Birding in London

[Joe Below]

Can anyone recommend any good spots for birding in London and possiby wildlife photography?

I find Hampstead Heath pretty good for woodpeckers, there are some kestrals that are always present on the turret of the climbing wall at the north end of Clissold Park. I ve seen the odd sparrowhawk here too and it's also good for herons. Parakeets are good in many places but I particularly like viewing them at Peckham Rye.

[TomSmith]

Try the excellent London Birders (http://editthis.info/londonbirders/Main_Page) wiki site, which has a list of good local sites and a regularly updated Recent Sightings page. There's also a Yahoo Groups-based mailing list for discussion of local birdlife. The "Where to watch birds in..." series of books has a London entry (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Where-Watch-Birds-London-Area/dp/0713638680) which is very thorough although slightly out of date.

Generally speaking the very best sites are on the eastern edge of the city (Rainham Marshes (http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/r/rainhammarshes/index.asp) and so on) but the larger parks can be very good too, as is the excellent and beginner-friendly London Wetland Centre (http://www.wwt.org.uk/centre/119/London.html) at Barnes.