London/Surrey borders birding (1 Viewer)

As I said in my introductory thread I live a few miles outside Wimbledon (in New Malden for those that know the area but I find Wimbledon a useful landmark for those who are not too familiar with south-west London) and thought it might be nice to record and discuss the birds seen while out and about the area.

Richmond Park is my local patch I guess, insomuch as it's the area I visit most often. I also take in London Wetland Centre, Bushy Park, Home Park and some stretches of the river such as that between Kingston and Hampton Court.

My suburban location means I have a reasonable back garden (by London standards anyway) which contains a few feeders. Unfortunately garden sightings are kept pretty low by the large number of cats in the neighbourhood (two of which are mine, I admit) but even a few birds is better than none.

I'll try and keep this up to date with any sightings and news. Be warned though, I'm a weekend birder mainly and tend to see little of real interest on the way to/from work so don't expect too many midweek updates.

I'm also trying to get my bird list in better order before I head off this weekend to visit family in NE Lincs and pop up to Bempton Cliffs/Flamborough Head in East Yorkshire so I may not have picked the best time to start this thread. Oh well, it shows willing if nothing else |=)|

Off to London tomorrow/Wednesday and staying in Richmond, and if I get the chance, I'll be up early on Wednesday morning for a wander around Richmond park!

lazza said:

Off to London tomorrow/Wednesday and staying in Richmond, and if I get the chance, I'll be up early on Wednesday morning for a wander around Richmond park!

Click to expand...

It was rather misty/foggy when I got up this morning but hopefully you still managed to have a good look round Richmond Park. It's a beautiful area. I still haven't quite worked out the best way to bird it 'properly' - the missus and I tend to just wander round and see what we see as it's as much about getting out and about in the fresh air as it is birding most of the time.

I'd be interested to hear what you saw in the park as I haven't been there for 10 days or so as I have been pottering about other places. As I said in the original post I probably started this thread at entirely the wrong time as it was just before I went away for a long weekend. But I will be writing up reports of that later today, even though it was spent a long way away from the London/Surrey borders.

AWAY DAY - Grimsby, NE Lincs, 25th April

I had planned to start with a quick overview of what we (the missus & I) saw both from the train on the way up to my mum's in Grimsby, NE Lincs and also as we pottered alongside the River Freshney that runs not far from the back of my mum's place but I can't seem to find a list from that day, which is a shame. I don't think we saw that much of interest but let's see what I can recall from memory. Future reports will be more accurate, I promise :t:

The garden birds up that way are quite different to those I see locally. For example, the area is flooded with house sparrows - a bird I rarely see in our garden. We've had the odd one or two over the years but no more. There are plenty down the road from us but not in our garden, unfortunately. Mum's garden also attracts a good number of collared doves (another I don't see locally), wood pigeons, dunnocks, blackbirds, starlings, chaffinches and the occasional goldfinch. Blue tits and great tits seem to be infrequent visitors but still present.

The walk around part of the River Freshney between Wybers Wood and the back of Grimsby Golf Club didn't turn up too much but it was peeing with rain. A good number of mallards, a couple of mute swans plus swallows and house martins were probably the highlights. I can't really recall seeing much else bird-wise. There was a water vole in the river as we walked back - I've seen a few round there now.

We covered this patch a couple more times later in the trip and I have kept lists for those visits so I'll come back to those shortly.

AWAY DAY - Bempton Cliffs, East Riding of Yorkshire, 26th April

Drove (OK, was driven) up to Bempton Cliffs on the Saturday morning, arriving there around 11am. It had been drizzling or worse all morning and was pretty windy. But I was determined to make the most of it, even if the rest of the party were somewhat less enthusiastic at this point. So we parked up, I unpacked scope & tripod, slung the bins round my neck and marched off through the visitors centre/shop and out onto the windy cliffs.

There wasn't much happening away from the cliffs, in the fields around the reserve. At least not in the morning. When the weather cleared up after lunch there was a bit more life, including a few skylarks and what was IDed on this forum as a corn bunting sat on some barbed wire in front of the old radar station.

On the cliffs there were tens of thousands of seabirds, a real spectacle. Gannets, razorbills, guillemots, kittiwakes, herring gulls, fulmars and beautiful puffins too. There weren't that many puffins - we saw maybe half a dozen on the cliffs and around 20 out on the water - but trying to spot them in amongst the auks was great fun! Watching the gannets rip huge chunks of grass and vegetation out of the banks and fly off to go dress their nests was a great experience too.

Quite a few life ticks for me at Bempton too, which is always satisfying. The complete list of species identified that day is (in roughly the order seen):
Pheasant, Tree sparrow, House sparrow, Dunnock, Puffin, Guillemot, Razorbill, Kittiwake, Skylark, Blackbird, Goldfinch, Gannet, Collared dove, Magpie, Carrion crow, Fulmar, Lapwing, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Swallow, House martin, Herring gull, Corn bunting, Shag plus a hare in the fields leading up to the reserve.
(life ticks in bold)

Some of those species (e.g. kittiwake, guillemot) aren't technically life ticks but this was by far the best view I'd have of them. We'd 'seen' them at Dungeness while seawatching but I am sure that left to my own devices I wouldn't have IDed them, or even seen them clearly down there. But at Bempton I had such great views that I couldn't fail to identify them so I feel much happier about them being on the life list now.

