A wet day

Ten Egyptian goslings have appeared at the Lido on a rainy day.

They huddled under their mother to keep warm. There wasn't quite enough room for so many.

A pair of Pied Wagtails hunted along the edge. They always keep a certain distance apart to avoid collisions in their lightning-fast takeoff.

A closer look shows that this is a different pair from the familiar one, as their feet are in perfect condition.

A Coal Tit perched among hanging drops in the corkscrew hazel in the Dell.

Blue Tits seem to get wetter than Great Tits. One reason may be that they have a crest that they can put up, while Great Tits have a compact mass of little feathers on their head.

This Great Tit in the dogwood bush at Mount Gate was almost bone dry. It must have been staying in shelter.

The local male Robin was looking bedraggled in a holly tree.

A Blackbird, which had been singing happily on a higher twig, took flight.

Blackbirds like rain, which brings up worms. This one was hunting in a flower bed in the Rose Garden.

A Carrion Crow at Fisherman's Keep was slightly damp but eager for a peanut.

So were two Jays and a Magpie in a hawthorn by the Queen's Temple.

The male Peregrine on the barracks was looking miserable.

The Grey Heron the the west nest endured the conditions stoically.

The young ones in the other nests were hunkered down out of sight.

Pigeon Eater and his mate were waterproof and unaffected.

So was a Coot on the nesting basket at the Triangle, but it was still nattering crossly.

A Gadwall preened unconcernedly in the downpour. A bit of water on the feathers helps to get them smoothed.