A new Little Owl

Today brought the first sight for years of a Little Owl on Buck Hill. I had heard it calling twice and searched unsuccessfully, and today finally found it in the broken top of a branch. It's male, and male owls move around more than females so this may not be a pair's nest hole. He would be the grandson or great-grandson of the original pair that settled on Buck Hill in 2012.

Otherwise it was an ordinary day, grey and mild with occasional drizzle. It was pleasing to see the Grey Heron pair in the nest at the east end of the island well established and adding twigs to the very large structure. Last year the nesting season began at the same time and continued sporadically for five months and this pair bred here twice, fledging four young.

There was also a heron in one of the nests at the middle of the island. There is a group of nests very close together here but only space for one pair, and they may be seen in any of the nests until they actually get down to breeding.

The heron at the Lido seems to be alone, always in the same fishing spot by the new ramp.

The Lombardy poplar tree that fell down at the Peter Pan waterfront a couple of months ago is home to the small group of Cormorants remaining after the busy fishing season. They must still be catching just enough to stay on the Long Water.

A pair of Mallards found it a quiet place to preen. 

A Mallard at the boathouses had a faceoff with a Coot.

There were pairs of Gadwalls dabbling all the way along the south shore of the Serpentine.

The odd trio of a Canada Goose with Canada x Greylag hybrid mate and a spare hybrid cruised past. They are usually seen between the Triangle and the island.

This is the male of the pair of Great Crested Grebes at the bridge. They may be seen on either side of the pontoon, as they can swim under it in an instant.

A second-winter Herring Gull was not too grown up to be playing with willow leaves.

The familiar female Pied Wagtail hunted along the edge.

The male Peregrine was on and off the tower today, always by himself. I haven't seen his mate since July, and it's looking as if the fickle female has dumped him.

A Magpie looked down from an oak near the bridge.

Long-Tailed Tits were working their way along the east side of the Long Water.

This Coal Tit in the Rose Garden has developed a fine way of avoiding being photographed, shooting in unexpectedly from a distant tree to grab a pine nut and whizz back. You have to be very quick to capture it.

The Blue Tits are more accommodating.

A Robin perched on a twig by the gate.

The darkling thrush

A Song Thrush at the Diana fountain sang at dusk on a grey winter day, like the one that managed to cheer up even miserable old Thomas Hardy -- see his poem here.

But the weather was mild enough to bring the male Little Owl by the Queen's Temple to look out of the hole.

A female Blackbird flew into a hawthorn near the Italian Garden ...

... and moved to the tip of a twig to eat the remnaining fruit.

A tree beside the Serpentine was full of Starlings chattering and whistling. They flew off apparently in unison, as these birds with fantastically fast reflexes do.

A Coal Tit stared from a tree at the southwest corner of the bridge ...

... and the usual Robin was here too, looking suspiciously up at a Magpie.

By the time I got to the Rose Garden it was starting to rain, but the reliable Robin appeared in a rose bush ...

... along with several Blue Tits.

The female Pied Wagtail often seen by the Serpentine hunted insects on the boathouse roof, came down to check the kerb, and visited the electric boat charging platform.

A Carrion Crow stood on a stump planning some ghastly exploit.

The male Peregrine was alone on the tower, scratching his chin.

Pigeon Eater's mate kept his place on the roof while he was off shooing the other gulls.

Just like yesterday, there was one Grey Heron in the middle nest and another above it. They must be mates, not rivals as I thought, and their occasional lunges at each other a sign of affection.

A Great Crested Grebe was fishing under the willow near the bridge.

The single Egyptian teenager was by itself beside the new reed beds. It's beginning to get its adult face with a dark eye patch.

The young Mute Swan that had come down in the Italian Garden has managed to get out safely. -- it's not clear how. Jon saw it on the Long Water this morning, separately from the killer's family, who were still all there when I went by.

A drizzly day

Feral Pigeons took advantage of a dank day. They like standing in water even when they aren't actively washing.

A Black-Headed Gull drank from another puddle.

The Robin at Mount Gate was staying dry under the bushes, only coming out when I arrived ...

... but the familiar one in the Rose Garden was slightly damp.

