Juvenile Cormorant

Definitely better in large ("L"): the narrow format makes it too small otherwise...

This is a juvenile cormorant calling (well, barking...) on one of the water outlet islands on Mount Pond: it wasn't making a pleasant noise. These islands are used to maintain the water level in the pond: when turned on, water spouts out of the middle like a fountain... There are almost always birds resting on them; I've never been at the pond when staff have actually been turning on the flow of water, but I can't believe that it doesn't involve startling a bird (or several) rather spectacularly.
The colours reflected on the water are from the "snack van" café/trailer that lives by the pond (and which seems to be kept in business by local police), and other cars parked on the road alongside it.

Today is the first ever (UN) International Happiness Day: I was very tempted to blip a photo of Mr. (Egyptian) Goose because he is beautiful and adorable and makes me happy, but they've goslings on the way so I'd better hold off from blipping Egyptian geese in preparation for the upcoming glut. I've been trying to follow Mr. back to where Mrs. is nesting, but he's being crafty and won't lead me to her; I always have to leave before he returns to her on her nest...

p.s. Today was a good day for "birding" in south-west London: I saw dunnocks, goldfinches, greenfinches (first time), a parakeet, great tits, blue tits, long-tailed tits, robins, a wren, as well as water birds and all of the usual suspects... I managed to get at least one photograph of each!