It's a Fulham thing (2 Viewers)

[Thing]

Caught up with the Starlings on the way into their roost a couple of evenings ago, and there was about a thousand circling. I’m hoping that this will increase over the course of the winter (have been told that it can get to double that amount).

Other than that, nothing new to be found, so I’m left with Med Gull hunting and counting the regulars. The YLG is proving to be elusive - perhaps moving about a bit more? There was a high count of 79+ Cormorants at the end of last week, and Common Gulls are now daily with counts getting close to 10. Grey Wagtails are currently more regular than Pied – last year there was a family of 5 Pied knocking around but only the occasional solo bird is around at the moment. The Greys (2 maybe 3) are excitable and move around a lot.

That's enought waffle, I'm off for my hour in the wind.:t:

 

[Thing]

Brambling!

A brief visit to the riverbank this morning was quite productive.

Seven Greylag flew over, a Sparrowhawk being tailed by a couple of crows, Grey Wagtail, Tufted Duck (1), the usual mixture of Gulls and as I was leaving, a couple of Brambling flew over. Just about the only bit of vis-mig that I’ve seen round here. I don’t really count the Starlings in this way due to the nearby roost, and the Gulls could be doing anything.

Patch tick, and a nice addition my year list.

 

[Thing]

Peregrine briefly this lunchtime, and a Jackdaw or two also.

 

[Thing]

Seventy!

The northern corner of the patch was on the local news last week – because the council are ripping up a running track and putting in a polo pitch. Of course all the kids round here have been crying out for a polo pitch to keep them off the streets and give them a good reason to get their ponies out of the stables. The local councilor seems to be particularly detached from reality…..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7709460.stm

Other than that there was a Sparrowhawk on Thursday that sent about 8 Long Tailed Tits into a bit of a frenzy – it was flying quite low so it spooked the gulls and pigeons a bit too. The Starling roost continues, the numbers continue to be around a thousand and the Yellow Legged Gull has up sticks and gone – possibly to Barnes?

Today I took a trip across the river for the first time in ages – been watching the construction and noise from the north bank. The noise that was being created by the piledriver on the site for the flats seems to have been for a new section of bank! The old wall is being taken down and as this happens it has exposed the ironwork behind it. The rubble from the wall is falling into the river during demolition and the cormorants are already using it as a temporary resting place. I think that the Wandle mouth should then be wider, but whether there is further landscaping to do… time will tell. Accross the Wandle to that site, the old storage yard is also now a building site. The contractors have cleared the rubbish and laid a large concrete platform already, so it’s not going to be large building. This area was good for breeding Starlings and Magpies over the summer, but at the moment most of the scrub survives for the moment. Further up the river, the spit area that was once being retained as a wild area has now been utterly flattened, one tree remains and a large sign offering the site to let. With all these three things going on, what was a casually wild area in the heart(ish) of the city is now becoming much more urbanised with much less potential for wildlife to thrive.

Perversely when I got to the now flattened area it produced the best birding I’ve had round here for weeks. I’d already picked up a couple of Gadwall, a female Pintail and a lone Tuftie when I found a tit flock. Nothing out of the ordinary initially, but this was quite a diverse one with lots of hangers on (Chaffinches, Grey Wags and perhaps Blackbirds). Contained in the flock was the usual basis of about a dozen Long-tailed, a few Blues and Greats but there was also a Goldcrest and a Chiffchaff! I haven’t seen or heard a Chiffchaff around here for a long time, and the Goldcrest is a patch tick!

 

[Thing]

Despite the cold today, it was rewarding enough with 4 Pintail (two drakes), 1 Gadwall, Grey Wagtail, a glimpse of a Kingfisher and a dozen or so noisy Goldfinch.

Great to have the Pintails back, cracking looking birds.

 

[Thing]

27 species this lunchtime (I think the most I have seen in any lunch hour is 29).

There were two Chiffchaffs today - could get really close while they were feeding, superb views as they worked through the undergrowth. One of them was on some scrub that hangs over the river, and was almost on the water. There is a fair amount of detritus in the water at that point, and Grey Wagtails often feed there at high tide often perched on the rubbish, but the Chiffchaff was not quite so committed. No Pintail or Gadwall today, two Tufties instead.

 

[Thing]

Good news?

I’ve been doing a little research on the building works that are happening on the west side of the Wandle mouth (apologies if this is turning into an architectural digest, but it does and will affect the birds ). The Riverside Quarter is to be extended by the erection of four 15 storey buildings behind the existing smaller buildings that are in place. There will be landscaping, gardens etc much like exists in the present format (although the gardens at ground level are pretty sterile affairs).

The works that are ongoing at the moment have, as I have mentioned, been altering the river bank, and lowering the existing level of the wall that is in place while disturbing some of the wildfowl. The drawings that I have of the plans show that what is actually being created is wildlife friendly! An inter-tidal, graduated bank is being created with roosting posts and ‘attenuation ponds’ which I’m guessing are tidal holding ponds for the river water. In tandem with this landscaping a walkway will be in place that will follow the route of the Wandle and then the join up with the existing path on the edge of the Thames. The overall access/viewing for the likes of myself, will then be greatly improved, and the graduated area could prove to be very interesting… A timescale for this I do not have yet, but this area seems to be one of the first parts of the build, so I’m hoping that the walkway is opened sooner rather than later and the extremes of the building site are compressed a little.