More reports covering Flamborough and a couple of other places to follow, along with some nice pictures, all being well

AWAY DAY - Flamborough Head, East Riding of Yorkshire, 27th April

After a spot of breakfast in the B&B we were up and at 'em. I wasn't in charge of where we went and when as the trip was organised by my non-birding mother but she did take into account the fact that I wanted to get some quality birdwatching in. I think we visited most/all of the main sites around Flamborough and as I was being ferried about rather than having to trek it on foot or use public transport I was (and indeed still am) grateful that we got round as many sites as we did.

We started off around South Landing, parking up at the YWT visitors centre there and heading through the woodland running off the car park. Things started nicely with a great spotted woodpecker drumming as we were unpacking bits from the car. As we headed across the car park it flew into the trees and onto the feeders opposite the visitors centre where it spent a while raiding the sunflower heart feeder. The woods were alive with the sound of chiffchaffs. A pair of blackcaps had me confused for a short while as it was a sound I knew but couldn't place until I clapped eyes on them. There were also a couple of sweet little treecreepers, one of my missus' favourite birds so she was happy.

The highlight of the woods, in more ways than one, was definitely the yellowhammers though. There were at least a couple of them sitting out on open branches, showing gloriously. A lifer for me and having seen them so clearly they are definitely up there in terms of top birds, in my opinion at least. We crossed the little bridge across the ravine and worked back towards the sea on the other side where we saw more yellowhammers, a kestrel hunting around the cliff above the lifeboat station and a pair of linnet - another bird that's not a life tick for me as I 'saw' it around Dungeness last year but this was the first time I'd laid clean eyes on it and was able to say to myself "That's definitely a linnet". It helps when they land in the top of scrubby bushes rather than dashing around in flight as they did in Dungeness.

The cliffs and beach at South Landing didn't have much else to show. There were a couple of shags flying across the sea and a pair of oystercatchers landed on the beach but nothing else of real note.

A spot of lunch at a cafe by the lighthouse was followed by a little potter round the area and some of Mr Moo's excellent ice cream (a life tick on the ice cream list!). A few pied wagtails were bobbing about on the grass around the cafe area. Out to sea there was the mix of seabirds I expected to see having been to Bempton Cliffs the previous day (razorbills, guillemots, kittiwakes, gannets etc).

Next up was Thornwick Bay (I think). Not much going on here other than a steady stream of gannets heading up the coast. The area out the back of the cafe there brought a pair of stonechat and the odd male reed bunting.

We popped up to North Landing and very quickly turned round and left again after seeing nothing special from the car. I had been pushing for a trip to Thornwick Pool at the holiday park, having read about it that morning. After a little difficulty convincing the others I knew where it was (or could at least blag my way to it) we parked up in the holiday camp and trekked across the playing fields to the top hide at the pool. I set up the scope and had a good look around. A few waders (common sandpiper, green sandpiper, redshank) and a few ducks (tufted, shelduck etc) and not too much else but it's a nice little set-up they have there. Shame I missed the little ringed plover that was supposedly about that day but you can't get 'em all.

Flamborough Head list (life ticks in bold):
Greenfinch, Carrion crow, House sparrow, Woodpigeon, Pheasant, Collared dove, Chaffinch, Great spotted woodpecker, Blue tit, Blackbird, Magpie, Dunnock, Treecreeper, Chiffchaff, Robin, Blackcap, Goldfinch, Unidentified warbler*, Thrush (probably Song but not 100%), Yellowhammer, Skylark, Kestrel, Great tit, House martin, Linnet, Shag, Oystercatcher, Herring gull, Tree sparrow, Pied wagtail, Gannet, Razorbill, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Starling, Mallard, Greylag goose, Stonechat, Reed bunting, Moorhen, Tufted duck, Redshank, Shelduck, Common sandpiper, Coot, Swallow, Green sandpiper, Sparrowhawk, Mute swan

There was a heron spotted by a stream running alongside the road on the way home, near Immingham, too.

On the non-bird front we also saw hare, rabbit and grey squirrel.

*The unidentified warbler obviously won't go on the real list. I'm not even sure I have a photo of it. All I know is it was some sort of warbler and not a Chiffchaff. At this stage in my 'career' they all look the same to me! :eek!:

AWAY DAY - RSPB Tetney Marshes, Lincs, 28th April

I was able to persuade my mum & her husband to drive us out to RSPB Tetney Marshes. What I didn't realise at the time was they were relying on me to find it! We had a merry potter around random bits of the area before they broke this news to me though! I think they were expecting to follow the AA roadmap to the general Tetney area and then the RSPB reserve would be clearly signposted. I had said a couple of times that I didn't think it was a reserve with a visitors' centre and all that, more a protected area managed by the RSPB but I'm not sure that sank in. Anyway, after a few false starts we stumbled across it. If anyone is interested (and I may update - or at least suggest an update to the Opus page) get to Humberston Fitties, follow 1st Main Rd through there and there is a car park right at the end with a couple of paths that lead into the reserve.

