Chaffinches

The female Chaffinch in the Flower Walk is now a widow, as she lost her mate earlier in the year. She was never as bold as he was, but after looking around nervously came down to the flower bed for some pine nuts thrown on the ground.

The old male in the Rose Garden is still with us, and appeared in the hawthorn tree where the small birds tend to gather. His mate, seen yesterday, hadn't come with him.

A Blue Tit waited on a teasel stem ...

... and a Coal Tit paused in a rose bush just long enough for a hasty picture.

A Coal Tit in the Dell was slightly easier to photograph in the corkscrew hazel bush ...

... and a Blue Tit was quite happy to pose in the yew tree.

A Wren lurked in stems beside the Serpentine Road.

This Robin singing at the corner of the Rose Garden isn't a regular customer, but accepted some pine nuts on the ground.

This one in the Flower Walk knows the drill, and perched on my hand to take four.

The white Feral Pigeon at the Lido restaurant has got grubby from scavenging on greasy plates.

There has been a Grey Heron in the east nest on the island for several days. Last year the herons started nesting in the middle of December, and the long season may be getting under way again.

The dominant Black-Headed Gull at the landing stage, going into breeding plumage early ...

... is being followed by another with Bill Haines's blue ring 2303. This is another high-ranking gull usually seen on a sign next to the Dell restaurant.

One of the two young Great Crested Grebes from the east end of the island was with its father but no longer pestering him for food, and spends some time fishing by itself. So it seems to be managing the difficult transition to independence.

The single teenager from the east end of the lake is still the only one I've actually seen catching a fair-sized fish.

The dark Mallard drake with the white bib, seen approaching on the Long Water, is recognisable from a distance with his striking pattern. On the black and dark drakes the normal white neck ring always seems to change into a bib.

Mediterranean Gull on the Serpentine

Bill Haines found a first-winter Mediterranean Gull on the Serpentine. I went looking for it with binoculars and eventually found it too far away for a photograph, but fortunately Bill saw it closer and provided a good picture.

They're hard to spot among the hundreds of Black-Headed Gulls that come to the lake for the winter. One of these was playing with a plane leaf ...

... and the dominant one from the landing stage stood on the Big Bird statue.

The grooved planks on the boat hire platform collect bird droppings when these are swept up, and these attract insects, so it's a good hunting ground for a Pied Wagtail.

More Jays are appearing, and two followed me down the east side of the Long Water demanding peanuts.

Ahmet Amerikali found a Song Thrush by the southwest corner of the bridge, where a pair bred earlier this year.

Two Coal Tits aprrived, one in the corkscrew hazel in the Dell ...

... and the other in the little hawthorn in the Rose Garden ....

... where the usual Robin was also waiting.

The male Chaffinch perched in a rose bush.

The Robin at Mount Gate came out when called, in front of an unseasonably blossoming hypericum.

A Grey Heron by one of the boathouses waited for a fish to emerge from under the wall ...

... and another looked out over the Long Water from a dead tree.

A Great Crested Grebe fishing along the edge of the Serpentine was mildly curious. The shore is another world for them, seen but never visited. 

A pair of Gadwalls browsed in the shallows.

A band of Mallards from the Vista visited an oak tree to look for insects and worms in the fallen leaves.

A single Little Japanese Umbrella mushroom emerged in the grass by the Serpentine Gallery. These tiny frail things last less than a day, wilting and drooping by evening.

A very quiet song

A Song Thrush sang very quietly to itself beside the Long Water. On a drizzly day it was easy to find worms and there were berries on the trees, so it was happy enough. At the end of the clip a passing Blackbird called ...

... as it flew into a hawthorn tree to eat the fruit.

A young Wood Pigeon had unwisely chosen a variegated holly tree with fewer berries than the ordinary green kind, and was having to work hard for its food.

Feral Pigeons sheltered from the rain under the cornice of the Serpentine bridge and took the opportunity to peck up grit from the sandstone.

A Great Tit in the Flower Walk perched in unseasonable viburnum blossom.

A Coal Tit came out of the bushes to take a pine nut.

Another in in the Dell clung to a yew twig ...

... while a Blue Tit waited in a bush.

The Robin at the southwest corner of the bridge collected several pine nuts in the intervals of chasing the tits around.

A Carrion Crow showed the way to Peter Pan.

Jays are appearing again after their usual absence in autumn while they gather acorns. One was near the Physical Energy statue ...

... and another was rummaging in fallen leaves by the leaf yard.

The lack of people and dogs on a wet day allowed Canada Geese to graze unmolested on the lawn east of the Triangle.

The single teenage Mute Swan on the Serpentine was mooching around peacefully ...

... as the killer swan and his family were on the Long Water.

The Shovellers seem to have left the park apart from a single drake on the far side of the Vista.

A plastic fox has been installed on the jetty at the Lido to keep away the Egyptian Geese. However, it has been chained up to stop people from stealing it, which seriously reduces any fear it might inspire.

Woodpeckers in the Dell

A pair of Great Spotted Woodpecker flew into a Dawn Redwood tree in the Dell. This species of tree, Metasequoia glyptoistroboides, was known only from fossils and believed to be extinct until one was discovered growing in China in 1941. After the war seeds were sent to botanic gardens around the world, and there are three trees in Hyde Park, now grown very tall.

The female flew away, but I got some film of the male climbing on the branches. You can tell he's male because he has a red patch on the back of his head.

One of the Coal Tit pair ...

... and a Blue Tit appeared in the big yew on the other side of the Dell.

Only two of the regular Robins could be seen, the one in the Rose Garden ...

... and the one at the southwest corner of the bridge.

Ahmet Amerikali got a picture of the Cetti's Warbler which is often here, though usually out of sight in the bushes ...

... and a Wren in the same place.

He also got a shot of the Kingfisher on the Long Water. I arrived just too late to see it. I have been having very bad luck with this bird.

A female Blackbird perched in a holly tree. We see sadly few Blackbirds now.

A Carrion Crow was having a wash in the Long Water, standing on a submerged branch.

A Jackdaw beside the Serpentine pecked at a branch, maybe trying to extract an insect from under the bark.

The Grey Wagtail hunted along the edge.

A Grey Heron has reoccupied the nest at the east end of the island, a successful breeding place which produced two broods earlier this year.

The dominant Black-Headed Gull on the landing stage is getting his black head already, months ahead of the others. I think he is full of male hormones which account for both this and his aggressive behaviour.

A pair of Coots preened on the edge of the Serpentine.

A pair of Egyptian Geese shouted at the others, then went for a drink in a puddle. The female quacks, the male makes a hoarse panting noise.

The big blond male often seen on the south shore was having a flap.