Cetti's Warbler by the Serpentine

Today's star picture comes from Ahmet Amerikali: a Cetti's Warbler in the reed bed at the east end of the Serpentine. These very shy and elusive birds are hard enough to see, let alone get a photograph as good as this.

He also found a Goldcrest in the yew tree near the bridge where they nest every year.

When I went past all I found was some Great Tits, which came out wanting pine nuts.

A squirrel ate the yew fruit, carefully chewing off the sweet red aril and discarding the poisonous seed inside. Birds can get away with swallowing the seed, which goes through their hasty digestive system unaffected, but it seems that mammals have to be more careful.

A Grey Wagtail hunted insects over the Dell stream. There are always some midges here, even in the depth of winter.

There was a Pied Wagtail on the boat hire platform. This one is male, with a black back.

The plentiful bird droppings attract insects.

A female Pied Wagtail, with a grey back, was running around on the football fields where the Crystal Palace stood in 1851.

Far above her, the female Peregrine perched on the tower. She posed no threat to the wagtail as she would far rather catch a fat Feral Pigeon.

A pigeon inspected a Snickers wrapper to see if there were any crumbs left inside.

Another had been chosen for the notorious Lesser Black-Backed Gull's Sunday lunch.

After the morning drizzle stopped the female Little Owl came out on to the horse chestnut tree.

The old Grey Heron stood on top of the Henry Moore sculpture.

There was no shortage of Cormorants on the posts at the bridge.

For no discernible reason, a Coot at the island chased a Herring Gull ...

... which was seriously annoyed ...

... and yelled at the Coot, which retreated.

A solitary Black-Headed Gull was surrounded by Shovellers on the gravel strip at the Vista.

A visiting cygnet

A sunny morning tempted the female Little Owl at the Round Pond on to her usual horse chestnut tree, which is getting too leafless for concealment but for the moment she wasn't being bothered.

The female Peregrine looked down from her ledge. The male was at the back, occasionally partly visible and it was clear that he was eating a pigeon. She can catch her own pigeon any time she wants.

Starlings at the Lido restaurant terrace were being given cake crumbs by a kind soul, to the disapproval of the restaurant staff.

The lake edge of the terrace is often visited by the young Grey Wagtail, which is interested in the insects attracted by spilt food. A Dunnock is sometimes seen here too, for the same reason.

The dominant Robin in the Flower Walk was waiting impatiently. He came down to collect six pine nuts, the most he has taken in one go so far.

This Blue Tit stays farther along the path, so isn't bothered by him.

The Robin often seen at the northwest corner of the bridge was in the collapsed weeping willow tree which is a favourite place for many kinds of bird.

At the other end of the bridge a Great Tit looked out of a holly tree ...

... and Ahmet Amerikali got a good picture of a Goldcrest.

I thought this was going to be a family group of the pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull, on the left here, with his mate and son. But on closer inspection it was another female, so the young gull could be anybody's.

His mate was on the lake shore. She gave me a look as if to say, Just look at the way he's carrying on.

A young Herring Gull played with a peanut it had grabbed from a Carrion Crow. The older gulls know that peanuts are edible and can easily crush the shells with their powerful bills, but to this young one it was an amusing rolling toy.

A young Grey Heron stood on the old Coot nest at the bridge, peering intently into the wire basket for a sign of a perch.

Later the heron went to the reed bed under the Diana fountain later, where it was joined by a Magpie. Some of the reeds have been cut down, as should be done from time to time so that they don't get too straggly. The cut area is a good place for accessible fish for the heron and insects for the Magpie.

Someone gave one of the young Moorhens in the Italian Garden a bit of crust from a sandwich.

The Mute Swan in the Italian Garden had squeezed into one of the planters through a hole in the netting and was poking in the water. The hole was cut for Coots, which have torn down most of the clump of purple loosestrife, and probably the swan was looking for snails in the underwater remnants.

