It was a drizzly day with outbreaks of heavier rain. Visitors sheltered in the Italian Garden loggia.
Thrushes welcome rain, which brings up worms. A Song Thrush near the leaf yard was singing cheerfully in a treetop.
A tall conifer on the south side of the Flower Walk near the Queen's Gate crossing -- I'm not sure whether it's a Western Red Cedar or a Lawson's Cypress -- gives good shelter to small birds. A Coal Tit ...
... and a Blue Tit emerged to collect pine nuts.
Another Blue Tit ...
... and a Great Tit were waiting in a camellia bush behind the Albert Memorial.
This isn't one of the regular Robins. It perched on a stem in the Flower Walk before coming down to pick up some pine nuts from the ground.
A Jay by the Henry Moore sculpture was expecting a peanut.
The female Pied Wagtail skittered about near the boathouses.
Pigeon Eater has been very close to his mate for several days. It seems much too early for them to start breeding but everything is running early this year, started by the warm autumn and unstoppable in spite of recent cold weather.
The Grey Heron sitting in the nest at the west end of the island got up to turn the eggs.
A high nest towards the west end is receiving a lot of attention at the moment. This isn't the one with the chicks in it. Those could be heard too.
A Great Crested Grebe at the east end of the Serpentine called to its mate.
The boss Mute Swan and his new mate were waiting at the Vista to see if anyone would feed them, but on a rainy day there were few people. They took advantage of damp feathers to have a thorough preen. In the background you can hear the Song Thrush shown in the video above.
Swans fed on the grassy bank at the back of the Lido swimming area.
Shovellers were scooping busily on the Long Water.
The immature drake on the Serpentine never joins them, and perhaps doesn't know they are there. He has already got a green head but will have to wait till next year for the rest of his finery.
