Kingfisher on the Long Water

The new pair of Peregrines were on the barracks again, quite far apart so they had to be photographed separately. The new female is darker than the late one ...

... though not as dark as the male, who has hardly any white on the side of his head.

There was a brief glimpse of a Kingfisher speeding up the Long Water. I couldn't see where it perched.

The Little Owl at the Round Pond was deep in the horse chestnut tree and impossible to photograph in the morning, but later moved to a slightly better place.

A pair of Jackdaws chattered on her nest tree. I don't think they bother her, unlike Carrions Crows and Magpies which are a sore trial for owls.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker called from a dead tree behind the Queen's Temple. It flew away before I could get any closer.

The mate of the familiar Robin in the Flower Walk was occupying his tree while he was away. She came to my hand twice.

The Czech Black-Headed Gull was patrolling the shore under its favourite post on the south shore of the Serpentine. It has visited the lake every winter for several years and has become a very dominant bird.

The Grey Herons' nest was empty, but then one of the young ones flew in. They're still returning to be fed, and I haven't seen one fishing yet.

A Cormorant shone in a sunny spell as it preened on a post at Peter Pan.

Two Moorhens and a young one vied with a Coot to eat a floating apple.

Moorhens love climbing, and this one was preening on the top of a bush at the Vista.

The Black Swan was at the Triangle titivating his ruffles.

The Common Wasps' nest here is still busy.

A Willow Emerald damselfly perched in a yew near Peter Pan.

A Marmalade Fly visited the autumn crocuses at the southwest corner of the bridge.

Mario drew my attention to these curious fungi on the opposite side of the shrubbery. They are Earthstars, of which there are 15 species in Britain. He thinks it's the Crowned Earthstar, Geastrum coronatum.

Has the Peregrine found love?

There were two Peregrines on the tower, both adults. The one on the right seems to be the male who lost his mate, with his dark colouring and hardly any white on the side of his head. And on the left, it looks as if he has already found a new mate to share the abundant pigeons in his territory.

One of the young Grey Herons on the island had come right down from the nest, this first time I've seen one of this brood at ground level. There were no birds in the nest or in the nearby branches, so evidently they've all come down.

An adult flew into an old Magpie nest at the Triangle.

The Little Owl at the Round Pond looked down from the top of the horse chestnut tree.

I was wrong about all the Little Grebes having gone from the pond. There was one hanging around a buoy.

But it was the only one I could see. You'd expect the four to fly in and out together, so the others were probably around somewhere lurking behind buoys and water intake pipes. They are easy to miss, as they spend more time submerged than on the surface.

One of the Great Crested Grebe chicks from the Long Water was under the bridge.

It came out on the far side to pester its father. It's beginning to follow him under water, which is essential for learning fishing skills.

This young Herring Gull is quite grown up enough to find its on food but was still begging at its parent, causing visible irritation.

The odd-coloured Lesser Black-Back was again lording it over the Dell restaurant. Pigeon Eater was still away. There will probably be a serious dispute when he comes back.

Common Gulls arrive first on the Round Pond, then later on the main lake. There were two on the buoys at the Lido, the first I've seen here this autumn.

The Robin in the Flower Walk who seems to be the dominant Robin's mate is now behaving just like him, attacking all the Great Tits in the nearby bushes.

There was a new Robin at the end of the upper level of the bridge. It came out to take a pine nut from the parapet.

A pair of Pochards looked at each other on a fallen tree in the Long Water. There are only a few females among the many drakes.

One of the foxes appeared for a moment into the Dell, slinking into the bushes.

The sunshine lit the carp in the Italian Garden.

It was quite warm and I saw seven Migrant Hawker dragonflies making the most of the day. One perched on a bramble near Peter Pan.

There were also two Willow Emerald damselflies. This one was on the Peter Pan railings.

I've seen this cyclist in the park before. Every time he appears there are more ornaments on his bike. It must be quite hard to ride.

