Autumn colour on a grey day

Even the most ordinary pictures are lifted by a background of bright autumn leaves. A Great Tit perched in a poplar by the Long Water.

One of a pair of Coal Tits at the bridge, photographed by Ahmet Amerikali.

The familiar Robin appeared in his usual bush in the Rose Garden ...

... and the one at Mount Gate came out from the bushes when called, looking expectant.

A Jackdaw at the Triangle appealed for a peanut. It seems extraordinary now that when they returned to the park a few years ago you couldn't get within fifty yards of them.

A Magpie posed on the peculiar twigs of a winged elm.

A young Herring Gull on the Serpentine made off with a conker.

Two Common Gulls on the gravel strip at the Round Pond, filmed yesterday in a sunny spell. Despite the name there are never many of these, and they trickle in one by one in late autumn and leave early.

The Grey Heron at the Lido caught a small perch: another picture by Ahmet.

A Great Crested Grebe examined a fallen leaf.

A slightly better picture of the huge Canada Goose barging another out of the way by the boathouses. Perhaps you need a video to give a proper impression of his size.

The Egyptian pair in the Italian Garden stood in front of what was originally a clump of irises, but has now been almost completely taken over by common reed and reed mace. Evidently the seeds were brought in stuck to the feet of the Coots nesting there. Another iris clump has been invaded by great willowherb.

A Tufted drake newly in his smart breeding plumage preened his feathers on the Serpentine.

On a drizzly day I didn't expect to see any bees, but there was a Common Carder on the patch of lavender at the southeast corner of the Serpentine ...

... and a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee on the bog sage at the Diana fountain.

The enormous Caucasian elm in the Rose Garden is on the turn.

Hydro Cleansing marked Hallowe'en by sending one of their more ghoulish lorries to clear a blocked drain.

Rattling crow

It was a sunny morning though the weather turned nasty later. The Albert Memorial shone in its avenue of plane trees.

Carrion Crows rattle when annoyed, and these two near the Round Pond were clearly getting on each other's nerves. A brief brawl erupted.

A pair in Queen's Gate were more peacefully employed in ripping up some binbags.

In the Rose Garden a bush with abundant rose hips saw a good turnout: a Coal Tit ...

... a Blue Tit ...

... and a singing Robin.

The Robin at the southwest corner of the bridge shouted angrily at a Magpie.

Ahmet Amerikali found another Cetti's Warbler at the place north of Peter Pan where they nested earlier this year.

A Blackbird in the holly tree above took a break from eating berries.

Several Pied Wagtails were hunting by the Round Pond. This one is female, with a grey back.

The Common Gull at the Lido, still alone, posed for its portrait.

Cormorants are no longer crowded on the electric boat platform, and the young Grey Heron can return to its usual fishing spot.

A Cormorant looking for small fish on the ramp for swimmers at the Lido was completely unfazed by being filmed at close quarters.

The narrow passage under the bridge is busy with birds going through. A young Great Crested Grebe swimming one way passed two young Mute Swans coming in the other direction.

The swan family inspected the new reed bed being built by the bridge. They won't be able to trash the reeds, as these will be protected by a cage made of reinforcing bar and covered with extra tough plastic mesh.

The Shoveller drakes are very slow getting into their breeding plumage but this one is almost there. He overtook a female Tufted Duck.

I was disappointed by this picture of the biggest Canada Goose in the park, who must weigh at least 14 pounds and has a deep bass honk. He's on the right here with his smaller mate, but the perspective reduces the difference in size.

In the North Flower Walk a medlar tree has plentiful fruit.

It's inedible until it has gone soft and brown, a process known as bletting. Then you can make it into a jelly similar to the quince jelly that trendy folk eat with cheese, but with a different and interesting flavour. An old name for this is medlar cheese and my great-aunt used to make it.

Rainy day

It rained almost continuously. The small birds were hungry and flocked out from shelter to collect pine nuts. The familiar Robin in the Rose Garden waited impatiently on a dripping teasel.

The male Chaffinch ...

