Autumn sets in

On a day of rain and drizzle the Great Tits were hungry and poured out of the trees to take pine nuts. There was a pair of Coal Tits in a bay tree beside the Serpentine Gallery and one of them, encouraged by the stream of other birds, came to my hand although I had never had any dealings with it before.

The Robin at the southwest corner of the bridge had been sheltering in an oak tree.

A Jay on the bridge was looking soggy ...

... and a Magpie perched in heavy rain on a lamp post in the Diana fountain car park.

A pair of Carrion Crows perched together in the half-dead variegated holly tree between the bridge and the Vista.

A Grey Wagtail hunted along the edge of the Lido restaurant terrace.

A Black-Headed Gull pecked at a dead fish at Fisherman's Keep.

Another perched on an eroded naiad in the Italian Garden.

A Grey Heron on the electric boat charging platform disapproved of a Cormorant intruding on its territory.

The Great Crested Grebe teenagers from the east end of the Serpentine island were fishing together, but when a parent appeared they sped off to start begging.

Grebes do not eat only fish. This one had found a 'rat-tailed maggot', an aquatic hoverfly larva.

The young Moorhen at the island amused itself by climbing on a bench.

The Black Swan saw me by the Triangle and charged over for some sunflower hearts.

One of the resident pair of Egyptian Geese in the Rose Garden enjoyed a wash in the Huntress fountain.

Three Red-Crested Pochard drakes cruised under the bridge. They are not yet in full breeding plumage, the one in the middle being most advanced.

The wire baskets at the bridge, which are fish hatcheries, were being refilled with twigs, a tricky job as the tops are held on with metal clamps that have to be snipped off under water.

The exotic planting at the bandstand lavatory has produced this large flower. It's a Rubber Plant, Ficus elastica, a familiar sight in offices and lobbies, but I had no idea that they had flowers like this.

A Rose-Ringed Parakeet in a catalpa in the Rose Garden chewed a pod to get the seeds out. The number of parakeets in the park is down, and the catalpas near the Italian Garden have received little attention. Possibly the drought has withered the seeds, which are normally much liked by parakeets.

A Jackdaw in the Rose Garden had dark eyes instead of the usual bright silver ones. It wanted a peanut, of course.

The Robin in the Flower Walk ...

... and another near Peter Pan made their wishes plain.

The Blue Tits in the Dell have taken to turning up in a small sycamore tree by the fence, but it doesn't offer the comfort and safety of the much missed corkscrew hazel bush.

The Coal Tits are generally in the yew trees. Like all very small birds they like the cover of dense evergreens.

At Mount Gate a Wren appeared in a lime tree.

No Litle Owl again today. This is what happens with owls: they seem to have a favourite perch for a long time but abruptly get bored with it, move elsewhere and never return. It can be hard to find them again.

The Black-Headed Gull from Prague had a few moments of flirtation with another gull at Fisherman's Keep. I thought that this very dominant gull was going to chase it off, but instead they walked side by side as courting gulls do. However. it was only playing and they separated shortly afterwards.

Pigeon Eater had dined and was on the Dell restaurant roof ...

... while another Lesser Black-Backed Gull finished his meagre leftovers.

The newest Great Crested Grebe chick on the Long Water was fed by its mother.

Later its father started to take it under the bridge, but when he saw a rival waiting for him on the other side he came back at once.

The lone Mute cygnet on the Long Water was at the Vista with some other swans, but none of them were its parents.

The fox was out by the Vista again, enjoying admiration and titbits.

Migrant Hawker dragonflies near the Italian Garden mated on an iron railing spike, a place that dragonflies like on fine days when the metal is warmed by the sun. The male is at the top.

The central circle of the Rose Garden has been planted with autumn-flowering plants, including a lot of Michaelmas daisies of various colours. They have proved a great success with the Honeybees, and the flowers are crowded with them.

What, no Little Owl?