We arrived around lunchtime so stopped for a sandwich and a cup of tea before heading out. The car park is by a lagoon so I got the scope and bins out for a scout around & to see what was what. Things were a little quiet with just a few mallards, a dozen or so swans, a pair of shelducks and some unidentifiable waders that later turned out to be redshank.

As I unpacked scope and bins I was approached by a lady asking if we were here to see the black-necked grebe. I didn't even know there was supposed to be one around and the tone of her question gave me no clue as to whether she meant "Are you here to see the black-necked grebe? Because, if so, I can point you in the right direction" or "Are you here to see the black-necked grebe? If so, can you point it out to me too please?" Unfortunately it turned out to be the latter. She soon left and neither of us saw a black-necked grebe that day :-C

The first path we took off the car park ran close to the beach side of the lagoon and didn't extend that far before it was fenced off with no access to the marsh (and rightly so). There were a few little birds around including skylarks aplenty and what turned out to be a linnet. This path also allowed good views of the redshank out on the lagoon.

After heading back through the car park we followed a path round the lagoon and up onto slightly higher ground running between the marshes on one side and fields on the other. This raised path allowed great views of birds on both sides of the way. It was at the start of this path that I saw my first whitethroat, a bird I was only able to identify so quickly having read a few ID threads on this forum the night before, including one on whitethroats! Beautiful little birds though, really pretty.

The bushes running alongside the path also threw up a number of reed buntings and male wheatears, although the first wheatear we saw was actually in one of the fields. There was also the odd yellowhammer and chaffinch about too.

We followed this path out for 2 or 3 miles then turned round and followed it right back again. More of the same really, as you'd expect, but as we got fairly close to the car park end of the path we saw three little egret in the marshes plus a number of woodpigeons and the odd redshank in there too. At one point a curlew flew down and after taking my eyes off him I struggled to find him again. I knew roughly where he was but all I could find in that area were several reed buntings, so I wasn't disappointed. Turns out the curlew was there too, just further back then I was looking. I'd got as far as the reed buntings and stopped |=\|

Tetney Marshes list: (life ticks in bold)
Pheasant, Mallard, Blackbird, Goldfinch, Starling, House sparrow, Woodpigeon, Mute swan, Magpie, Shelduck, Carrion crow, Little egret, Swallow, Herring gull, Black headed gull, Redshank, Skylark, Reed bunting, Whitethroat, Chaffinch, Moorhen, Wheatear, Yellowhammer, Curlew, Linnet

There was also a hare in one of the fields on the far side of the marshes.

AWAY DAY - Grimsby, NE Lincs, 28th April

On the way back from Tetney Marshes I had a birding itch that still needed to be scratched so rather than be a dutiful son and help out with cooking dinner I dragged the missus out birding along the River Freshney again. When I was growing up in the area the Freshney was regarded as a bit of a joke but now it seems to contain nice clear water capable of supporting all manner of life. The area we visit when up there is a little wetlands area out the back of the Wybers Wood estate, a few patches of flooded woodland bordered with plenty of scrub/shrubland and a river path. The dead trees make it seem quite stark at times but we have seen a good number of species in the area.

A robin merrily sang our way onto the path and always makes for a good solid opening to a birding walk. A blackbird and a blackcap were soon on the list too, and this was before we'd actually caught sight of any water. The distinctive sound of at least one chiffchaff was carrying on the breeze. They are a species I only really became aware of in the last few months and now I seem to hear them everywhere I go.

The usual collection of major wetlands birds was present in the form of a mute swan (maybe a pair actually, I can't recall), mallards, herring gulls, tufted ducks, moorhen, coot and so on. A grey heron was stood stock still in the long vegetation staring at the water for something tasty to eat.

The main highlight of the short walk was undoubtedly the kingfisher I saw flash past. It came darting along the river and with a quick change of direction flashed his rusty orange underside at me and disappeared in a flash of turquoise-blue across one of the smaller ponds and away. I've done this patch several times in the last couple of months and have had a good strike rate with kingfishers there.

Other highlights include spotting a beautiful male linnet in bushes on the far bank, although I was only certain of his ID when I got the books out at home. I knew I had seen a grey head and a pinkish breast but then it was off. It wasn't chaffinch pink it was lighter and a bit more washed out than that and was split into two distinct halves down the breast. It didn't take too long to identify as a linnet and once I saw a couple of images in the books I knew that was what I had glimpsed.

And after seeing my first just that afternoon it was pleasing to spot a whitethroat at another site. They were something of a bird of the day really.

River Freshney list:
Robin, Blackcap, Blackbird, Chiffchaff (heard only), Magpie, Woodpigeon, Greenfinch, Swan, Great tit, Collared dove, Blue tit, Mallard, Tufted duck, Moorhen, Coot, Unidentified warbler*, Herring gull, Kingfisher, Reed bunting, House sparrow, Kestrel, Whitethroat, Carrion crow, Swallow, House martin, Grey heron, Domestic duck, Chaffinch, Linnet.

