The brisk wind encouraged the young Mute Swans from the Long Water to come out on to the more open Serpentine and try a bit of flying. One of them reached an altitude of about 40ft, and they all came down on the water without crashing.

It's easier for water birds to take off into a strong headwind, as they don't have to move so fast to achieve liftoff.

A Cormorant was flying in circles to gain height in a thermal before sloping off south to the river.

Cormorants are strong flyers but too heavy to soar like gulls, so they have to keep flapping when they are in a thermal. But the updraught saves them from having to flap so hard to gain height.

This Black-Headed Gull with a yellow plastic ring is another one ringed by the North Thames Gull Group. I've reported it, but the web page of its movements is not yet up, which usually means that it's the first report since it was ringed.

But, as usual, it's unlikely to be from far away. It seems that the gulls with glamorous foreign rings from Poland and Scandinavia haven't yet arrived.

The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull strode ashore with a determined look in his eye.

The Feral Pigeons just stroll away. They know that if they are in an unobstructed place on level ground and a few feet away from the gull, it can't get them because they can take off faster than the gull can. The gull knows this too, and concentrates on pigeons that are in front of an obstacle, or bathing on the edge of the lake.

The young Grey Heron was prowling up and down the edge of the restaurant terrace. Clearly people have been throwing it bits of food.

A young Great Crested Grebe was fishing in the same place.

One of the Moorhens in the Dell was probing the algae on the little waterfall. It seems that small edible creatures manage to hang on here in the fast flowing water.

Great Tits are now absolutely pouring out the leaf yard when they see anyone with food for them.

And the Nuthatches have also become regulars. This one has got a whole peanut, which it will take away and hide to eat later before coming back for more.

A Robin near the Italian Garden caught a cranefly.

The Little Owls near the leaf yard were having a hard time. There was a Jackdaw on the female's favourite branch in the upper tree, and a Magpie in her usual spot in the nest tree.

She had retired to the nest hole. The Magpie flew down to a lower branch, and she stared at it angrily.

There is a report in the London Bird Club Wiki of a Spotted Flycatcher seen in a sycamore tree north of the Serpentine, and also of a Tree Sparrow seen flying in the same place. Distinguishing a Tree Sparrow from a male House Sparrow in flight is not easy, but even if it's a House Sparrow this is an event for the park, since the species has vanished from Central London apart from a small, carefully maintained population around Regent's Park Zoo.

Jays are beginning to reappear. They are seldom seen during the late summer when they are collecting and burying acorns and nuts to last them through the winter, but now they have done most of their work. This one had come down to drink in one of the little pools in front of the Rima relief.

There was a commotion of Magpies under the Little Owls' tree near the leaf yard. It turned out that someone had spilt some peanuts there, and the sharp-eyed birds were making the most of that.

This Carrion Crow at the back of the Albert Memorial also wanted a peanut, but had to wait while I took a picture of his glossy feathers shining in the sunlight.

This Coal Tit near the bridge had already got its peanut, and was holding it firmly against a twig to peck bits out of it.

The Nuthatches in the leaf yard were also coming down for nuts and seeds.

A Ring-Necked Parakeet preferred yew berries, and was neatly removing the stone from one.

There were a few Mistle Thrushes eating rowan berries on Buck Hill.

Two Starlings at the Lido restaurant were enjoying the remains of a bowl of lasagne.

A Moorhen was walking unconcernedly around the slippery edge of the marble fountain in the Italian Gardens, looking for tiny edible creatures in the algae.

For the Great Crested Grebe chicks, it was service as usual.

The male Tufted Ducks, which go into eclipse later than the other ducks, are now coming out of it and regrowing the smart white feathers on their sides.

The female Little Owl near the leaf yard was in the nest tree. This picture was taken after the Magpies had left. She would not have stayed out if there had been seven of these milling around.

The number of Cormorants on the lake is rising sharply, a sign that this year's young fish have reached an interesting size. The Cormorants will stay till they have reduced the fish to numbers that are no longer worth hunting for. These seven were on the posts at Peter Pan, and altogether there were about a dozen.

The Great Crested Grebes are not much affected by this onslaught, since most of the fish the Cormorants are taking are too large for them. Here a chick goes into a shallow dive on its way to take a fish from a parent.

Young grebes can probably swim faster submerged than on the surface, because when they are higher in the water their feet tend to break the surface, which is inefficient. Adult grebes swimming as fast as they can without using their wings adopt a slightly nose-up attitude like a speedboat, which keeps their feet under the water.

