bit of cake by the boat house snack bar. Black-Headed Gulls hung around enviously, but the crow kept a firm grip on its prize and flew away to enjoy it in private.

The dominant Black-Headed Gull whose territory is the landing stage at the Diana fountain saw off an intruder and preened himself in a self-satisfied manner.

We've had videos of Herring Gulls doing the worm dance before, but I've never seen one bringing up so many worms in such a short time. It was on the lawn in the Rose Garden.

The nesting Grey Heron at the east end of the island was just visible lying low in the nest. This is the pair in the middle, still together but showing no sign of breeding yet. As we have often seen, they can hang around for months before starting.

The number of Coots in the park has been going up steadily for years, and there must now be more than 300 on the lakes and the Round Pond. A sweep round the Serpentine shows only a few of them.

The Moorhen in the Dell could be seen at the back of the lawn wandering around contentedly with its new young friend.

The gang of six Mute Swan teenagers went under the bridge with the mother of five of them to spread alarm and despondency on the Serpentine.

The Gadwall in the Italian Garden was mooching around alone. It knows perfectly well that if it flies on to the lake it will find others, but for some reason prefers to stay here.

The male Egyptian Goose at the Henry Moore statue was alone too, but probably for another reason: his mate is nesting again in a hollow tree nearby. They've given up the dead tree as a nest site since it's now falling to pieces, and I haven't found where their new nest hole is.

The Royal Parks are closed again tomorrow in yet another panic about the wind, at least till 2 pm when the light will be too bad for proper pictures. I think I'll go to Southwark Park and see what I can find. Best wishes for a very happy New Year to all readers.

A glimpse of the Little Owl

Today was relatively mild with a bit of sunshine, and I wondered whether it would bring out the Little Owl at the Round Pond, who has been invisible for several weeks. It did at least bring her up to the back of the hole so you could get a glimpse of her face.

The male Great Black-Backed Gull was also visible, preening on a post at Peter Pan. (Yesterday's close view was of the female.)

Here he is with a Cormorant for comparison. There is almost no perspective in this picture, as it was taken with a telephoto lens which flattens the view. A large adult male can have a wingspan of 5ft 7in (1.7m) and weigh 4½lb (2kg).

Pigeon Eater, a hefty bird but dwarfed by his Great relative, was at the Dell restaurant with his mate. You only see them together occasionally and they show tolerance rather than affection, unlike the two pairs of Herring Gulls on the south side of the lake which often display and moan to each other.

The Grey Heron in the nest at the west end of the island has been alone for the past three days, but at least we know that it has a mate.

The pair in the middle of the island are constantly together, though not always in the same nest as there is a group of several large ones here.

The heron at the east end of the island was sitting right down in the nest, barely visible so I didn't photograph it.

Jays appeared all over Kensington Gardens. There were two together by the Serpentine Gallery ...

... and a single one at Mount Gate.

Several followed me along the edge of the Long Water, where the usual Robin by the Henry Moore sculpture ...

... and the Wren on the other side of the path could be seen.

The mate of the usual Kensington Gardens Chaffinch followed me from the Flower Walk to the Round Pond, but I didn't see the male.

In the Rose Garden a Blue Tit ...

... and a Coal Tit came out of the shrubbery and followed me along the path. There are pairs of both here. The Coal Tit is most insistent, settling on a bush and giving a quiet cheep to show that it wants another pine nut.

A finely marked Feral Pigeon was strolling around the lake shore, with unusual dark eyes. The left eye has a small patch of the usual marmalade colour, but the right one is completely dark.

The Moorhens in the Dell had been displaced from their favourite rock by the resident Mallard drake. Being larger, he always wins the spot.

The Henry Moore sculpture had the local Egyptians on top. Usually when they are claiming territory it's the female that makes all the noise with her loud quacking, but today it was the turn of the male to utter his hoarse rasping pant before flying down on to the lawn.

Great Black-Backed Gulls

There were two Great Black-Backed Gulls on the Serpentine, a fairly rare sight in the park. One was quite close in to the edge ...

... and the other out in the middle, standing on a pedalo next to a young Herring Gull.

The Grey Heron sitting at the east end of the island was visited by its mate, ready to change places on the eggs.

A heron was fishing under the water spouts on the edge of the Italian Garden ...

... but there isn't much left here to catch. Ahmet Amerikali got a good picture of a Cormorant coming up with a disappointingly small carp.