Right near the end of the walk we saw a water vole swimming along the river before it pulled in to the far bank and munched a lot of fresh grass growing there. It looked to have a small injury around it's right cheek, poor thing. We also saw a fox on the banks behind the golf course. I take them for granted around suburban London, forgetting that not everyone sees them so often but they can be quite sweet too, when they're not making weird noises that keep you awake at night, of course!

*As stated previously, the mystery warbler won't make the real lists I'm keeping and I don't think I have a photo of it to get it IDed either. Ah well. Next time I am up that way I will hopefully know more about warblers and can maybe get an ID on it. All I know for now is it wasn't a chiffchaff!

AWAY DAY - Grimsby, NE Lincs, 29th April

Final away day of this trip and with travelling back down on the train that afternoon I was keen to get out and about in the morning so a walk along the Freshney alongside the fields and out towards Laceby seemed in order.

Before we had even crossed the road I was listing the usual suspects for the area: house sparrows, collared doves, blackbirds and woodpigeons. Things were a bit slow getting started after that but an area of scrub at the end of a smallish pond threw up a number of birds including a pair of linnet, a few reed buntings and, although I didn't know it at the time, my first sedge warbler! Was this the unidentified warbler of previous jaunts in this sort of area? Possibly, but I'll never know. It remained on the list I made at the time as "Mystery warbler" until the kind folks on here IDed as a sedge warbler. Thanks for the confirmed tick! :t:

After leaving the river a bit to walk alongside the oilseed rape fields we saw a gorgeous yellowhammer sat at the top of a tree. The light was great (in my opinion but I'm no photographer) and it looked simply stunning. The missus keeps likening them to canaries & budgies - heathen. The oilseed rape field also held a few dunnocks. Initially I thought it was a pair but then I'm pretty sure I saw a third dunnock around the same little area. A female and two males, no doubt, knowing dunnocks.

Not much else of interest on the walk up to the village and back but given there was time I decided to cover the same wetlands patch of the river I'd done the previous evening. Whitethroat again, in a different location this time, making them a real candidate for bird of the trip. Surprisingly one of the pools threw up an unexpected shoveler plus a cormorant perched right at the top of a dead tree.

River Freshney list (life ticks in bold):
House sparrow, Collared dove, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Crow, Magpie, Moorhen, Linnet, Mallard, Sedge warbler, Reed bunting, Skylark, Yellowhammer, Dunnock, Starling, Chiffchaff (heard), Chaffinch, Swan, Coot, Whitethroat, Robin, Blue tit, Greylag goose, Shoveler, Herring gull, Wren, Great tit, Cormorant

One final word on the recent trip up north and then I will get back to my local patch.

From the window of the train going between Doncaster and Grimsby we saw a glimpse of a raptor that we struggled to identify. Bigger than a kestrel. It swooped down lowish towards the edge of an oilseed rape field where there were a few trees alongside a small stream. The wings looked brown along about two-thirds of the length, then a white patch and black tips. Actually, not just tips but the end of the wing was a black band. We got several books out on arrival at our destination and had a good shufty through all sorts of images but the most likely candidate we came up with was a marsh harrier. I'm not putting it on any list as I can't be sure of the ID but all things taken into consideration it fits really well and I can't think what else it could be. Even if I did list it it wouldn't be a life tick so in some ways it doesn't really matter than I've chosen not to count it. That was on the way up on the Friday afternoon so made for a rather pleasing start to the trip though.

I hope to take in Richmond Park and London WWT this weekend. There'll be no marsh harriers there but hopefully enough around to keep this thread (relatively) interesting. After all, there's only so many times I can tell you I saw one of the many thousand parakeets we get round here :-O

A selection of photos from the recent trip up north to brighten this thread up a little :t:

Not the best gannet shot in the world but they really are attractive birds when seen up close and this one seemed to have the best nest on the block and looked prepared to defend it.

The whitethroat was the first one I saw, at Tetney Marshes, and was staring right back.

The wheatear posed nicely at the top of a bush, also at Tetney Marshes. This was perhaps the nicest view I have got of one of these birds, and again, it looks pretty stunning in that light.

Finally a yellowhammer. Not from Flamborough but from the fields around Grimsby as the light in this shot was much cleaner and showed the bird off a lot better than the Flamborough images.

Richmond Park, 3rd May

I told you at some point I'd get this thread back on track and cover my local patch - this is that point!

A really pleasant Saturday afternoon in Richmond Park is pretty hard to beat, I have to admit. I was on my own this time as the missus didn't fancy it for various reasons. This meant I was free to wander wherever I fancied, and that's just what I did. More or less.

The 'plan' was to go in Kingston Gate, go up "Squirrel alley" (so called because we tend to see a lot of squirrels in the trees there) towards Ham Gate, up the banks and on towards Pembroke Lodge. Through the lodge gardens, to Richmond Gate, along the north side of the park, round the back of Holly Lodge and then somehow come back out of Ladderstile Gate. I more or less stuck to the plan but coming around Holly Lodge I was tempted to head out to hit Beverley Brook and to follow that back to Robin Hood Gate then walk over Broomfield Hill to Ladderstile Gate. In the end I decided a trip through Two Storm Wood, across (between) the rugby pitches and over the hill near White Lodge was better as it allowed me to take in Pen Ponds and, if time allowed, Isabella Plantation too.

