[angusmcoatup]

The London Birders site for some reason causes my work pc to grind to a halt so thought I'd immortalise myself by starting this thread.

Anyway this morning 2 male Common Crossbills! Good clear view in the morning sunlight and calling clearly towards the Conservation pond. Also 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 GS Woodpeckers, 1 Grey Wagtail (regular now), 1 Goldcrest and lots of other birds flitting around. Not bad for 15 minutes amongst the dog walkers.

[angusmcoatup]

18 Fieldfares over, 2 Goldcrests, 3 Siskins and Tawny owl calling plus 3 Jackdaws over Highgate village. 08.10

[Deb London]

Excellent idea for a thread.

I like the London Birder's site, but it's quite impersonal and lacks details.

Seems everyone else is seeing Crossbills but me.

[angusmcoatup]

Hi Deb,

I like the London Birders site too, just can't always access it as I think the pop ups or ads are too much for my work pc. Also sometimes I want to add a bit of detail or include commoner species which isn't encouraged on LB. I'll still use the site but it'll have to wait til evening.

Whilst I'm on here, 30 + Fieldfares and 5 Redwings west over Highgate 08.30.

[angusmcoatup]

Not been for a while, this morning wasn't too bad a return though.

1 Tawny Owl being half heartedly mobbed by a magpie, 1 male Blackcap in reed bed, a few Tufties, a few finches over including Redpoll,and the return of a Heron which was as deep as I've ever seen a heron before. Water up to its wings as if swimming.
2 G.S Woodpeckers.

Also 5 of the dreaded R.N Parakeets over.

[angusmcoatup]

Kingfisher flying across bottom pond around the back of the reedbed island, presumably originally from Hampstead Heath. This is the second time this year I've seen this. Also 1 Rook sat in a tree near the Highgate High street entrance. Seems like plenty about but I didn't have time to linger.

[topbud00]

Originally Posted by angusmcoatup

The London Birders site for some reason causes my work pc to grind to a halt so thought I'd immortalise myself by starting this thread.

Anyway this morning 2 male Common Crossbills! Good clear view in the morning sunlight and calling clearly towards the Conservation pond. Also 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 GS Woodpeckers, 1 Grey Wagtail (regular now), 1 Goldcrest and lots of other birds flitting around. Not bad for 15 minutes amongst the dog walkers.

Hi I suffer the same pc probs with this site. It only happens on certain pc/laptops I use and sometimes when I edit a page it stalls too.

[angusmcoatup]

Not much to report though there is an odd looking male Tufted duck, dark greyish back (darker than scaup) though it has an undoubted Tufted duck tuft. I had a good view of 3 Siskins and a male Blackcap too. I'm more intrigued by the report of a dark bellied Brent feeding on mowed grass on Hampstead Heath though. Then again I saw one of these near Keyhaven in a small field with a pond and a flock of Aylesburys a few years back.

1 Grey Wagtail on the Whittington Hospital, though I've been seeing these here for a couple of years now.

[angusmcoatup]

Today fog. Little of note apart from the Grey Heron.

Yesterday however I had a flyby view of 2 White-fronted geese just outside the park. I had prior warning as they were calling loudly as they just cleared the park trees. Heading North Westish.
Great to see, as being a Lancastrian by birth my autumns were always signalled by the return of Pink foots. These days I get a buzz out of the Canadas that fly over my flat most mornings.

[dwholden]

Hi Angus
I saw 2 Whitefronts from my window (in N4, near Finsbury pk) about 10 days ago. These were flyng west, but maybe related to your sighting - possibly these are a couple of free range birds? Good luck with the heath/park.
Dave H

[angusmcoatup]

Originally Posted by dwholden

Hi Angus
I saw 2 Whitefronts from my window (in N4, near Finsbury pk) about 10 days ago. These were flyng west, but maybe related to your sighting - possibly these are a couple of free range birds? Good luck with the heath/park.
Dave H

Cheers Dave, could be the same birds. The parks not a bad little patch, just wish I had a bit more time to cover it.

[angusmcoatup]

Nothing for the listers. A build up of Mallard and a few Tufties. 1 Jackdaw and a big Thrush flock over. The highlight, though I'm no great fan, was a large Terrapin taking a breath on the Lower pond.

[angusmcoatup]

What a difference an hour makes.In the park around 7.40 am, first off 30 or so Mistle thrushes in a Yew tree with several Blackbirds and a few Song Thrushes. They were oddly "tame", one female Blackbird within arms reach.
2 Goldcrests easily watched near the middle pond, calling and showing quite close. Hopefully last years Firecrest will return, no reason why not, they seem faithful to the same sites from other local reports.
Also 1 Green Woodpecker, 3 Coal tits, a mixed flock including many L.T tits. 1 Nuthatch towards the lower pond, a couple of Greenfinches and a distant finch flock heading towards the cemetery.
It may not be the Shetlands round here but everythings relative.
Also should mention a Grey Wagtail passed over whilst I was chatting with the striking hospital workers who deserve all the support they can get.

[angusmcoatup]

Least Auklet on Lower pond.
Nah, not really. Mixed flock of Thrushes and a Goldcrest with a G.S Woodpecker calling nearby is about all I managed.
Watched a lady having a Fenton/Benton moment as her golden retriever buggered off whilst she blew on a dog whistle and shrieked what I think was "Harry". I get the impression she'd just bought the whistle off the internet expecting miraculous results, whereas the dog hadn't read the instructions.

