Two Little Owls at the Round Pond

Two Little Owls could be seen at the Round Pond, both in the usual horse chestnut tree. This is the familiar female we see almost daily.

You would have expected the other to be her mate, but this is clearly a female owl with unusually short eyebrows. She may be their single offspring from this year come back to visit her old haunts. The established female made no effort to throw her out.

A Jackdaw perched on the owls' nest tree.

A Song Thrush ate fruit in the yew to the north of Peter Pan.

A flock of Long-Tailed Tits moved along the edge of the Serpentine. I've never worked out whether there are several winter flocks or whether we're seeing the same one over and over again as it moved quickly around the park.

A row of Black-Headed Gulls preened together on the plastic buoys at the Lido.

A Grey Heron was fishing under the collapsed willow at the bridge.

A Cormorant had a frantic wash on the Long Water ...

... and scrambled on to a post to dry itself.

Another Cormorant was nudged away by a Coot, and went. It really had nothing to fear, but aggressive Coots are a nuisance to birds of any size.

Two pairs of Great Crested Grebes hang around near the south shore of the Serpentine a short way to the east of the island. All is peaceful until the west wind brings the western pair drifting ...

... within 40 yards of the eastern pair, which then wake up and call a warning and sometimes have a small display until the western pair retreat. They used to have bigger disputes than this, even fights, but have now settled down.

Gadwall and Pochard drakes perched side by side at the Vista.

There are still some Common Carder bees. This one was in a baby sage bush in the Rose Garden.

The Chinese Rice Paper tree in the Dell has produced its odd furry flowers.

This is part of the original plan of the Dell when it was landscaped in the 1880s to display subtropical plants, though it may not be an original tree from that time. There are some New Zealand tree ferns nearby. Later additions are three Dawn Redwoods: believed to be an extinct species known only from fossils, it was discovered growing in China in 1941, after which specimens were sent to botanical gardens in other countries. The latest addition is another tree thought extinct, the Wollemi Pine, of which living specimens were discovered in Australia in 1994. The Dell is now on its second one, as the first one died.

A pansy waited to be planted at the Lido restaurant. The variety is Matrix Solar Flare and I find it quite sinister.

Lastly, after I was doubtful of the species of the frilly-edged bracket fungus pictured yesterday, Duncan Campbell has found another. It's on the left of his picture, growing next to some plainer kind of polypore. I hope Mario can identify these, as I certainly can't.

Why Common Gulls aren't common

A rather dull day was relieved by a sight of the Little Owl at the Round Pond nestling in the yellow leaves of the horse chestnut tree. When they fall she will probably desert the tree and spend most of the day in her hole, and we shall be denied the spectacle of this lovely creature.

By the way, we're always seeing the female owl here. The male is certainly around and I've occasionally heard him calling, but male Little Owls are much more mobile than females and he may be anywhere within 100 yards.

The Blackbirds in the Rose Garden shrubbery remain very shy despite attempts to befriend them with sultanas. It's only very occasionally that you can get one of these very nervous birds to trust you.

The two Robins at Mount Gate are getting quite confident now.

This one was singing on a hawthorn near Peter Pan.

The Grey Wagtail appeared briefly on the edge of the Dell waterfall.

The barrier of spiked railings at the end of the Lido restaurant terrace is there, I suppose, to prevent people from getting into the bathing area without paying. But it's handy for Magpies wanting to bathe ...

... as it gives them a perch to dry themselves on.

The Czech Black-Headed Gull had reclaimed its usual post ...

... and the even more dominant bird who owns the landing stage at the Diana fountain was back on station, with no other gull within 50 yards. One you can identify particular gulls, you realise how strong the hierarchy is in their society.

Two Common Gulls could be seen at the Triangle.

They trickle in gradually and numbers have not yet built up to their winter maximum, usually about 50 in the whole park, most of them at the Round Pond. There are usually more than ten times as many Black-Headed Gulls here. I looked up the RSPB estimates of the numbers in Britain, and there are about three times as many Black-Headed as Common. The different ratio in the park must reflect the fact that the Common Gulls are much more 'seagulls', seen on the coast. The influx of Black-Headed and Herring Gulls into Central London is fairly recent. They seldom came upstream of the docks right to the end of the 19th century.

A young Grey Heron was looking for fish under some floating leaves, a good place as small fish lurk under any surface cover.