The walk up to Kingston Gate threw up a small number of the usual urban sightings for this area, including a lone female house sparrow which was pleasing to see simply because I don't see that many round here really. Once in the park itself I was treated to an early green woodpecker before witnessing a wren belting out it's greatest hits from a log. Wrens are one of those birds we have struggled to get decent photos of in the past and as the missus, who usually takes the photos, was at home I had the camera and bins slung round my neck so this was my chance to get a decent wren shot. And I think I managed it based on the attached image. Sure, it's not perfect but then I'm not a photographer really. I like to think I have captured an image that is immediately recognisable for what it is though.

Ham Gate pond had little of interest on it although there were a couple of Egyptian geese asleep at the back. The woods up to Pembroke Lodge were alive with the sound of chiffchaff and I caught sight of a lovely male blackcap too. Things got rather quiet on the list front for a good while then as nothing of note really showed on the walk through the gardens or between Richmond Gate and Holly Lodge. In Two Storm Wood there was a smallish thrush grubbing around on the floor (which I'm guessing was a song thrush but I am rubbish with song/mistle thrush).

I was hoping that by diverting across the sports pitches I'd find either the stonechat or the skylarks I have seen round there before, perhaps both. In the end I saw one skylark that was flushed by a dog over the road from East Sheen Gate but no sign of the stonechat. So I decided I'd better pop to Pen Ponds and make this miserable-looking list a bit longer. Always a good few easy ticks to be had from Pen Ponds. And that's really all I got - the easy ticks. The usual ducks and geese but I had to work for the great crested grebe. The terns were a bit of a bonus though I suppose. I think they were common tern based on the shots I got of them. They were really awkward to photo - even the ones on the rafts were a long way away despite the super zoom on the camera - but I got bins on a few and was pretty confident in marking them down as common. There were a good number of young about too - the pair of swans on the upper pond had cygnets and the Egyptian geese that had goslings back in March still seemed to have a full set and were raising them well. Unfortunately it looked like one of the heron nests on the island in the middle of the upper pond was abandoned but surprisingly it seems a new nest has been started on the other side of the same island so there are still two active nests there.

Coming back via Isabella Plantation I was treated to some newborn Egyptian goslings, tiny little things being herded around by mum (I presume). They were proving a real attraction for a lot of passing families (human) and I admit I was disappointed to see the lack of control some parents had over their children. Uttering things like "No Tarquin (or whatever), leave the ducks alone" in a disinterested voice really isn't going to help is it? Nor is getting really close to the geese in order to take a decent photo with the crap camera in your smartphone. It's no wonder that the parent goose took her brood into the pond ourt of harm's way a few minutes later. This diversion also throw up a grey heron that flew in and landed in the top of a tree overlooking the pond and a great spotted woodpecker that flashed into the trees on the island in the pond, hid for a couple of minutes (long enough to make me doubt I'd even seen him) and then flashed out the way he'd come. Thank you! I do love a great spot.

Nothing exciting to add to the list on the way home but all in all a really, really nice way to spend a long afternoon.

Richmond Park list: Magpie, House sparrow fem, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Carrion crow, Parakeet, Feral pigeon, Starling, Green woodpecker, Wren, Jay, Blackbird, Kestrel, Great tit, Moorhen, Egyptian goose, Mallard, Chiffchaff, Blue tit, Blackcap, Robin, Song thrush, Skylark, Coot, Canada goose, Swallow, Tufted duck, Pochard, Grey heron, Mute swan, Common tern, Great crested grebe, Great spotted woodpecker

I also saw red deer, fallow deer, grey squirrel and rabbits - lots of rabbits.

London WWT, 5th May

A bank holiday in the UK means a day off work for me and provides a perfect excuse for a good day's birding. So Monday saw me and the missus pop along to the London Wetland Centre for the day. Well, I say "the day" but I'm sure many of you think we wasted the best part of the day by not being up at dawn. Not my style I'm afraid. I'm sure I'm missing out on some glorious birds at that time of the day but I'd also be missing out on some glorious sleep! Plus I wanted to indulge another of my hobbies (online gambling - horses & football mainly) that morning before leaving the house so we didn't get out till around 9.30. A walk, bus and another walk later and we've finally made it there around an hour later - but such is the life of the public transport birder. We did stay till kicking out time (6pm) though so once there we did at least try to make the most of it.

We started, as we usually do, with a quick look at the sightings board to see what's around. I tend to keep an eye on the London WWT sightings webpage anyway but this is a chance to see what early records they have for the day. And it looked promising - Hobby, Kestrel, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Little Egret, Swift and a few other bits and bobs. I had high hopes for the day. A quick stop in the observatory next door to get an overview of the main lake and get some quick ticks on the list. And I do mean quick stop as the huge glass front on the obs makes it like a green house in nice weather and it was boiling in there! Great for growing tomatoes, not so good for standing around looking at birds.

