A Grey Heron on the Long Water used the remains of the fallen horse chestnut tree as a fishing platform.

This is the nest on the island where I suspected last month that a heron was sitting on eggs, but it's a deep nest and you can't see anything when the bird is sitting. Today I thought I could hear the clicking sound of a newly hatched chick clapping its bill, which is a chick's way of begging to be fed. Listen carefully between the bits of background noise. What do you think?

The heron sitting in the nest at the west end of the island sat up, allowing a better picture than my previous attempts.

In the water below, two rival Mute Swans tried to dominate each other, circling menacingly. Usually this display avoids having to fight.

Eventually one gave up and went away. The victor rested with his mate on the island.

The Black Swan has got bored with the Round Pond and returned to face the hurly-burly of a swan's life on the Serpentine. It was stalking a teenager.

The three teenage swans on the Long Water were at Peter Pan with their father. They're in for a shock soon, because when he and his mate start nesting last year's brood will be chased out.

A pair of Gadwalls preened at the outflow of the Serpentine, showing off the drake's finely vermiculated plumage.

A Moorhen had a freezing cold shower under a fountain in the Italian Garden.

The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull eyed some pigeons hungrily. But even the one nearest to him is safe, because it can take off faster than he can run at it. It's only when a pigeon relaxes its vigilance that he succeeds.

Chaffinches hopped around under their usual holly tree near the bridge.

While I was waiting for a Long-Tailed Tit to come to the mealworm feeder in the Dell, the place was visited by a Blackbird ...

... a Starling ...

... and a Blue Tit too far away for a good picture.

Eventually a Long-Tailed Tit did turn up and gave the camera a challenging stare.

It snowed lightly for most of the day. The Great Tits ...

... and Blue Tits were very hungry, and thronged out to be given pine nuts.

A Nuthatch to the west of the leaf yard collected a single snowflake.

These two Robins at the foot of Buck Hill are thawing out of their winter enmity and becoming mates again.

There were two rival males and a female Blackbird at the Dell. This is the most Blackbirds I've seen together for months.

A Carrion Crow dug some unknown object out of the snow.

A Pied Wagtail found a small creature on the edge of the Serpentine.

Black-Headed Gulls preened together on the boat platform.

A young Herring Gull amused itself by rolling a plane seed around.

A Moorhen in the Italian Garden found a bit of cucumber from someone's sandwich, cold comfort on a freezing day.

An Egyptian Goose rested on the balustrade at the Serpentine outflow.

The dominant Mute Swan on the Serpentine was persecuting the others as usual.

More snow. A Robin struck a jaunty pose ...

... but daffodils which had dared to show their heads were sadly wilted.

The Long-Tailed Tits that visit the Dell were hunting farther afield, and I found them in a tree beside the Serpentine Road.

A Pied Wagtail hunted for insects along the edge of the road. These are thin times for insect-eating birds.

Another Pied Wagtail worked its way along the Serpentine shore.

A Magpie probed the snow for worms in a flower bed in the Rose Garden.

A Carrion Crow found what appeared to be an ordinary hen's egg on the shore of the Serpentine. I was about to video how the crow dealt with it when the careless bird knocked it into the water and it rolled away. You can see the crow's annoyance.

Both the Peregrines were circling over the east end of Hyde Park.

The Grey Heron in the nest at the end of the island was huddled down in the freezing wind, and all you could see was the top of its head.

The heron in the reed bed near the bridge was in exactly the same places as yesterday. Clearly it's a good fishing spot.

A Black-Headed Gull caught a small crayfish.

The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull was in his usual place, choosing his lunch. Snow or not, he's in his summer plumage now and looking very fine.

A Moorhen trotted across the frozen Italian Garden.

A pair of Mute Swans courted under the bridge.

The dominant swan on the Serpentine hates displays of affection on his territory, and cruised over menacingly to break them up.

It snowed all day, but the temperature was just above freezing and the ground was saturated by last night's rain, so the snow didn't lie.

There were Long-Tailed Tits in the Dell as usual ...

... keeping themselves warm by stoking up with mealworms from the feeder.

A Great Tit came out of a yew tree near the bridge to ask for food.

A few Starlings were hopefully hanging around the Lido restaurant, but there were few humans to provide them with snacks ...

... so most of them were in Kensington Gardens searching for worms in the flooded grass.

A Goldcrest appeared unexpectedly beside the Long Water. Freezing weather takes a terrible toll on these tiny insect-eating birds, but some always pull through, and they breed prodigiously.

The Grey Heron was still doggedly sitting in the nest at the west end of the island ...

... and the nest at the other end was still being built up ...

... but the higher nests had been abandoned in the freezing wind. A heron sheltered in a reed bed on the Long Water.

The two pairs of Egyptian Geese near the Henry Moore sculpture continued their territorial dispute.

A Greylag on the Long Water ate a nasty-looking bunch of dead weeds, but they must know what they're doing.

The Red-Crested Pochard and his Mallard mate were also here, but the Mallard drake with the pale front had been replaced by a normal coloured one, possibly the original third member of the trio.

There was a Mute Swan in the Italian Garden.

Paul saw it trying to get out through the barrier around the marble fountain -- which, along with the unused scaffolding for fountain repairs that haven't been carried out, has been cluttering up the place pointlessly for months. It couldn't squeeze through the gaps in the barrier. We could have enlarged a gap, but the lower basin of the fountain now has no water in it (it must be the only thing in the park that isn't full of water at the moment) and we thought that the swan would hurt itself if it jumped down, so we did nothing. Swans do seem to be able to get out somehow, maybe by going on to the grass and managing to take off with a desperate waddling run and furious flapping.

This pair of swans on the Serpentine try every year to make a nest beside one of the boathouses, but have never succeeded. This year they seem to have started their futile effort early.

The Black Swan was still on the Round Pond, investigating a plastic bag to see if there were any snails on it.

A Great Tit ...

... a Blue Tit ...

... and a Long-Tailed Tit dashed around in a tree near the Italian Garden.

You seldom see Long-Tailed Tits staying still for long ... 

... but this one had just eaten a lot of mealworms from the feeder in the Dell and was taking a few minutes to digest them.

The crowd of weekend visitors disturbed a Robin in the bushes beside the path.

When you see a Rose-Ringed Parakeet on the ground it's usually eating dandelion leaves, which they are particularly fond of. These are just beginning to come up, an early sign of spring even if we are heading into a spell of freezing weather.

A Carrion Crow found something to eat in a puddle.

Work has resumed on the Grey Herons' nest on the island. Two were busy adding twigs.

The nest at the west end of the island constantly has a heron sitting in it. I think breeding is getting under way here, though it's impossible to be sure.

Another heron strutted elegantly along the balustrade of the bridge.

The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull was with his mate, whom I haven't seen for some time.

A Common Gull preened on a buoy at the Lido.

A Great Crested Grebe cruised rapidly across the Long Water.

The male of the pair at the west end of the island was resting in his usual place. He has been slow in going into breeding plumage but has now started getting some ginger feathers.

Some weekend visitors to the park had a moment with the police before rampaging on their way.