A camel in autumn

The statue group of Africa on the Albert Memorial had a most un-African background of the gentle tones of an English autumn.

The number of Common Gulls increases slowly, and today there were two side by side on the posts at Peter Pan, evidently mates.

A third gull appeared and knocked one off its post.

A fight ensued.

The Czech Black-Headed Gull on its post at Fisherman's Keep doesn't need to fight. The others know it's the boss and keep away.

The teenage Great Crested Grebe at the east end of the Serpentine spends a lot of time fishing but probably isn't catching much yet. Its parents are still feeding it.

A Coot stepped through the floating leaves at the edge of the lake ...

... and an adult Moorhen and a teenager preened.

Pochards dived in the Long Water under the parapet of the Italian Garden.

A Blue Tit in the Rose Garden waited on a hawthorn twig ...

... and one of the pair of Coal Tits allowed itself to be photographed in a rose bush.

The Robins are fairly tolerant of the camera because they know they'll get fed afterwards.

I hadn't seen the one by the Henry Moore sculpture for several days.

The weathervane on the Lido restaurant had a full house of Starlings.

A warmer day restored the Buff-Tailed Bumblebees to full activity. 

I don't think the inert one I filmed yesterday had anything wrong with it, it was just sluggish with cold.

Common Wasps were busy on the fatsia bush at the northwest corner of the bridge.

The Poplar Fieldcap fungus that destroyed the Lombardy poplar at Peter Pan celebrated its victory by putting out a second crop of mushrooms.

The new reed bed by the bridge is now being planted.

Apart from reeds there is a variety of plants including mint. The frame of the cage is made of PVC plumbing pipe which will only last about ten years in the open, but by the time it falls to bits the plants should be well enough established to resist the Mute Swans and Coots. There are also plans to replant or replace the ugly wire baskets around the island, and to add some floating rafts of plants in the lake which should please the birds.

Shy Coal Tit

It can take a long time to coax a shy Coal Tit in the Rose Garden into a place where it can be photographed.

Meanwhile several Great Tits ...

... and the local Robin turn up to take quantities of pine nuts.

The Blue Tit remained in a different bush laden with rose hips.

The Blackbirds in the blackthorn tree at the Lido also lurk in difficult places.

The red sweetgum tree by the Diana fountain would make a lovely background for just about any bird, but they don't like perching in it, and the spiky fruit is of no interest to them.

A young Herring Gull found what seemed to be the bottom of a drinks can in the lake, which it liked as a toy. It played with it for several minutes.

Pigeon Eater, in his usual spot by the Dell restaurant, carefully preened his wing. He is very fussy about keeping his feathers neat.

The Grey Heron at the Lido resented a Cormorant disturbing its patient fishing. It gets plenty of time to itself, though, as the number of Cormorants dwindles.

There were still two preening on the posts in the Long Water which are all that is left of the ill-fated tern raft.

The six Great Crested Grebes that arrived on the Serpentine recently are still in a compact group and haven't split up to claim territories. The one in the middle is a teenager newly able to fly.

The teenager at the east end was fishing with its mother by the reed bed.

There has been a single grebe in front of the island for some time. It's unusual to see them not in pairs. Maybe it lost its mate and hasn't found a new one.

The single young Egyptian was resting by the boathouses. I didn't want to disturb it to see how well its injured leg is recovering.

The wind got up in the afternoon, which encouraged a Mute Swan to take off. A brisk headwind reduces the considerable effort of getting airborne 

In the Rose Garden a Buff-Tailed Bumblebee on a thrashing lavender flower had to cling on for dear life.

As usual, the last customer was the Robin at Mount Gate, which emerged from under a bush when called.

Skittering grebe

The young Great Crested Grebe from the east end of the Serpentine charged furiously up the lake, nearly but not quite getting airborne. No doubt it could fly if it wanted to, but grebes really only fly properly if they have to move to another lake.

A band of young Herring Gulls chased a Common Gull which was holding a bit of bread. The agile bird effortlessly eluded them.

The dominant Mute Swan and his family, assembled at the Peter Pan waterfront, had a mass preening session as they waited for Sunday visitors to feed them.