[angusmcoatup]

Another early start with yaffling Green Woodpecker and usual G.S Woodpecker. A vocal Nuthatch was welcome, 3 Goldcrests, again the Thrush flock is around and about.
I had a longer look around the Conservation Pond and its not bad, Wrens, Chaffinches, a tit flock including Coal tit.
Had time to check the tops of the higher trees and found 3 Redpoll and a Siskin. Also had a few gulls over including a very dark headed Herring/L.B.B like which nowadays cause so much interest. My own interest was curtailed as I slipped on me arse watching it, one of the downsides of birding a patch that slopes.

Also watched a couple of hundred Woodpigeons flying over Muswell Hill in regular though widely spaced groups. No idea how many involved but there was always around 30 in the air at one time, and it was still going when I got on the bus.

[angusmcoatup]

A large mobile flock of Goldfinches plus 12 or so Siskins. Also around 9 LT Tits including one very pale bird. 9 RN Parakeets over and a Sparrowhawk over the Cemetery.
Harry Fenton/Benton still ignoring dog whistle, it seems to be true that you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

[angusmcoatup]

I legged it through the park today , stopping long enough to watch a female Bullfinch near the bottom gate/playground and 1 Siskin, plus a big Goldfinch flock arrive.

[angusmcoatup]

This morning I found a Tawny owl settled in an ivy covered tree, being mobbed by 4 or 5 crows and a couple of Magpies. In the next tree was a Green Woodpecker and beneath were alarm calling Blackbirds, a Robin, and a flock of tits.

[angusmcoatup]

Not much of excitement in the park, but I did have a good view of a calling Knot flying over the back of the hospital around 8 am.Luckily it was calling long enough for me to get my bins out before it came into sight. It was heading Eastish.

[angusmcoatup]

First day in ages where its been light enough to see,its not been blowing a blizzard or pouring down, and there's been something of note worth recording. Lover of nature that I am , the silhouette of Woodpigeons in the grey morning light is never going to set the pulse racing.
First off the usual Green Woodpecker on the slope, must investigate why he's almost always in the same spot. 1 Nuthatch near the Cemetery. A couple of Redwings over and 2 big Fieldfare flocks. A loose group of 12 Chaffinches included a tatty male Brambling and a relatively rare Greenfinch.
There's a pair of nervy looking Canada geese on Lower pond, though a Fox often pops up around there of a morning. Also a hybrid Tufted duck, had a reddish tinge to its head.
And thats your lot.

[angusmcoatup]

A noisy Sparrowhawk for the last two morning meant pretty much everything else was keeping its head down. There's been a build up of Mallard, 2 Redpoll were a nice sight, a couple of Coal tit were part of one of the tit flocks I see most mornings.
And that's it, nothing else to report. I need a good hoax, anyone feels like setting up a decent hoax then feel free.
Oh, and a massive Wolfhound, I can see why wolves don't live around here anymore. Big as a pony!

[angusmcoatup]

Just read Jos Stratfords latest Iran post, fascinating as always. So the silent Chiff-chaff I saw by the conservation area has lost its lustre somewhat. But there you go, its all relative, one birders Crab plover is another birders Blackcap(Male), which I saw near to the lower gate. It was barely light as I walked through the park which is my excuse for scarcely seeing anything. Just a few Fieldfare, a couple of Redwings, 3 new Tufted Duck and the usual suspects.

[angusmcoatup]

One female Ring Ouzel. Well marked around the throat, scaly feathering, pale brown etc.
Not an aberrant blackbird. Pretty well seen in Holly bush at the higher end of the Lower pond around 8 am, then flew to base of Cemtery wall where last seen. Still there at 08.25 when I had to leave.There is also a pale female Blackbird around the park with a little patch of white on the throat which this obviously isn't.

[Meropes]

Hello Paul

I live in Highgate (between the village and the Tube) and have appreciated your postings from Waterlow Park. Ring Ouzel is really an excellent sighting for the Park at any time of the year and clearly is a great find for early January. If you ever have a camera on you when you're birding in the park, it would be great to see a photo. I'll try and pop into the park this weekend to see if I can track it down.

Brambling is a good find this winter too. I've had stacks of chaffinches, goldfinches and greenfinches in the garden this winter, occasional siskins (a flock usually builds from mid-Feb and roosts in the garden) and we've had the odd visit from Lesser Redpolls over the last 6 weeks, for the first time in 4 years. We've not yet had a brambling, though, so here's hoping that there's still time for one to pop in.

We have also enjoyed the company for nearly 5 years now of what must be an escaped bird (albeit unringed) - a very smart male red-faced liocichla. It always disappears in January and returns sometime in late spring, just as we decide it has met its Maker. I don't suppose you have ever seen it? We are intrigued as to where it goes each year.

Best wishes
Matt Evans

[angusmcoatup]

Cheers Matt,

hope the Ouzel's still around. There's still plenty of berries around the park. The Liocichla would probably have given me something of a shock if I'd seen it uninformed! I'll keep an eye out for it. I'm always on my way to work when I walk through the park, so don't spend a lot of time there but with the Heath and cemetery close by there's occasionally something to brighten up the morning. I've got a fairly slow old digital camera but have never been a natural, too busy watching a bird before remembering to take a snap.

Anyway, thats a cracking garden list you've got going, hope I bump into you.

Regards

Paul