Hardy Little Owl

On a chilly drizzly day with a keen wind it was a pleasant surprise to find the Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery out in her usual lime tree.

It's impossible to walk through this area without being assailed by hungry Jays. Here are some under the bridge ...

... on the parapet ...

... and at Mount Gate in the dead leaves of what I think is a cornel cherry.

A Carrion Crow waited by a spiky agave in an urn in the Italian Garden.

'Don't you dare obey this sign.'

Two Blue Tits came out at the southwest corner of the bridge, one keen to come to my hand and this one lurking shyly in the bushes. It did eventually pluck up courage and take a pine nut.

A Robin perched on a yew hedge in the Flower Walk ...

... and the one at the Lido restaurant was on the edge of the terrace.

At the other end of the terrace a Grey Wagtail trotted along.

Pigeon Eater was keeping dry on a deserted table under the canopy of the Dell restaurant.

The two young Great Crested Grebes from the Long Water were at the bridge with their father, who was supervising their attempts at fishing.

They were diving busily ...

... and shooting around the edges of the wire baskets.

A group of Mute Swans browsed on the reeds at the edge of the Long Water, a tough diet. But they couldn't move up to the Vista to crop the grass, as 4HDW and 4DTT were waiting there to chase them away.

The Egyptian Geese in the Italian Garden didn't show any interest in the vervain growing on the edge of the pavement when it was green and flowering, but now that it's dead they seem to like it. Vervain is said to relieve anxiety and insomnia and aid digestion. But perhaps the main incentive was that a gardener was clearing away these unauthorised plants and they wanted to make the most of them before they were all gone.

The two dark Mallard drakes, presumably brothers, are long-term residents of the lake. Only one of them has a mate. The pair were by the reeds east of the Lido.