Looking out from the obs we were confused by a few little birds bobbing around on one of the near islands. They looked like wagtails, ish. Not quite the right shape but almost the right size, and the colours weren't right. But they had the distinctive tail and were wagging it, a bit at least. Our assumption of juvenile Pied Wagtails was confirmed when an adult bird flew down and started to feed the others, who ran to the adult in an instant so they clearly knew where lunch was coming from. Incidentally we got a much better view of a juvenile Pied Wagtail right at the end of the visit as there was one sat by the guttering near the courtyard clock. Being out in the open rather than behind some mucky windows makes for much better views and a much more confident ID.

After a few minutes in the observatory oven we headed along the south route towards Peacock Tower. We had only got a short way past the cafe and into the Wetlands Living (or something along those lines) area when we were distracted by a bird powering out a cheery song we didn't recognise. There was a fella with bins staring into a reed bed, along with a guy carrying a long lens camera trying to snap this songster so we figured they may have something worth seeing. The missus headed that way while I got distracted by ripples in a nearby pond and caught a glimpse of a water vole, that promptly hid when I called the missus over for a look. Damn wildlife!

So back to hunt for this elusive songster in the reeds. Camera guy was able to point out the little fella as he flitted around but all we really caught were fleeting glimpses of it. Even so, this was enough for me to recognise the bird as the same one we'd seen on a massive poster board out the front of the centre. I couldn't have IDed it at the time but at least I was onto something and a quick flick through the pocket field guide I always carry was enough for me to confirm the ID as a Reed Warbler. One or two other birders were flitting around the area and confirmed the ID based on sound alone, which was handy because I wouldn't have recognised the song from that given in the field guide so it's damn good I got enough of a view of him to properly ID him. A life tick that one, which was a great start to the day. The Reed Warbler was still about later but was only visible from one spot on the bridge there. The ID was passed on from person to person by making them all stand on this exact spot as it was the only way any of us could reliably find the little blighter.

On to Peacock Tower and over to the wader scrape side of the first (middle) floor where as soon as I looked out I saw two beatiful Bar-Tailed Godwits - a male and a female - as plain as day, feeding in one of the pools in front of the hide. None of this sneaking around behind vegetation that some waders seem so fond of. This pair were unmissable. With no-one else around to confirm the ID I had to check the book but from what I could see they were clearly Bar-Tailed, and that fitted with the record from the sightings board so they went straight on to the list. We spent a couple of hours in Peacock picking out a few more waders, including Little Ringed Plover and the ubiquitous Redshank, a wader that seems harder not to see at London WWT of late. There was a Common Sandpiper showing well for a lot of the time and a Greenshank out on the marsh too.

The Barwits got harder to see at times as the Lapwings kept scaring them off and at one point the male and female Barwit separated to different ends of the scrape but reunited a short while later. Unfortunately they choose to do so behind one of the islands making them much harder to spot but they showed well for a lot of the afternoon really, to the extent that if you were in Peacock at any point during the day you should have seen them pretty easily. There were plenty of people with scopes willing to point them out and offering views, myself included. There were a small number of discussions about what type of Godwit they were but they were mostly limited to things like "They are Bar-Tailed Godwits aren't they?" rather than any convincing arguments for them being Black-Tailed Godwits. Personally I'm in no doubt.

Incidentally, the grazing marsh was the driest I think I have ever seen it. There were a few little pools but not much more. I'm used to seeing a bit more water out there. Plenty of mud but it was the crows that seemed to be making the most of it.

Right back round the other side of the site now to the Wildside hide, popping into Headley Hide along the way. Nothing really happening there, other than a Grey Heron fishing in one of the ponds in front of the hide, giving nice views for those prepared to sit and watch. There wasn't much on view from Wildside either, to be honest. The Greenshank was showing better here than from Peacock but there wasn't too much else of interest.

At times like this there is only one thing for it - cake! The cafe do a good drink & muffin deal in the afternoon so a chocolate muffin washed down by a hot chocolate seemed just the ticket. Fully refreshed I decided to give Peacock Tower another going over. Nothing new - the Barwits had come into the same pool as earlier so were showing well and the LRPs were still about - but there was some decent chat to be had all the same.

That left time for one more stab at the Wildside in case there was anything showing on the marsh, but unfortunately other than a couple of Grey Heron and the same Greenshank as before there wasn't much happening here either. So I packed up the scope and off we went, which was handy as a member of staff was cycling round informing people that they were closing up shortly. I hadn't realised it was that time already. On the way out of the shop we were treated to a male Chaffinch sat in the guttering above the doorway shouting about all the insects he had brought back but no-one seemed to want to come and take them from him. It made me a little envious though, if I tried shouting as much as he was I'd surely drop any food that was in my mouth but not him.

It had been a really good day but it was tired legs that carried me home at the end of it all.

London WWT list: Starling, House Sparrow, Great Tit, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Robin, Blackbird, Magpie, Jay, Carrion Crow, Mallard, Moorhen, Tufted Duck, Coot, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Cormorant, Gadwall, Black Headed Gull, Pochard, Lapwing, Pied Wagtail, Reed Warbler, Chaffinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dunnock, Bar Tailed Godwit, Common Sandpiper, Redshank, Greylag Goose, Shoveler, Sand Martin, Grey Heron, Little Ringed Plover, Egyptian Goose, Green Woodpecker, Greenshank, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Parakeet, Cetti's Warbler (h), Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Blackcap, Swift, Reed Bunting

On the mammal side we had a Water Vole and a couple of Grey Squirrels. I don't suppose the Highland Cattle or Sheep they keep on site really count do they?