Two Shovellers, both immature males, were heading up the Long Water to a place near the Italian Garden where it seems that there is more food to shovel up than elsewhere. There aren't many Shovellers on the lake yet -- I could only find six.

One of the two young Mute Swans from the nest on the reed raft was having a flap. I haven't seen them trying to fly yet. They are younger than the ones on the Long Water.

A Hybrid Canada--Greylag Goose was having a frantic wash and had turned upside down, waving its grey legs in the air.

The rescued Grey Heron was on the roof of the Dell restaurant, looking for leftovers on an unoccupied table.

This Herring Gull's orange plastic ring, L4NT, is from the North Thames Gull Group. But who knows, it may have been farther afield. I've reported it, so we shall know soon.

At the Lido restaurant, Starlings and Feral Pigeons were competing for a dropped brownie.

Another Starling, unobserved by the others, had found a bit of pizza and was enjoying it in a dark corner under a bush.

Two Wrens were chattering at each other in a patch of scrub at the foot of Buck Hill.

The female Little Owl near the leaf yard was sunning herself on the nest tree.

There are still plenty of dragonflies: Migrant Hawkers over the Long Water near the Italian Garden, and Common Darters in the Dell. This one was on the edge of the pool at the top of the waterfall.

The dominant Mute Swan at the west end of the Serpentine sailed into a group of swans that were feeding at the landing stage. One of them refused to flee immediately, and there was a fight.

A pair of Shovellers were revolving around each other on the Long Water. The turbulent wake of one bird brings up tiny water creatures for the other to shovel up and filter out with the rows of plates inside its huge bill.

A young Great Crested Grebe on the Long Water did the shrug that all grebes do to settle their feathers comfortably.

Just when you thought the Moorhens in the Italian Garden ponds had finished breeding, this young chick appeared. I think there's only one.

The rescued Grey Heron was at the edge of the Lido restaurant terrace having a drink and hoping for scraps.

There is another young heron in the area, which was in the Dell. It looks so like the first one that I thought it had flown down while I was walking around the edge, but when I got back up again the first heron was still at the restaurant. On close inspection you can see that the white feathers under its chin are brighter and reach farther down its neck.

A Carrion Crow was having a splashy bath near the island.

The Coal Tits near the bridge emerged shyly from the bushes to be fed.

A flock of Long-Tailed Tits passed by and paused in a holly tree.

A few Mistle Thrushes flew into the rowan trees at the top of Buck Hill.

The Little Owls near the leaf yard were hard to find, as usual on a sunny Sunday when the park is busy. But a third visit found the female owl in the nest tree.

The purple flowers on the edge of the Dell are popular with bees of several kinds. This is a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee.

The young Grey Heron at the Dell restaurant has now completely got over its fear of humans after it was netted to remove the tangled nylon mesh from its bill. It was wandering around on the grass trying to get people to feed it.

A Carrion Crow on the handrail of the Lido swimming area was also hoping for food. Two of them follow me along the south shore of the Serpentine and make their wishes very clear.

A Robin perched on a reedmace head at the Italian Garden was also expecting to be fed, and came to my hand three times.

The Starlings at the Lido restaurant just help themselves. Chocolate cake crumbs are a favourite.

Some Egyptian Geese on the Serpentine saw someone feeding the waterfowl and hurried over to share the treat.

A Great Crested Grebe chick on the Long Water got yet another perch from its devoted parent.

Moorhens often climb on the fountains in the Italian Garden, not caring that they get drenched. The attraction seems to be insects in the dense mat of algae that covers the fountains.

You wouldn't guess that these fountains are made of white marble.

I got a challenging stare from a Black-Headed Gull which didn't like being photographed but was not going to leave its prized perch on a noticeboard.

They are not daunted by the plastic owls at Bluebird Boats either. The owls are ritually waved around before being attached to the pedalos. It is doubtful that this makes them any more frightening.

The Little Owl near the Albert Memorial was on the branch where I saw her yesterday. She was calling loudly, and there was a distant answer from her mate on the other side of the path.

The Little Owl in the chestnut tree near the leaf yard was also the female of the pair.

A cranefly posed elegantly near the Queen's Temple.

The background is a sheet of PVC covering one of the padded blocks that are part of Nlé's summer pavilion. This is a deconstructed echo of the temple behind it, and has proved the most popular of the five pavilions put up this year. It provides both shelter and modest comfort, and there are usually several people sitting here.

A young Chicken of the Woods fungus made a splash of colour on a tree near Peter Pan.