A bit of sunshine

It was a mild day with occasional sunshine, and there were people on the Lido restaurant terrace again. Starlings waited all around for their chance to grab something off a table.

But it was a Black-Headed Gull that made off with a piece of cake.

At the far end of the Serpentine the Czech Black-Headed Gull had deserted his usual post and come to the parapet at the outflow, where he could keep an eye on the Dell restaurant terrace and stage a raid of his own.

The Black Swan cruised up and down the edge of the terrace, hoping that someone would throw him a scrap. He knows that he is unique in the park and of special interest, and trades on it.

One of the odd faded Lesser Black-Backed Gulls, the one with pale eyes, surveyed the scene from the roof, also hoping for a chance.

These two brother gulls seem to be trying to take over Pigeon Eater's territory, though so far I have seen no sign of conflict. Pigeon Eater was away at the time.

Farther up the shore, the new pair of Herring Gulls were companionably side by side ...

... between two pairs of Egyptian Geese at least 50 yards apart, pointlessly shouting at each other. The are absurdly territorial.

At the Round Pond the Little Owl was back on her current favourite branch -- not my favourite, as it makes her hard to photograph.

On the grass below a Pied Wagtail stared curiously at the camera.

But I couldn't find the Little Grebes on the pond, and I think they've left.

One of the young Grey Herons on the island had wandered down from the nest, but the other two were staying put. Although they can certainly all fly their adventures have been pretty timid so far, and I haven't yet seen one down on the ground.

The Grey Wagtail visited the top of the Dell waterfall.

The familiar Chaffinch intercepted me at the bridge ...

... and the one in the Rose Garden shrubbery is also now coming out for thrown pine nuts.

The male Great Tit here is a long established customer, and his mate is now coming to my hand too.

Speaking of which, here is Mark Williams's picture of the Jay in St James's Park which used to perch on his hand and eat its fill of nuts.

The Jays here will swoop to grab a peanut from your hand in flight, but they aren't confident enough to perch.

Three Red Crested Pochard drakes on the Long Water were in different stages of regrowing their bright breeding plumage.

There was still a Speckled Wood butterfly to be seen near Peter Pan.

Eating rose hips

In the Rose Garden an adult Wood Pigeon had little difficulty in pulling rose hips off a bush, but they are quite firmly attached and a young bird was struggling to pick them.

The Blackbird pair could be seen digging in the fallen leaves in the shrubbery.

The male came up with a small worm.

A Robin stayed silent for a while because there was a rival singing loudly in the next bush.

In the Flower Walk the dominant Robin was away the first time I passed, and his mate -- now, of course, a rival -- dared to cross the path into his territory to call for some pine nuts.

The Robin that lives in the yew hedge came out on the top. In fact there were Robins all over the place and it was hard not to try to photograph them all, but three is more than enough for today.

Long-Tailed Tits worked through lime trees near the Physical Energy statue.

A Magpie beside the Long Water had an autumnal background.

The Little Owl at the Round Pond came out of her hole and posed for her portrait.

The Little Grebes were still here, but right in the middle of the pond so there was no chance of a good picture.

On the Serpentine the young Great Crested Grebe from the island was with its father being given a fishing lesson.

One of the other two was preening.

It can be difficult to distinguish courtship from rivalry displays in gulls, but these two Black-Headed Gulls on the edge were definitely rivals, keeping a wary distance from each other.

The Black Swan was back from his stay on the Round Pond. He was alone, so evidently his latest attempt at romance had failed.

The Mute Swan family were on the gravel strip in the Long Water. A young Grey Heron made a careful detour around a large and dangerous teenager.

There were Pochards all the way from the bridge to the Italian Garden.

A medium-sized pale mushroom had come up under a plane tree near Physical Energy, very sideways in shape as if it would rather have been growing on the trunk, and with its cap split into segments. Google Lens identifies it as a Leaflike Oyster, Hohenbuehlia petaloides, but Mario may have a better idea than mere AI.