The young swan on the Serpentine is now almost always escorted by at least one parent. They have been watching the increasing incursions of the dominant swan on to the Serpentine, and are rightly nervous.

The result of the killer male's ruthless violence is that most of the swans are crowded on to the Round Pond, which is far too small to hold them comfortably.

The Black Swan was on the other side. When he sees me he instantly comes over for some sunflower seeds, which is why most pictures show him approaching.

Three Red-Crested Pochard drakes lurked under the bushes at the Vista. Unlike the Common Pochards they are irregular visitors and there are never many of them.

I'm not sure whether this Shoveller drake on the Serpentine is immature, or whether it's being much slower than the others at changing into breeding plumage.

Wood Pigeons gorged on ripe holly berries near the bridge. I was hoping for one of them to reach too far and fall out of the tree, as they often do and it makes a good ending toi a video, but the abundant berries were accessible and they stayed put.

Ahmet Amerikali found a Blackbird with a white head in Southwark Park. There used to be several leucistic Blackbirds in Kensington Gardens, but the precipitous decline in numbers caused by destruction of their habitats means that you can now spend days without seeing a Blackbird at all.

Robins are more resilient for some reason, and there are still lots of them. This one in the Flower Walk came out to take several pine nuts.

The Robin at the southwest corner of the bridge remains nervous and will only snatch one in a hasty swoop.

A Great Tit stared expectantly from a small hawthorn in the Rose Garden ...

... but the regular Coal Tits ...

... and Blue Tits collected in a now leafless cercis bush.

There's always a Jackdaw in wait near the Speke obelisk.

Wasps browsed on fatsia flowers in the Flower Walk. Like its close relative ivy, fatsia blossoms late in the year and is an abundant source of nectar when the other flowers have withered.

There was a pretty clump of white-flowered deadnettles near the Round Pond.

A treat for a Coal Tit

Generally when you give a pine nut to a Coal Tit it takes it away to hide and eat later, but this one in the Rose Garden decided to have it at once. Coal Tits like to live in the stone pines that produce these seeds, so they are a favourite food.

There were plenty more takers here: the other Coal Tit with a Blue Tit ...

... another Blue Tit with a Great Tit ...

... and the Robin in the hawthorn.

The day wouldn't be complete without a visit from the Robin at Mount Gate.

Blackbirds are constantly seen lurking at the back of the bushes east of the Lido, where there are several blackthorns providing abundant sloes for them. I think they nested here earlier, as I have seen several together on the ground ...

... but this old nest seems too big and twiggy for a Blackbird, though smaller than a typical Magpie nest.

Rose-Ringed Parakeets foraged on a barren patch near the Queen's Temple. Usually when they're on the ground they're eating dandelion leaves, but I couldn't see what the attraction was here.

Another Common Gull has arrived at the Lido, a little one hardly larger than the Black-Headed Gulls either side of it.

The first Common Gull was right at the other end of the swimming area and taking no notice of it.

Most of the Common Gulls in the park congregate at the Round Pond, and here they are quite social birds.

Pigeon Eater had a background of floating leaves by the Dell restaurant.

A fallen Lombardy poplar at the Peter Pan waterfront has become a favourite hangout for the remaining Cormorants on the Long Water.

The single Great Crested Grebe chick from the nest at the bridge is almost completely grown up and only retains faint traces of its juvenile stripes.

The one at the east end of the lake is less advanced, but both are now fishing for themselves and only pestering their parents occasionally.

A Grey Heron in the Dell was looking for fish on the upper side of the small waterfall.

If the fish in the top half of the small stream are swept over the fall they can't get back, and indeed there do seem to be more fish on the downstream side. Here they have to avoid going down the drain to the Thames, or into the pump that powers the top cascade of the big waterfall. Nevertheless, fish seem to abound in this awkward habitat.

Some autumn colour: a red sweetgum by the Diana fountain, with a yellow poplar on the other side of the lake ...

... a Japanese maple by the bridge ...

... and a clump of stinking iris by the Vista.