Weather: bright & sunny, bitterly cold. From 12pm.
For a blog with 'urban' in the title I haven't actually done much urban birding, I mostly head out of the city. However after reading of various excellent sightings at londonbirders wiki & group, I decided to leave the car & explore a couple of sites in the city.
First up was Abney Park Cemetery which I got to after riding the Piccadilly underground line up to Manor House, I then jumped on the 141 bus for a few stops then walked along the south-side of Clissold Park into Stoke Newington. On the walk: Crow, Great Tit, Woodpigeon, Blackbird, Starling.
After thinking I'd missed the cemetery, just as I pulled out the map there it was in front of me; once I entered it I found a wonderfully overgrown & ramshackle place just off Stoke Newington high street. There were understandably a few people about, it was Saturday afternoon, but apart from the 3 non-threatening bums enjoying some beers, it was a calm & peaceful place, even more so when I'd grown accustomed to the regular 'plane noise.
I had come mainly in the hope of seeing the reported firecrests. Initially though more common or garden Magpie, Blackbird, Dunnock, & Woodpigeon were seen & a couple of Blue Tit passed close by through the trees, the first of several I saw. Throughout my initial sightings I could hear loud calls of Great Spotted Woodpecker, even some drumming, & as I continued around three soon flew into view chasing each other & drumming enthusiastically - presumably a family party. As I took in the excitable 'peckers my attention was caught by a small bird picking through the trees above the path. I quickly focused, but it was a Goldcrest not its scarcer cousin. I carried on for Wren & Robin flitting amongst the headstones, then Long-Tailed Tit, a few Chaffinch, a couple of Great Tit, a Crow, & a lone Jay above the Isaac Watts statue. I then turned off the main path to a quieter side path & again saw a goldcrest flitting about, but then as I lingered another small bird edged through the foliage, this time noticeably & surprisingly brighter, with a distinctive & stand-out eyestripe: a Firecrest, the new species I had hoped to see. It passed directly over my head down another tree & across the path into the thick ivy behind the Watts statue, & it seemed to be joined by another though I didn't ID the second one - a brief encounter with a charismatic & enigmatic species. After that I wandered for a few minutes longer towards where the firecrests had gone but after no further sightings I decided to move on.
Next, I arrived at East India at 2:30pm after riding the underground to Bank followed by the DLR. The East India Dock Basin reserve is part of the Lee Valley & is a small park & reservoir next to the Thames & I found it to be a little a gem of a place.
After getting off the DLR & heading for the river I immediately noticed a good size group on the shore underneath the Millenium Dome from which I picked out 12 Grey Heron, 11 Cormorant, 6 Great Black-Backed Gull, 6 Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Black-Headed Gull & Herring Gull plus a few Carrion Crow. There might have been a couple of waders but without the 'scope at the distance I was, it was impossible to pick them out.
A few yards along & I entered the reserve & immediately spotted foraging Blackbird, Greenfinch, Long-Tailed Tit, Goldfinch. Then at the far side of the park was the enclosed run-off/reservoir from the river which exposed a good stretch of mud before a reedbed. On the mud were fantastic numbers of really close Teal all squeaking enthusiastically as they dabbled; on the open water were Tufted Duck, Mallard, Moorhen & Coot. After observing the mini-estuary for as long as the cold allowed I made my way back round the park for Woodpigeon, Blue Tit & Dunnock & by the time I had walked to the other side of the basin a couple of Little Grebe had popped up. Then just as I was about to leave a small brown bird lurking at the reeds' edge caught my attention, an unexpected Water Rail, with a curiously grey bill. Luckily I hadn't disturbed it, so it crept out of the reeds & entered the water where it began to wash itself, eventually revealing its red bill that had been covered by the dull mud from a day's foraging. It moved back to the reeds' edge to preen before it inevitably skulked back into the reedbed after about 5 minutes. I then made my way back towards the train but not before spotting a couple of Pied Wagtail on the riverside railings.
Finally as the light was fading I arrived at Island Gardens & headed to the river for a reported wintering ring-billed gull at the end of Glenaffric Avenue but the tide was in so there was no mud. However in the nearby water, far from the bank, was a rather tubby-looking gull with a ring on its bill amongst the black-headed gulls, but without it being closer for a better look, before a boat caused it to take wing, it'll have to remain a common gull.
32 species, 1 new.
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