One of the youngest Great Crested Grebe chicks on the Long Water was still begging a parent for food.

Later, it had a go at fishing for itself ...

... and it must have caught something, because a Black-Headed Gull swooped on it and it had to crash dive.

A Mute Swan that has been in one of the fountain pools in the Italian Garden for several days had managed to haul itself up the stone kerb, and was preening to calm down after the effort. On the water side the kerb is about 18 inches high, without any kind of foothold.

I've only once seen how a swan gets out of the pool, and didn't manage to get a photograph in time. They rush headlong at the kerb, crash into it, and flap desperately to get up. Somehow this doesn't seem to injure them. Feathers are a good shock absorber. Duckboards are provided for climbing out of these ponds, but I've never seen any bird use them for this purpose.

This is the family of Egyptian Geese that like to lie in the middle of the road. In wet weather they find it more comfortable to stand in a puddle.

The Diana fountain is closed for maintenance, and the pair of Herring Gulls that are usually here can lounge about undisturbed.

A Pied Wagtail ...

... and a Grey Wagtail hunted for insects at the edge of the Serpentine.

While the Blue Tits at the bridge came out to be fed ...

... a Chaffinch, a Dunnock and a Blackbird searched for insects under the bushes.

Another Blackbird ate holly berries.

A Magpie posed grandly against a background of autumn leaves.

The workmen on the island haven't been provided with a boat or so much as a paddle, and have to haul themselves around on a raft made of twelve interlocking pontoon blocks.

A bird feeder was wearing a splendid flamingo hat.

There were small flocks of Goldfinches in the treetops both beside the Long Water and in the Rose Garden. They have been scarce lately, and it's good to see some.

A female Chaffinch perched on a bush in the Rose Garden.

But the Chaffinch family near the bridge have moved away, and I haven't found where they went.

A Blackbird examined a pile of dead leaves in the Dell, a valuable hunting ground for many insect-eating birds. If only the gardeners would stop blowing leaves out of the shrubberies we would have many more birds.

A flock of Long-Tailed Tits moved along the edge of the Serpentine towards the bridge.

A Robin perched in front of the red dogwood bushes at the east end of the Lido.

The weekend crowds at the Winter Wasteland have brought more business to the temporary snack bar at the Lido, and with it Pied Wagtails hunting insects attracted to the spilt food. Two waited on the roof.

Two Carrion Crows enjoyed a vigorous wash in the Serpentine.

A Grey Heron stood in an old nest on the island. They often nest very early in the New Year, but will now have to wait till work on the island is finished.

Most of the Herring Gulls on the Serpentine are in their first two years of life, with the mottled tweedy feathers of young birds. This shows how fast the population is expanding from the very successful breeding site in Paddington.

The god of the Westbourne river is represented on the central keystone of the loggia in the Italian Garden, while his nymphs pour water into the lake. Actually the river has been diverted around the north side of the park in a pipe because it was foul, and the water now comes from a borehole. No wonder the god looks so depressed.

A Jackdaw perched disrespectfully on the head of one of the nymphs.

The Black Swan is still on the Round Pond.

Another fine picture by Tom of one of the Barn Owls at Rainham Marshes.

The electric fence is to keep the cows on the grazing fields in the middle of the marsh.

A female Blackbird in the Rose Garden called irritably, not a full alarm call but a sign that all was not quite right in her world. It wasn't me bothering her, as this was filmed from quite a distance.

Her mate was on the wet grass looking for worms.

A Pied Wagtail ran around on the edge of the Serpentine. The bare pavement is a better hunting ground than it looks, because the numerous bird droppings attract insects.

There seem to be at least three Coal Tits in the shrubbery near the bridge, not surprising as they nested there earlier this year. Two will now come to my hand, but the other or others stay in the bushes and have to be fed on the ground.

There's no difficulty with the Great Tits.

Two Long-Tailed Tits flitted expertly through twigs at the base of a lime tree. Their very long tails don't seem to hamper them in the slightest.

A Magpie posed grandly on an urn in the Italian Garden. One of the few advantages of this dark, dank and dismal time of year is that you can usually find a pretty background of autumn leaves.

Another Magpie was annoying the pigeon-eating Lesser Black-Backed Gull, trying to grab a bit of his lunch.

Work on the island has stopped for the weekend, and the birds are creeping back. A Grey Heron realised that the space between the pontoon and the shore was a good place to lurk and wait for a fish to poke its head out from shelter.

