Peering through the leaves

The female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in a difficult place in the plane tree, but it was possible to see her preening ...

... and stretching her wings, surpisingly large for such a small bird.

A Carrion Crow on a stump at Temple Gate clearly considered me an inferior being, though useful as a source of peanuts.

A pair of Magpies waited in the variegated holly tree between the bridge and the Vista, a useful lookout post as it has a lot of dead and leafless branches.

The Robin at the bridge seems to be female, as she sometimes does the wing-fluttering display when she wants a pine nut.

The female Coal Tit in the Dell, whom I indentified in the same way, seems to have learnt that she must stay still for long enough to be photographed before she gets fed.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker on the island ignored five hundred tons of A380 trundling overhead to Heathrow.

This young Lesser Black-Backed Gull must be Pigeon Eater's own offspring, as any other gull would be instantly chased off the roof.

All the posts at the island were taken when another Cormorant arrived, and it got a hostile reception from the occupants. Eventually it found a little stump to stand on.

A Grey Heron sunbathed on the shore ...

... and another was reflected in the stream as it fished in the Dell.

The single Great Crested Grebe chick was at Fisherman's Keep. So was its mother, who was completely ignoring it. The young bird is on its own now and expected to feed itself.

The Little Grebe chicks on the Long Water are fishing for themselves but still getting an occasional contribution from a parent.

Seven Egyptian Geese flew into the Rose Garden ...

... and landed on the Huntress fountain. This is the only source of water at the east end of Hyde Park, and gives them a place to drink without having to fly up to the main lake. The algae in the pool also seem to be palatable.

The local fox was dozing on the lawn under the Henry Moore sculpture.