(NB this post also marks a move towards using title case throughout for bird names as I feel it is more correct)

It's been a quiet week and unfortunately I didn't manage to get out birding this weekend due to a combination of lousy weather and housework (spring cleaning!). I know, terrible excuses but it's the truth! So not getting out means nothing really to report. Sorry.

That said, on my way home from work Friday evening I was almost at my front gate when I heard what sounded like corvids but didn't sound quite right for the local crows. There was another noise in there too that I couldn't work out. Then a crow flew across the rooftops and over next door to join a rising band of crows that was mobbing the heck out of a grey heron. I have seen herons on the roofs around here several times over the years, which has struck me as odd because I'm not aware of any garden ponds and the nearest proper ponds are a mile or two away but maybe they are having a rest and scouting the area. Anyway, the crows didn't take kindly to this heron being around and made sure he left sharpish. It was the first time I have seen such behaviour and although I only probably caught the tail end of the action it was fascinating to watch. It makes a change from the local pair of crows divebombing the woodpigeons that dare to rest in any tree near the crows' nest.

Hmm, that was quite a pleasant surprise.

At lunchtime I decided to break with the usual routine and get away from the office a bit more so I pottered up to a sandwich/burger van that trades on the local industrial estate 5-10 minutes walk away. While I was waiting there a Pied Wagtail flew in, aborted a landing on the rubbish bin there and landed on the floor a short distance away showing all sorts of interest in a chip that had been dropped on the pavement. I didn't see it actually go for the chip but it wandered around and looked like it was going in for a snack several times.

I have seen Pied Wagtails round here a few times, often on local factory roofs or in the car park of the OneStop/Kwik-E-Mart/whatever but it was nice to get decent views of one on the floor, just a few metres away from where I was stood.

And just as I arrived back at the office there was a female House Sparrow in a low branch of a tree by the pedestrian gate, just at head height. She only stayed for a second or two but again it's nice to get a great view of a bird, even a common one, without using bins.

Richmond Park, 17th May & general round-up

Things have been a bit quiet round here as I haven't been able to get out birding much, despite the nice weather. I had meetings with work around Hampton Court last Wednesday (14th May) but only managed a quick view of the river round there. Egyptian Goose, Canada Goose, Great Crested Grebe and Grey Wagtail all showing though. Had I had more time there was definitely more to be seen, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. That afternoon we had a teambuilding session at an activity centre out past Crawley and on the way I saw a large bird of prey by the treeline alongside the motorway. Not sure what it was but suspect it may have been a Buzzard. Not listing that one though as it's only a guess, albeit an educated one.

I popped into Richmond Park last weekend with the missus and we did our usual route (more or less) - in Kingston Gate, up towards Ladderstile Gate, take in Isabella Plantation, Pen Ponds and then back to Kingston Gate via Pembroke Lodge. We don't always go in Kingston Gate for this route but other than that it's pretty much our "go to".

The main thing I noticed this time was the greater number of young & chicks about. There was a single Egyptian Goose with goslings on Peg's Pond in Isabella Plantation - pretty sure the same one I saw a couple of weeks ago. No sign of the other parent on either occasion though. Both Upper and Lower Pen Ponds had a pair of Mute Swans with cygnets - 3 on one, 5 on the other. There were also other chicks with the Canada Geese and another set of Egyptian Geese. Oh, and a Grey Heron chick.

What certainly struck me this year, more than other years, was the variation in when certain birds breed. For example, there was a set of Egyptian Geese chicks back in March that are now looking close in size to the adults yet another pair of the same species have only just hatched their young. Same species but 6-8 weeks apart in when they have their chicks. Serves as a reminder that nature isn't clockwork I guess.

Pen Ponds was a reasonably productive area on this trip to the park. As well as the obvious ducks and geese there were a couple of juvenile Stonechats, not that we knew that at the time. A big thank you to those that IDed them on this forum. :t: This was also the first time I'd seen Kingfisher on Lower Pen Ponds, which was nice.

Richmond Park list:
Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Canada Goose & goslings, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Common Tern, Coot w/ chicks, Egyptian Goose w/ goslings, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron & young, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kingfisher, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan w/ cygnets, Parakeet, Pochard, Starling, Swift, Thrush (maybe Mistle & Song - not sure), Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon

Enjoying your thread thanks for your observations. South West London along with Hampstead Heath and surrounding area is in my experience the most 'birdy' part of London. Unfortunately I rarely get out as far as Richmond when I'm out working in my cab.

I did manage to clock a Little Grebe while dropping off at the Hurlingham tennis club at Fulham the other day and on my way into work at the A10/A406 roundabout I saw a little egret which was a nice bonus as I never thought I'd get one of those whilst out working.