A Cormorant was fishing in the Italian Garden, staying close to the familiar trio of the Red-Crested Pochard and two Mallards. They may have provided some kind of cover for it, but a hunting Cormorant must be conspicuous under water. You sometimes see Great Crested Grebes fishing in the middle of flocks of geese, whose harmless paddling feet don't frighten the fish and lull them into false security.

Anyway, it caught a perch along with a beakful of algae that had to be discarded.

Great Crested Grebes are very variable in the way they change their plumage. Most of the grebes on the lake are now in their plain winter feathers, but this one has still got its full summer finery.

There was an outbreak of fashion on the shore of the Serpentine, with circling Black-Headed Gulls as elegant accessories.

I don't quite know what was happening in the Rose Garden, but I'm sure it was very artistic.

An autumn view across the Long Water, taken from the Queen's Temple where I was sheltering during a heavy shower.

The Grey Heron at the Dell restaurant is working its way up to becoming a table raider. It had better watch its step. The previous heron, which would jump on to occupied tables and grab food off people's plates, disappeared in unexplained circumstances.

The female Peregrine was back on the barracks tower.

A Cormorant caught a small perch under the marble fountain of the Italian Garden. Thanks to Ahmet Amerikali for this close-up shot.

Black-Headed Gulls perched on the ornaments. One of them, on the hand of a stone nymph, looked carefully around the area for something to grab.

A Common Gull took the topmost perch on the fallen poplar in the Long Water.

A Wood Pigeon ...

... and a Long-Tailed Tit perched on twigs near the bridge.

This pleasing portrait of a Blue Tit on a mimosa leaf is by Mark Williams.

The teenage Mute Swan on the Long Water is still hanging around with its parents, and will be allowed to stay with them till the next nesting season. Here it is with its father touting for food a Peter Pan.

A Coot perched on the trunk of a fallen birch tree, one of many birches that have died and collapsed on the island.

Work on the island continues briskly. Here the workmen are bringing in readymade mats of reeds to plant around the restored pond. This will be fenced off to stop nesting swans from wrecking it, but the reeds will still be exposed to destructive Coots and we shall have to see if they survive.

Hugh Smith the Wildlife Officer saw a Water Rail on the island this morning, but I don't have a picture.

A Gadwall on the Serpentine scratched her ear.

A tremendous clatter announced the arrival of a new air ambulance on Buck Hill. This wasn't the usual London MD902 air ambulance, but a much larger AgustaWestland AW169 from the Essex and Herts service. The pilot, unfamiliar with this tree-lined space, took off rather tentatively compared to the pilot of the London service, who has landed and taken off thousands of times here and flings his machine into the sky.

Tom was at Rainham Marshes again, and sent a fine picture of a Short-Eared Owl in totally silent flight.

A Lapwing was seen this morning at the north end of the Parade Ground between the Winter Wasteland and Marble Arch. Later it flew down to the Serpentine.

Two Great Spotted Woodpeckers appeared in a chestnut tree on the south side of the lake, probably the same ones seen near the bridge yesterday. Again, this is a female.

There has been a considerable arrival of Blackbirds, as usual including many immature males. Here's one beside the Long Water ...

... and another in St James's Park, photographed by Mark Williams.

It was a cold day, and so dark that the gas lamps switched themselves on with their battery-powered phtoelectric cells (an odd mix of old and new). A Carrion Crow took the opportunity to warm itself over the chimney.

A Jay looked out from an oak.

Long-Tailed Tits worked their way up the edge of the Long Water.

A Pied Wagtail hunted along the edge of the Serpentine at the Dell restaurant.

A young Herring Gull played with a mossy stone.

The Rose-Ringed Parakeets, so well camouflaged in summer, are now conspicuous against the bare branches.

There is no doubt that they will recognise their feeder when she next appears beside the Peter Pan statue.

A female Tufted Duck looked up appealingly, hoping to be fed.

The Serpentine island is being cleared with great thoroughness. A chipping machine was being floated across to deal with the debris.

Many new trees and bushes will be planted. It will be better in the end, but I don't think the Grey Herons are going to be able to nest when they normally start around the New Year.

Tom was at Rainham Marshes, and saw a Grey Heron catch a Gurnard on the muddy bank of the Thames. This is a new species of fish for the site, but it really wasn't having a good afternoon.