There were plenty of Egyptian Geese near the Dell restuarant, attracted by the crowds visiting the Winter Wasteland. This one was having a very vigorous wash.

A Wren jumped about in a tree near the Buck Hill shelter. This used to be in a bramble thicket which gave the Wrens good cover, but it has been razed to the ground. However, the Wren refuses to leave and has now become unusually visible.

Today's Robins included one just across the path ...

... and one at Peter Pan. Both came to my hand and took several pine nuts.

The Blue Tits in the Rose Garden can still only be fed by throwing pine nuts on the ground, but they are keen on them. This one came back for several more. I turned the sound right down on this video, as there was a hideous din coming out of the Wasteland.

The male Chaffinch also came out for his daily treat.

There was a report of a Little Egret by the lane in St James's Park, so I went there but didn't find it. It may have been hidden on one of the islands.

There were plenty of ordinary Grey Herons, including this one on the chimney of the Duck Island cottage.

A Little Grebe was far off under the bushes on the larger island.

It was a surprise to see only one Red-Crested Pochard. On previous visits I've always found a large flock at Duck Island. But they do fly around the parks, and there are several drakes on the Long Water.

Two Black Swans were visible. One of them is the female we had in the park before the recently departed one, which has now become a guardian of the cygnets of a Mute pair. I don't know which the one in this picture is.

A Ross's Goose, a North American bird, is part of the collection. I don't like captive collections, and one of the attractions of Hyde Park is that all the birds are there because they want to be. But it's a charming little creature, only just larger than a Mallard.

The White Pelicans have become absurdly tolerant of humans. They are actually pale pink.

As I came back through Kensington Gardens it was getting dark. The last bird I saw was one of the pair of Coal Tits at Mount Gate, which has become quite tolerant of being photographed because it knows I will give it a pine nut afterwards.

No longer alone

The solitary Grey Heron in the nest at the west end of the island has a mate at last. I have no idea where it was, possibly in Regent's Park taking a long time to come over. Whether they will manage to breed is uncertain, as this nest -- or maybe its occupants -- has a history of failure.

Sad to say, the upper nest on the island, the first to have a sitting bird in it, has been empty for the last two days. But the one at the east end is still a going concern.

A heron waited on the small willow tree beside the lake at the Triangle. This is a good vantage point because people often feed the geese and swans here, and if the heron sees a tempting morsel it can descend with a frightening screech and grab it.

The lonely Moorhen in the Dell also has a new companion. The two young foxes left some time ago, so it's now a safer place for Moorhens.

The single Gadwall drake in the Italian Garden had a Tufted Duck for company. Tufted Ducks often accompany larger ducks, and a quiet Gadwall is more peaceful to be with than a Mallard. The Little Grebe that stayed in the Italian Garden for three months early in 2023 also used to hang out with Gadwalls.

A male Great Crested Grebe, now in full breeding finery, fished under the parapet. There don't seem to be many fish here after the Cormorants have given the place their full attention, but grebes will always find something long after the Cormorant have given up and left.

A young Herring Gull amused itself by hitching a ride on a pedalo.

A Carrion Crow perched on the royal crown that acts as a chimney for the one of the gas lamps around the Serpentine. It struck me that the crown is very roughly cobbled up out of steel sheet and fastened together with modern pop rivets.

And indeed it's a replacement for a much better original, here seen on another lamp with a Magpie on it.

One might be tempted to draw comparisons with the current state of the royal family.

A Wren hung upside down in a bush by the Buck Hill shelter.

The Robin just along the path arrived for its daily pine nuts.

I couldn't find the Robin in the Flower Walk at first, but then it appeared in a dogwood bush on the other side of the crossing.

A Jay blocked the path at Peter Pan until I gave it a peanut.

A Blue Tit in the Rose Garden was also making itself obvious.

A Coal Tit came out in a bush in the shrubbery.

A pair of Blackbirds hopped around in a rose bed.

The pair of Egyptian Geese in the Rose Garden are far from the lake where you'd expect them to live. But they have water in the fountain and a lawn to graze on, and most importantly the outer pool of the fountain serves as a moat to protect them from people and dogs.

Despite the cold day, a few tough Buff-Tailed Bumblebees were browsing in the nearby mahonia bush.

The first hellebores are beginning to come out for the bees to move on to when the mahonia blossom is over.