Thanks for the kind words DD - nice to know someone other than me gets something from this thread. In some ways I feel a bit of a fraud as my patch is birded quite extensively by many who know a lot more than I do and I'm sure they do a much better job of it. I know for a fact there are more birds out there than I am listing but I still haven't got a lot of the song/calls nailed down yet, which doesn't help. I also feel like I am missing out on some of the bigger ticks based on the updates I see from London Birders & Surrey Birders that often seem to list Buzzard, Hobby, Wheatear, Whinchat etc for the days I have been to Richmond Park and not seen a trace of them. Mind you, it's a big place so maybe I'm just birding the wrong parts of it. Either way, I enjoy myself and that's the main thing, eh?

Bushy Park, 20th May

A bit of unexpected midweek birding here. The in-laws are down and we had plans to go to the National Physical Laboratory open day down the road in Teddington so on the way we stopped into Bushy Park for a wander and a spot of lunch. Much to the dismay of my missus I threw the bins in her daysack at the last minute and ushered her out the door before she could object too strongly :-O You can't take me to somewhere like Bushy Park without my bins!

I know of at least one blogger out there who regularly birds this park but I've never really rated it. It's just a big flat field with a few trees in rather than having the varied topography of Richmond Park. It feels like it has fewer different environments too. It feels a lot more like a park aimed at leisure than nature, if that makes sense. Anyway, it's not one of my favourite birding spots but it's better than being stuck at home.

We didn't cover much of the park - the Pheasantry plantation, Woodland Gardens, Lime Avenue and some of the open grassland areas in between and that's about it. There wasn't much about either. Two or three of the species listed only made it because we went past the Diana memorial fountain on the way in and out of the park and they happened to be on the pond there.

There seemed to be endless Jackdaw around yesterday though - they were everywhere! Especially around the Pheasantry cafe where they seemed to raid the plates and dishes for leftovers almost as soon as anyone put their cutlery down. I doubt a lot of what they were getting is good for them but that wasn't going to slow them down. Oh, and the Parakeets were out in force, of course. Other than that I think it was only Starling I saw in any significant numbers. There was nothing in the "I don't see many of those" category, if you don't count the Chiffchaff I heard but didn't see. I've heard hundreds of them but still only seen the odd one or two.

Bushy Park list:
Blackbird, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chiffchaff (heard), Coot, Egyptian Goose, Great Tit, Jackdaw, Jay, Magpie, Mallard, Mandarin Duck, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Parakeet, Robin, Song Thrush, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon

Not much on the mammal front either: Fallow Deer, Grey Squirrel and Rabbit. No sign of the Red Deer - not sure where they were.

So not a great spot of birding, all things considered, but even a bad birding session is better than being at work. 3

Still alive!

Don't worry, I haven't hung up my bins or anything silly like that. I've just been rather busy with work and life in general recently so I haven't had a decent opportunity to update this thread, but I haven't given up in the slightest.

It's a shame I have been so busy recently as the back garden has really livened up in the last week or two. It started with Swifts - OK, not in the garden but circling above it - and the number in the area has grown incredibly. I'm seeing them almost everywhere these days, which is fantastic. They are such a distinctive bird and a real pleasure to watch when they swoop and soar. It makes me rather jealous, I have to admit.

On top of the Swifts (not literally!) there have been a whole bunch of tits raiding the feeders. A Great Tit has been in and out, pinching seeds and nuts before flying off, for a while so I guess he's been raising young nearby. I have heard a bit of tweeting in next door's tree but there's too much foliage to make much out. However, recently he's been bringing the kids to the food rather than the other way round. A parent Blue Tit brought their brood round last weekend and made the most of the buffet on offer. The chicks looked close to being able to feed themselves - one or two had a few tentative pecks at the feeders. One chick decided the easiest way was to cling on the fat ball feeder and wait for mum/dad to pick bits off the fat balls and fling them into the gaping mouth. I've attached a little picture of the Blue Tits being fed.

More exciting than either of those tits though has been the adult Coal Tit that has been pinching food on a regular basis in the last few days. It's been making repeated raids on the feeders so I assume this is another bird trying to feed chicks. I really hope so as Coal Tits are one of those birds I think of as typically British but our garden just doesn't seem to attract them - or at least it didn't. I'm hoping we'll see more of this parent Coal Tit and hopefully some of the next generation too.

Recently we saw our first Goldfinches for ages too. We used to have regular visits to our niger seed feeder so I bought loads of the stuff and they stopped coming so often. Then they stopped coming at all. Then yesterday they re-appeared but this time on the new sunflower hearts feeder rather than the niger seed feeder. Still in a pair though - it always amuses me that they don't seem able to feed unless there is another one on the other side of the feeder. It's almost like being on a see-saw.

And in amongst all that there was a Ring Necked Parakeet that dropped in minus quite a number of feathers over the top of his head and down his neck. I don't know if he'd been attacked or what (but I have asked for opinions elsewhere on this forum - maybe feather mites?) but he didn't look too good. He was very hesitant climbing down the feeder poles and feeders to the peanuts so I don't know if he was wary of potentially being attacked again. We'll never really know what happened to the poor fella but it's all part of being part of nature - predators, prey and the great fight for survival.

Away from the garden, I have trips to London WWT and Richmond Park to update you on too. Hopefully those updates will be coming soon, but I am away this weekend with family commitments. That said, I hope to get a day's birding in somewhere in the north-west of England so I'll report back on that too at some point