Species in London (1 Viewer)

[clark.2111]

Hello, I'm new to this forum. I live in the United States and I'm a member of the Ohio State University Marching Band. We are taking a trip to London in late October. I'm a birding fanatic so naturally I'm curious what species I should learn to identify before my trip. I don't have specific information on where in London we will be staying, but we're playing at Wembley Stadium so I'm assuming we'll spend a lot of time in that vicinity. Could anyone provide a list of species I should be able to identify or that I might encounter? I'm not sure I'll have time to hit specific birding locations but I want to be prepared for what I might find! Any suggestions of locations or common species in the area would be incredibly helpful!

Thanks and Happy Birding!
-Brittany

 

[delia todd]

Hi Brittany and a warm welcome from me too.

This Opus article for Regent's Park (which is in central London), will give you a flavour of what can be seen in the London area, though bear in mind that most of the warblers will have departed these shores, along with a few other species.

Particularly get to grips with 'our' Robins and Blackbirds, the various tits and Pied Wagtail. You will likely already know Starlings and House Sparrows. But there is a sparrow look-alike, called a Dunnock that you might want to see.

I'm sure someone else will be along soon with some more ideas.

 

[Chris G6 UXU]

Hello Brittany and welcome to the forum, have a good trip to London and all the best.

 

[honeym]

Hi Brittany
There's a London bird list here (http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=uken07&list=howardmoore) but, of course, that will include all the rarities.
Not too far from Wembley Stadium (NNEast) is the Brent Reservoir, or Welsh Harp (http://www.brentres.com). It often turns up some good birds. Almost due South, but further away, is the London Wetland Centre (http://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/london), a man-made wetland bird reserve. Regent's Park, as mentioned by Delia, is also good for birds (http://regentsparkbirds.blogspot.co.uk), as are most of London's Royal Parks. One such park has a daily blog (http://kensingtongardensandhydeparkbirds.blogspot.co.uk) that should give you a taster about what might be found.
Hope this helps and have a great trip.
Martin

 

[Mickster1000]

Don't forget to bring a decent field guide http://www.amazon.com/Birdwatchers-...1480895&sr=1-6&keywords=birds+of+britain+hume this one would do. I use it myself.

 

[clark.2111]

Thanks everyone!

Thank you everyone for the resources, these will help me greatly. I bought the Princeton field guide to Birds of Europe which is pretty bulky. Your information will help me narrow down the species I need to learn. I really appreciate the help!:t:

 

[Digbert Doobrey]

The screaming green arrows are not native. They are introduced Ring-necked Parakeets. No one quite knows how they got here but trust me if you are based in West London you will be seeing plenty of them!