It was accompanied by both Coal Tits, which were chasing each other ...

... and half a dozen Blue Tits.

A Magpie perched in a weeping willow, still with some green leaves. They lose their leaves late and regain them early.

The female Pied Wagtail was hunting on her broad territory along the south shore of the Serpentine. Only her mate is allowed here, and the Grey Wagtail gets chased off.

A young Herring Gull at the island played with a conker I gave it. Conkers from the Indian horse chestnuts are preferred, as they are round and roll well.

A Grey Heron at was already collecting twigs to repair its nest after the year's losses. The one above it is evidently not its mate, to judge by its hostile reaction.

There is almost always a heron in the reed bed by the Serpentine outflow, evidently a prime fishing spot.

A female Great Crested Grebe fishing by the bridge surfaced with a leaf on her back.

She went over to join her mate.

Apart from this pair the only grebe I saw was a single male by the island. The others have probably flown up the river. You see quite a few upstream from Chiswick.

A Moorhen by the Dell restaurant poked around in floating leaves looking for anything edible.

A young Mute Swan had foolishly flown into a pool in the Italian Garden.

The pools are too small for a swan to take off from, as they need a long run. Swans that know the way can leave via the marble fountain, but only when it's working and there's water in the lower basin for them to splash into. Today all the fountains were broken, and the swan is going to have to be caught and put back in the lake. Apparently it's one of the young ones that flew into the park several weeks ago, and probably it has had a run-in with the killer swan, fled, and landed in what it thought was a safe place. It will be all right for now, as there's plenty of algae in the pool.

The single teenager on the Serpentine was preening by itself at Fisherman's Keep.

Wet weather keeps people and dogs away, so that the geese can enjoy the grass on the lawn to the east of the Triangle.

Another swan island

A Long-Tailed Tit near Peter Pan paused on a twig for a moment ...

... before flinging itself into the air.

Both the Coal Tits in the Dell were in the corkscrew hazel bush, calling in small clear voices.

One of them has a few white feathers above each eye, but I have no idea which is male and which is female.

There was a good turnout of small birds in the Rose Garden, including this Blue Tit.

The Robin by the Diana fountain came down to take pine nuts from the path for the first time.

By the time I got to Mount Gate it was drizzling, but the faithful Robin came out when called.

A Jay near Peter Pan needed no calling to tuen up for a peanut.

The male Peregrine, not seen for some time, was on the Knightsbridge Barracks tower.

Herring Gulls grow up quite slowly, taking four years to reach full adulthood. This young gull flirting with an adult is only a year and a half old.

The dominant Black-Headed Gull on the landing stage is now in full breeding plumage.

Another perched on the head of one of the river nymphs in the Italian Garden. She is dreadfully eroded. When the Italian Garden was made in 1860 the builders were fobbed off with an inferior grade of Portland limestone which has not lasted at all well.

A Grey Heron perched on top of a holly tree by the bridge, scaring off the Wood Pigeons which had come to eat the berries.

Another stood on a brand new nesting island intended for Mute Swans, which has just been placed by the Diana fountain reed bed. 

This may attract the swans that have previously nested in a very unsuitable place nearby at the Lido restaurant terrace. Nevertheless, it is less than a hundred yards from the other new nesting island, and both places will be exposed to conflict from the killer swan from the Long Water, as well as by swans from the island, so a lot of fighting and attacks on cygnets are to be expected. There are already too many swans in the park, and in the opinion of several sensible people installing these islands is a serious mistake.

The Black Swan was by the buoys at the Lido. He had temporarily abandoned his pursuit of 4GIQ as two male Mute Swans were cruising nearby with wings raised menacingly.

Jenna explained the presence of this Canada Goose on the fallen tree at Peter Pan. It's the mate of the one that died, sadly standing in a familiar place where the pair used to go.

Almost all the Great Crested Grebes have left, including the young ones. There may be as few as two in the park now. This one was fishing under moored boats at the island.

The miscellaneous small weeds growing along the edge of the shrubbery at the Triangle gave a pair of Moorhens a choice of tasty morsels. Egyptian Geese also like this place, and I have seen a witch here gathering herbs for her potions.