The Great Crested Grebe with the youngest chick rested under the bridge, waiting for the other parent to return with a fish ...

... but it was one of the other grebes from the Long Water that came under the arch, and there was a short faceoff and angry territorial calls.  The fishing is better on the Serpentine side of the bridge, so there are bound to be these disputes.

The two chicks from the east end of the island are growing up quickly and already trying to fish by themselves, though they are still being fed.

Coots chased one another across the Long Water.

A Cormorant enjoyed a typically violent wash in the Serpentine.

The Egyptian goslings at Fisherman's Keep were in their usual huddle at the edge. They seem to be growing slower than usual, maybe because in this busy place their grazing is constantly interrupted by passing dogs. The drought can't have helped either.

At the other end of the scale, this huge Canada gander at the Lido is the biggest on the Serpentine. He is known as Thunder.

A female Pochard rested on the edge nearby. When Pochards started coming to the lake in substantial numbers several years ago they were very shy, but they have now settled in and are as used to humans as the local Mallards.

The lone cygnet on the Long Water was by itself again, looking melancholy. We worry about its social development.

The Little Owls have been perching in different places recently, and today I couldn't find one at all.

The Blue Tits in the Dell have still not settled down after their corkscrew hazel bush was destroyed, and you never know where you are going to find them.

The Coal Tits are more firmly established in the two yew trees by the path ...

... though today they were annoyed by a Magpie above them, and I had to lure it out with a peanut before they would come down.

The usual Robin in the Flower Walk arrived for its daily treat ...

... and there was an unexpected sight of a Robin hopping around on the edge of the Lido restaurant terrace, a place I have never seen one before.

A Wood Pigeon fed on the abundant berries in a holly tree by the bridge. Usually I end Wood Pigeon videos with the pigeon reaching too far and falling out of the tree, but there were so many easily reached berries in the tree that it just stayed there eating its fill.

A squirrel came to drink from the Serpentine at Fisherman's Keep. The water has improved a bit with the arrival of cooler weather.

The fox at the Vista was reating at the back of the clearing. You can see that their eyes have slit pupils like those of cats, an adaptation for a nocturnal animal that allows the pupil to open extra wide at night.

There are still plenty of Migrant Hawker dragonflies. A male perched on a stem by the bridge.

The last warm Sunday

On the last warm Sunday of the year the park was crowded and there wasn't much to see, so I'm afraid that this post will be dull. But at least the Great Crested Grebes with one chick at the bridge provided some action. The father wanted to preen, but the chick wanted to climb on his back and have a rest.

The mother chased off a Coot.

There was a family of Moorhens at the Lido, where the footpath is open again after the swimming season, with three teenagers staring to get their adult red bills.

The single cygnet on the Long Water was with a group of other Mute Swans, but keeping slightly apart from them.

A Cormorant was backlit on a post at the bridge.

Another exchanged hostile stares with a Herring Gull on a boathouse roof.

Pigeon Eater rested on the Dell restaurant roof, digesting a large lunch.

Another Lesser Black-Backed Gull was finishing his leftovers when a Magpie tried to take some. It was sent off easily enough, and the gull resumed its meal.

A Grey Heron looked for fish among the tangled branches of the collapsed willow at the bridge.

The male Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery was in an awkward place and it was impossible to get an unobstructed picture.

The male Peregrine was on the barracks. Usually he takes no notice of events on the ground, but today he noticed that he was being photographed. At a height of 300 ft he wasn't worried.

A Jay waited in brown maple leaves at Temple Gate.

In the big yew tree in the Dell a Blue Tit ...

... and a Coal Tit came out for pine nuts.

In the other yew a squirrel was scolding something I couldn't see.

The fox near the Vista really seems to enjoy public attention, and the resultant snacks thrown to it.

The arbutus tree at the southeast corner of the bridge is thick with fruit, and a few were already ripe and red. It bears flowers at the same time as the fruit, which takes a year to develop and ripen.