Autumn sunshine

It was an unexpectedly beautiful day. A red sweetgum tree shone in the sunshine behind the Lido ...

... where a Wren was darting around in the undergrowth.

A Starling shone brilliantly on the restaurant terrace.

A Robin by the Henry Moore sculpture stared suspiciously at the camera.

A Carrion Crow enjoyed a splash in the Serpentine.

The Little Owl at the Round Pond looked down from her usual tree at three people taking pictures of her. She's used to it now.

Pigeon Eater's rival had again taken his place on the Dell restaurant roof ...

... but Pigeon Eater was too busy to notice. A Feral Pigeon bathing is vulnerable to one of his sudden rushes.

This one noticed and came out in time. It turned out to be a strayed racing pigeon -- note the plastic ring on its leg. It was looking rough in its new wild life away from the loft.

A Grey Heron stood in the most comfortable spot on the floating wire baskets surrounding the island, where there is a tussock of grass.

The baskets were supposed to be full of ornamental waterside plants, all of which were chewed to bits by the Coots. It's being slowly recolonised by Great Willowherb and Purple Loosestrife, which grow well on the soggy artificial soil, but grass has only established itself in one place.

One of the young Great Crested Grebes on the Long Water waited under the parapet of the Italian Garden...

... while its father fished in the old water filter under the fountain. He didn't catch anything while I was there, as the place has been pretty much cleaned out by Cormorants.

A Moorhen preened in the sunshine among fallen leaves.

I counted 19 Shovellers on the Long Water. They have been arriving gradually and we may get more.

A Common Darter dragonfly basked on the stonework of the Italian Garden.

A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee in the Rose Garden bustled around in a patch of plumbago. It had slight difficulty climbing on to one of the shiny leaves where it couldn't get a grip with its spiky feet.