Small birds getting hungrier

The onset of autumn has reduced the supply of insects, and the small birds are keener to be fed. Many Great Tits took pine nuts from my hand in the Flower Walk, and also a nervous Coal Tit which had to come twice before taking anything.

But it was happy to pose on a twig for its portrait.

The faithful Robin at Mount Gate was waiting for its daily treat.

A young Wood Pigeon looked for acorns, but most of them had fallen and been collected by the industrious Jays.

Pigeon Eater was hunting. He missed his catch, but no doubt succeeded later.

A pair of Herring Gulls strengthened their bond by doing the 'Great Call' together.

This is the first of the odd-looking Lesser Black-Backed Gulls I saw, in its usual place halfway along the south side of the Serpentine. 

The single Great Crested Grebe chick from the nest at the Dell restaurant preened, using a foot to do the feathers on its face and finishing with a typical grebe shrug.

Its father caught a small fish right in front of it ...

... and presented it for collection.

The lone Mute cygnet rested on the edge of the Serpentine. Having been brought up as an only child it's quite used to solitude, unlike the six from the Long Water which are still going about in a gang.

The single Egyptian gosling stretched, showing sprouting primary feathers. Unlike swans, Egyptian Geese can fly before they're fully grown.

The terrapin on the Long Water had climbed quite a long way up a fallen tree.

A late and tattered Common Blue butterfly rested on a grass seed head in the Rose Garden.

The gaudy Indian Blanket flowers are still providing abundant pollen for Common Carder bees.

The Lombardy poplar at Peter Pan is infested with Poplar Fieldcap mushrooms, which spread white rot in the wood. The tree is leaning at a perilous angle and its roots are starting to break out of the ground, but so far it has stayed up through gales that have felled healthier and more upright poplars.

The tree sculptures at the Serpentine Gallery are made of bronze over a steel frame, but the boulders bizarrely attached to the branches are real and extremely heavy. They are now being unbolted before the tree is dismantled, a major operation dictated by an artist's whimsy.

The annual swimming event on the Serpentine is being held this weekend, and signs are being put up for visitors. This is the road to Hyde Park Corner. Marble Arch is at 90 degrees to the left.