A teenage cygnet has turned up unexpectedly near the southeast corner of the Serpentine. It has a plastic ring, Orange 4FYW, which Bill Haines identified for me. The cygnet is female and was ringed in Regent's Park on 19 October. Let's hope it doesn't run foul of the killer swan. He is now spending most of his time on the Long Water.

Little Owls calling

Neither of the Little Owls at the Round Pond was visible, hardly surprising as their nest tree was covered with Jackdaws and Rose-Ringed Parakeets -- not threatening, but a nuisance for them.

Another Jackdaw perched on the sawn-off top of the dead tree. There are quite a lot of Jackdaws at the Round Pond now, maybe a dozen. A couple of years ago there was just one pair. They must be breeding here but I've never seen a young one.

However, the female Little Owl at the Serpentine Gallery could be seen on a high branch in the old sweet chestnut tree where the pair have their nest hole.

She called to her mate, who replied with a single call at 0.20 in this video.

The Jay I couldn't feed yesterday is still on speaking terms, and was pacified with a peanut.

The Jays in St James's Park get a richer diet of almonds thanks to Mark Williams, who took this picture of one trying to collect as many as possible.

Another picture by Mark, taken here at the Round Pond. Feeding Starlings is a painful process, as they have very sharp beaks and use them freely.

There was a brief glimpse of the Grey Wagtail running along the edge of the Serpentine at the Triangle car park.

The Peregrines were on the tower. By the time I got round to them the light had become very dim, so I couldn't get much of a photograph.

The old Grey Heron at the Henry Moore sculpture was sitting down again to rest his weary joints. In fact anatomically speaking, his legs are in the same position as those of a standing human since he is resting on his tarsi, the equivalent of human heels.

The reflection of an autumn tree made a golden background for a Cormorant at Peter Pan.

The pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull washed the blood off his face after his lunch and had a brief preen to keep himself looking good. He knows he is the smartest gull in the park.

Usually when a Moorhen advances on a Black-Headed Gull on a post the gull flies off. But this one wouldn't budge and the Moorhen had to retreat.

An avenue of flowers and candles was set up in the Italian Garden for a romantic proposal of marriage. One of the young Moorhens inspected it to see if there was anything edible. (I did film the proposal, but that's a private matter.)

The young Great Crested Grebe from the east end of the island is beginning to get a black crest.

The solitary Shoveller drake at the island has found a friend to shovel with. It's much more efficient to have another duck to stir up the water in front of you, so any two Shovellers will revolve together, not just mates.

The pair of Egyptian Geese who nest near Henry Moore were preening at the Vista.

Rain and sun

The male Little Owl at the Round Pond stood on the edge of the hole.

This is where the female is often seen, a sign that the pair have come together to sit out the winter in the hollow dead tree.

A Robin sang as the wind ruffled the shrubbery in the Rose Garden.

A Blackbird in an arbutus in the Dell searched for the last of the fruit, almost all of which had been eaten.

One of the many Wrens around the Long Water hopped along a log.

A Blue Tit waited in the corkscrew hazel in the Flower Walk.

Farther along the path the familiar male Chaffinch looked out from the leaves of a camellia bush.

They got their pine nuts, but I had run out of peanuts and a Jay regarded me reproachfully.

A Great Tit posed in a holly tree by the bridge ...

... and a Wood Pigeon took a moment off scoffing the fruit.

A fine double rainbow appeared as a heavy shower swept over the far side of the Serpentine.

The rain kept people off the Lido restaurant terrace, so the young Grey Heron who hangs around hoping for titbits had to fish like an honest bird.

As the sky cleared the sunlight lit up the spectacular sweetgum tree at the landing stage. The Black-Headed Gull who owns the platform swept across.

A young Herring Gull played with a very small stick.

The old heron at the Henry Moore sculpture, who used to sit down as if his arthritic joints were hurting, is now always seen standing up. Maybe he's feeling better, or maybe the ground is uncomfortably cold and wet.

A young Great Crested Grebe from the nest at the bridge was preening by Peter Pan.

A late Honeybee gathered pollen from the fatsia bush near the bridge.