A wander on Hampstead Heath (1 Viewer)

christine

Well-known member

• Feb 3, 2004

• #1

Hi all,

Decided to have an afternoon wander on Hampstead Heath today,Havent been birdwatching for very long and the last time i went up there i didnt see anything at all really.
Today was definitely better!
Heard alot of commotion coming from a section of trees so had a look,and right in front of me was a male Goldcrest!Ive never seen one before and to have one a few metres in front of me was fantastic.
The same section of trees housed some very noisy Blue and Long tailed Tits.
Sat by the ponds for a while and being a novice had to get the field guide out!
Lots of Coots,Mallards,Canada Geese,Black headed Gulls,a pair of Mute Swans and some Great Crested Grebes.
Spotted a beautiful Kestrel perched on a branch,sheltering from the wind i think,that is,until a flock of blue tits came along and gave it a hard time and it flew off.Has anyone else seen this happen?I was really surprised.
It was getting pretty cold by this time so decided to head off home but saw a very brief glimpse of a Nuthatch (ive always wanted to see one),and to round it all off a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Most of these birds were firsts for me,so im over the moon,and to be honest i didnt expect to see that much at 1.00pm.
Cant wait to get back up there again,wish i didnt have to go to college tomorrow!!

Christine :bounce:

 

Padraig

Well-known member

• Feb 3, 2004

• #2

You sound well on the way to being an enthusiastic birdwatcher Christine. Sounds like an exciting afternoon.

I lived near Hampstead Heath in the 1980's and I remember seeing my first Great Spotted Woodpecker there too.

are there any ring necked Parakeets in the Heath these days?

Regards,

Padraig.

 

B

Bluetail

Senior Moment

• Feb 3, 2004

• #3

Excellent, Christine. A really nice tally of birds there.

What you saw with the Kestrel is actually very common. Small birds will often mob a bird of prey. It helps draw the attention of other birds to the presence of a dangerous predator and, with luck, they will manage to drive it away. So if you hear a commotion of small birds, it always pays to follow it up as it will often lead to a bird of prey, even occasionally an owl - though where I live the target usually turns out to be a squirrel!

Jason

 

christine

Well-known member

• Feb 3, 2004

• #4

Hi Padraig,I havent noticed any,but that isnt to say there arent any up there.Today was really the first day that id had any luck birdwatching,was beginning to think the birds didnt like me!
Will keep an eye out though and let you know!
Jason,thanks for that,was a bit taken aback when it happened as i thought that any of those little birds wouldve made a good lunch for that Kestrel!

Christine

 

christine

Well-known member

• Feb 4, 2004

• #5

ooops!

 

pduxon

Quacked up Member

• Feb 4, 2004

• #6

Sounds like a good day. Goldcrest are really attractive little birds aren't they. Just wait to you spot a Firecrest

 

Alastair Rae

London birder

• Feb 4, 2004

• #7

Padraig said:

Are there any ring necked Parakeets in the Heath these days?

Click to expand...

They've arrived only in the last year or two. Now you can't miss the darned things - flying around squawking their heads off! Saw at least a dozen there last Sunday.

 

christine

Well-known member

• Feb 4, 2004

• #8

Pete,
ive read Firecrests are pretty scarce,am i likely to see one?would they "hang out"(for want of a better word)with Goldcrests?

Christine

 

pduxon

Quacked up Member

• Feb 4, 2004

• #9

Yes they are scarece but I came across one recently purely by chance.

Probably likely to be with other crests and tits.

 

Gill Osborne

Well-known member

• Feb 4, 2004

• #10

Agree with Jason....if you hear ANY sort of commotion...check it out! I've had a few Tawny Owls this way and just three Sunday's ago-11th January- I was watching CountryFile at 11.20am and noticed FIVE magpies in the tree at the bottom of the garden.My previous best was three so raised my binoculars for a better look (ALWAYS beside me on sofa!) and saw what I thought for a second was a collared dove. Then thought 'hold on' colouring on back was wrong....it was a male Sparrowhawk!!! A first for my garden...was SO exciting!!!
So ALWAYS check out any agitated bird calls...90% of the time in built up areas it'll be a cat but just occasionally it turns out to be a good 'un!!!

Makes me realise just why I love birding so much!!!

GILL XXX

 

H

hartrockets

Active member

• Feb 22, 2006

• #11

HI All,

I have just seen the Bill Odie Wildlife program on BBC2 that was all about Hamstead Health, and I now hope to visit it.

can some one tell me whats the best tube station to goto to visit the Heath and where is the best places to see Kestrels there.

Peter

 

London Birder

Well-known member

• Feb 22, 2006

• #12

Firecrest probably occurs just about annually on the heath, though whether they are always found is another thing ... much watching over the years has produced some real goodies (including Bill Oddie who's patch it is)

 

Alastair Rae

London birder

• Feb 22, 2006

• #13

hartrockets said:

Can some one tell me whats the best tube station to goto to visit the Heath and where is the best places to see Kestrels there.

Click to expand...

I think the most reliable area for Kestrel is around the large meadowy area north of the Fleet ponds. Try pasting 51.5660286434,-0.161410803759 into google earth or http://maps.google.co.uk

 

deborah4

Well-known member

• Feb 22, 2006

• #14

Hi Christine

My grandmother used to live in Hampstead and we used to go on the Heath regularly as children. Still have a family flat there so your post makes me think I should spend some more time there.

Harockets

Take the Jubilee Line - links with Baker Street, Bond Street and Green Park - and go to West Hamstead, or get off at Finchley Road and take a bus to the Heath.

 

H

hartrockets

Active member

• Feb 27, 2006

• #15

Thanks for the replies.

I hope to have a visit soon,

Pete