Another view of the Little owlet

Julia managed to shoot some video of the very shy Little owlet at the Serpentine Gallery shortly before sunset yesterday. It was busy preening, so it didn't fly away as soon as it saw the camera. It looks very brown, but I think that's just the warm evening light.

The male Peregrine looked over the ledge of the barracks tower ...

... and a moment later took off, heading in the direction of the Metropole Hilton hotel in the Edgware Road where he has another daytime perch.

One of the Robins from Mount Gate, with head feathers worn by feeding chicks, was looking for insects across the road. Now that it's rained there should be worms available too.

A Jay beside the Long Water was also looking tatty.

At present I'm only seeing one Jackdaw, the one by the Henry Moore sculpture, which comes trotting up every time I pass.

The others may still be bringing up their young. It's odd that, although young Carrion Carows, Jays and Magpies are easy to see, I don't think I've ever seen a young Jackdaw. Yet the population in the park is rising steadily.

The usual male Chaffinch was calling for attention from a lime tree near Mount Gate.

A Feral Pigeon sat in the water at Peter Pan, not washing, just keeping cool. Sometimes they float away, but they can take off from the water -- though the heavier Wood Pigeons can't.

A Pied Wagtail hunted along the edge of the Serpentine, picking small larvae out of the slime.

The young Black-Headed Gulls look handsome in their brown juvenile plumage.

A Grey Heron stood obstinately in the middle of the Serpentine Road, expecting people to go round it.

The geese and swans also have this dangerous habit, but at least a heron can take off vertically with one swish of its big wings.

The adult Greylag Geese on either side of the image here are residents of Hyde Park. But they have learnt that the park is a very dangerous place to bring up young goslings, because of the number of Herring Gulls. So every year these sensible birds go off to nest somewhere safer, and bring in their young -- three of them this year -- as soon as they're able to fly.

The female Mute Swan and her six cygnets preened on the nesting Island in the Long Water.

A Red-Crested Pochard drake at the Vista was in full eclipse. His plumage is exactly the same as a female's now, but his red bill and eyes show his sex.

There are four families of foxes around the Long Water, two on each side. This fox is often seen in the woodland north of the Henry Moore sculpture. Today it came out on the lawn to wander round and have a scratch. No doubt it's covered with fleas, but at least it doesn't seem to have succumbed to the mange which affects a lot of them.

Several Brown Hawker dragonflies could be seen around the Long Water.

There was also a Red-Veined Darter flying under the Italian Garden but I didn't get a picture.

A Red Admiral butterfly rested in the middle of the path.

They are causal about where they stop, and I've had one perching on the camera and on my right hand.

A Common Banded Hoverfly landed on a leaf at Mount Gate.