I wonder how young herons find out such things so quickly. Unlike, for example, Great Crested Grebes, they get no training from their parents, so it must be a combination of instinct and quick learning in order to survive the shock of independence.

A fine Shoveller drake cruised past Peter Pan ...

... and one of the Pochards came over to the Vista.

A Gadwall pair cropped algae off the edge of the Serpentine ...

... and a female Tufted Duck preened until she was scared into the water by an approaching dog.

The Red-Crested Pochards, which are occasional visitors from St James's Park, were all away, and I haven't seen a Mandarin here for some time although there are lots in Battersea Park.

Two bracket fungi on some old horse chestnuts on the slope from the Flower Walk up to the Round Pond. Later: Mario has identified this one as Smoky Bracket, Bjerkandera adusta, which we have seen before but only in a very small clump.

But I'm not at all sure about this one, not helped by damage to it. Later: Again Mario has identified it: Giant Polypore, Meriplius giganteus, but still quite small as it can grow to a width of several feet.

It would be pleasing to know more about fungi -- and insects -- but learning about birds is already a challenge.

No shortage of Robins

I've never heard so many Robins in the park. They are singing and chattering and ticking everywhere. This one was in the Rose Garden.

Another was just up the slope in the shrubbery. This one comes out for pine nuts ...

... and so does the male Chaffinch here.

Two Robins at Mount Gate are mates in the nesting season but now shouting crossly at each other.

The Little Owl at the Round Pond looked serene in her tree ...

... but later was pestered by a Magpie.

The Peregrines were on the tower after an absence of several days. I photogtraphed them from across the lake in case they flew away before I could get a closer shot. They did.

Pigeon Eater had chased off his rival and was resting in his usual place on the roof.

A Black-Headed Gull played with a leaf it had snatched from a Coot, just to annoy it.

Now that the youngest brood of herons are out of the nest and exploring the park, a parent can return and have a rest without being bothered.

The Great Crested Grebes on the Long Water are still being pestered by their two teenagers ...

... but are now thinking that they should be fishing for themselves. One got fed but the pushier of the two was chased off.

It can be alarming having a Mute Swan flying straight at you.

A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee browsed on yet another variety of Salvia. This is Bog Sage, Salvia uliginosa.

The weather was still mild but I only saw one butterfly, a Speckled Wood on an Olearia in the Rose Garden.

Shaggy Parasol mushrooms, Macrolepiota rhacodes, are common in the park, and this one was near the Round Pond.

True Parasols, M. procera, are rather rare. This is a shame, as they are very good to eat, while the Shaggy variety is an uncertain mushroom and gives some people a digestive upset.

Autumn sunshine

It was an unexpectedly beautiful day. A red sweetgum tree shone in the sunshine behind the Lido ...

... where a Wren was darting around in the undergrowth.

A Starling shone brilliantly on the restaurant terrace.

A Robin by the Henry Moore sculpture stared suspiciously at the camera.

A Carrion Crow enjoyed a splash in the Serpentine.

The Little Owl at the Round Pond looked down from her usual tree at three people taking pictures of her. She's used to it now.

Pigeon Eater's rival had again taken his place on the Dell restaurant roof ...

... but Pigeon Eater was too busy to notice. A Feral Pigeon bathing is vulnerable to one of his sudden rushes.

This one noticed and came out in time. It turned out to be a strayed racing pigeon -- note the plastic ring on its leg. It was looking rough in its new wild life away from the loft.

A Grey Heron stood in the most comfortable spot on the floating wire baskets surrounding the island, where there is a tussock of grass.

The baskets were supposed to be full of ornamental waterside plants, all of which were chewed to bits by the Coots. It's being slowly recolonised by Great Willowherb and Purple Loosestrife, which grow well on the soggy artificial soil, but grass has only established itself in one place.

One of the young Great Crested Grebes on the Long Water waited under the parapet of the Italian Garden...

... while its father fished in the old water filter under the fountain. He didn't catch anything while I was there, as the place has been pretty much cleaned out by Cormorants.

A Moorhen preened in the sunshine among fallen leaves.

I counted 19 Shovellers on the Long Water. They have been arriving gradually and we may get more.

A Common Darter dragonfly basked on the stonework of the Italian Garden.

A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee in the Rose Garden bustled around in a patch of plumbago. It had slight difficulty climbing on to one of the shiny leaves where it couldn't get a grip with its spiky feet.