... was with his mate, whom I haven't seen for some time. I could only get a hasty shot of her in the top of the catalpa tree.

There were several Blue Tits ...

... and one of the Coal Tits followed me round the garden, taking pine nuts all the way, caching them, and returning at once for more.

A Great Tit perched in the red leaves of a euonymus bush by the bridge.

Samuel Levy was in the park early this morning and saw two Rock Pipits on the Serpentine, rare visitors here. I couldn't find them.

The Peregrines on the Knightsbridge Barracks tower are now spending most of their time elsewhere, and Carrion Crows have moved in to fly around and perch on the complicated antennae on the top.

A bit of rain doesn't put Pigeon Eater off his hunting or his meals.

Someone dining under the canopy of the Dell resturant had unwisely thrown a crust to a passing Black-Headed Gull, and the result was chaos.

More Cormorants had left, leaving the fallen poplar at the Vista free for Black-Headed Gulls.

The Grey Heron at the Lido can now fish on the ramp undisturbed.

Rain brings Moorhens into the Italian Garden to look for stranded larvae in the joints of the paving.

Several Great Crested Grebes have arrived on the Serpentine, perhaps six though it's hard to separate them from the residents. Here are three, including a teenager already able to fly.

One of the resident grebes from the east end of the lake advanced on them threateningly, making territorial noises.

The young Egyptian Goose is walking much better, though still with a slight limp.

The single young Mute Swan is now usually seen with its father, who is determined to protect it from the killer swan. So far I haven't seen a clash.

The Black Swan on the Round Pond saw some people who might feed him, and approaached hopefully. He was not disappointed.

The Victorian neo-Gothic spire of Spire House in the Bayswater Road could be seen above the autumn leaves. 

Yes, I was holding the camera straight and it does lean to the west. This is the remnant of the former Christ Church, Lancaster Gate, built in 1855 to the plans of F. & H. Francis, but deconsecrated in 1977 and partly demolished. A block of flats built in 1983 now occupies the site of the nave, and it may be the only modern building to have flying buttresses. You can see it here.

The caption to the picture includes the sad note: 'The tall spire is visible from a considerable distance ... and is often mistaken for the stylistically similar spire of St Matthew's, Bayswater (farther to the west) -- to the sadness and annoyance of the current incumbent of St Matthew's, who sees in Spire House a melancholy symbol of the decline of Christianity in Britain.'

The new reed bed

The Mute Swan family inspected the new reed bed taking shape on the Serpentine. It's divided into sections, so birds will be able to get ashore.

The reeds will be planted in a layer of coir matting. It doesn't need soil, as the reeds draw their nourishment from the water.

When I went by later on the other side the workmen were laying plastic mesh over the matting.

But I wonder what they will do to protect the growing reeds from the destructive swans and Coots.

Cormorants searched for small fish by the new ramp in the swimming area at the Lido, and one caught a small carp.

When they aren't here a Grey Heron can catch fish. Thanks to Ahmet Amerikali for this picture.

A young Moorhen looked for food in a moving carpet of floating leaves at the edge.

A Great Crested Grebe was fishing in the shallow water at Peter Pan.

A Black-Headed Gull picked a fish out of the Serpentine. This was clearly dead already, but these gulls can catch live fish.

Another rinsed out its feathers.

At the Round Pond Common Gulls chased a Black-Headed Gull that had a bit of bread.

The Black Swan was preening at the edge.

A Pied Wagtail hunted on the lawn.

The more advanced Tufted drakes are now fully in their smart breeding plumage ...

... and a Mallard drake looked immaculate in a moment of sunshine.

Ahmet got a very fine shot of the Cetti's Warbler at the corner of the bridge.

A Robin sang in the Rose Garden before coming out for its daily ration of pine nuts.

The Robin at Mount Gate was also expecting service.

The North Flower Walk, along the Bayswater Road, doesn't have the elaborate floral displays of the South one by the Albert Memorial. But it does have a couple of attractive beds of wild, or at least wildish, flowers.