I’ve attempted to attach a pdf of the area in question (top right of the diagram) for those that wish to have a look at what I am running on about.

The fact is, however, that the existing works are affecting the populations of birds in the Wandle mouth. Some species do not seem overly bothered by the disturbance, Mute Swan, Mallard, Coot, Gulls and Gadwall for instance. This time last year, Pintail were using the calmer waters of the Wandle rather than the Thames, and there were regularly 3 pairs. In the last week, I have only been able to find 2 pairs, and they were out on the Thames, by Wandsworth Park, about half a mile upstream. Tufties seem to be sensitive to the disturbance – about this time last year there were at least a dozen knocking about, and nearly double that by the new year but for the moment I am restricted to the occasional single bird, which is a pity.

And the rest. Despite the high tides, it has been an interesting week. On Thursday I managed to see 35 species in an hour, which is pretty good going for round here – not so many people about due to the cold, so the birds have been more confiding? Anyway the regulars now include a Little Grebe, 2 Goldcrests, 1 or 2 Chiffchaffs, up to 8 Gadwall, Kingfisher (seen nearly every day last week), a couple Grey Wagtails and the regular Gulls (up to 20 Commons), Finches, Crows etc. A Sparrowhawk was being mobbed by a crow yesterday morning and occasionally a Mistle Thrush drops in. No Med Gulls, No Ring-Billed, No new species…………..yet.

And a final observation. Inner city Gulls don’t eat fruit. They will eat any other rubbish, but turn their nose up at apples, oranges or bananas. Swans seem to like a bit of golden delicious, but not much.:smoke:

 

[Thing]

Very quiet today. Only 4 Gadwall, no passerines of note bar 9 House Sparrows, a smattering of gulls and a Grey Wagtail. The gradiated bank is coming along a well, there are currently about 50 tonnes of sand waiting to go in.

And that’s it for the year as I’m off work till the 5th, so it will be interesting to see how it all changes over the break…

:smoke:

 

[Rockbirder]

Inner city birdin'.

Hey up Thingy, a great read pal. A completely different enviroment to my workplace. Sadly i only get half an hour for snappin' but during the spring and summer i'll be out before work kicks in. Haven't a clue what the list stands at, i'll tot up and let you know.

cheer

Andy.

 

[Thing]

Thanks Andy

but during the spring and summer i'll be out before work kicks in. .

Like most places, it should be the most productive - most of the uncommon birds that I have found here have been in the morning (mainly lost waders).

I'll keep my eyes open for your total!

Back out today in the wind, I was hoping that the cold weather had pulled in a Teal or two, but the best I could manage on the water was a single Tuftie and some Gadwall. And Coots...

 

[Thing]

101 Dem-aythya

Geddit?

Got to Wandsworth Park this lunchtime, there were a couple of Pintail on the way and I found 101 Tufties by the barges. Yellow Legged Gull also amongst what was a fairly busy foreshore! Thought I might of heard a Mipit at one point, but couldn's see anything to confirm a patch tick. The YLG was a nice early addition to the tricky year list species though!

 

[Thing]

Been waiting until I had a camera before starting a blog.

Now I have done both. I aim to run this thread and the blog in tandem - but lets see how it goes, and how my stamina is...

http://countingcoots.blogspot.com/

There is not a lot on it yet, and I've started swearing already. Check it out!

 

[Thing]

Numbers of Tufties have gone to epic proportions now - my previous high cound was in the low thirties, but last week brought three counts of over 100 - the top being 150 birds out by the barges at Wandsworth park. Other winter ducks include 11 Gadwall and varying numbers of Pintail and a couple of Egyptian geese. Friday brought a chiffchaff by the wandle bringing the year list to 39 or 40, not entirely sure how many. This time of year is daft for list making anyway with year lists to start and finish patch lists for the same, garden lists etc etc. Can never remember if each Dunnock (for example) that I see has been entered on that particular list. Perhaps I should keep less lists, but I feel that is not really an option...

 

[Thing]

Lunch today brought a Greenfinch and Kingfisher for the year list, which is now at 42 (blimey!). There were a couple of Goldcrests and a chiffchaff in the normal spot. A few Tufties linger on, a pair of Pintail and a patch high on the Gadwall of 16.

Nice.

 

[Thing]

43 for the year now, with 3 Mistle Thrushes found on Friday.

 

[Thing]

Kingfisher - the proof!

Managed to bag a photo of a Kingfisher this lunchtime - it's not going to bother any competitions for sure - but if you look hard enough you can see it!

 

[Thing]

Patch tick!

Found a Redwing in the thawing snow today to bring the patch total to 71! :t:

Rubbish pictures of it on my blog...

 

[Thing]

46 for the year today with a Sparrowhawk at Lunchtime, and a crow did a woopsie on my arm....

 

[Thing]

Monday brought a Kingfisher (a fleeting glimpse), and a fair few vocal Greenfinches. Two Goldcrests yesterday (I'm reluctant to call them a pair yet) and a late skein of 20 Greylags, which I think is a patch high. I'm running with a series of high tides at lunchtime at the moment, so the water based birds are not so visible (they just leave!).

 

[Thing]

Found a solitary Stock Dove on the forshore today, bringing 47 for the year. Not the most exciting update, but an update nonetheless...