Weather: cold, grey & windy. From 11:30am.
From Hyde Park Corner along Serpentine Road on the Serpentine: Coot, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Shoveler, Black-Headed Gull, Red-Crested Pochard (feral).
Crossing Exhibition Road into Kensington Park Gardens: Ring-Necked Parakeet noisy in the trees; Little Grebe from the Serpentine Bride on the Long Water.
In the trees around the feeder near the Physical Energy Statue: Robin, Starling, Great-Spotted Woodpecker. After a scouring the nearby trees eventually the target bird was spotted unassuming against a tree trunk, a day-roosting Tawny Owl. Unfortunately we only spotted one & not the widely reported family group, but maybe next time.
On Round Pond: Common Gull, Great-Crested Grebe, Egyptian Goose. Many of the previous species also seen again in an area where many people come to feed them, as a consequence they were extremely naturalised & easy to approach.
14 species.
Thursday 26 February 2009
Wednesday 18 February 2009
Stoke Newington Reservoirs, London, 15/02/2009
Weather: same as earlier & trying to rain. From 14:30pm.
After the Isle of Dogs, a trek up to Stoke Newington for the reservoirs were a great-northern diver had been reported for the past fortnight & which would be another UK tick. However I took a little longer to get there after getting a bus that went in the opposite direction to where the reservoirs were!
West Reservoir.
Walking along the canal-side bank, on the opposite side to the reservoir, but which allowed good views across the water for usual common reservoir species: Black-Headed Gull, Common Gull, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Cormorant, Coot, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Canada Goose, Shoveler in mainly in pairs & in good numbers; along the path Blue Tit, Wren, Crow & Blackbird; a pair of Gadwall on the canal which was a nice surprise; back on the reservoir Great-Crested Grebe.
East Reservoir, from 14:45pm.
I continued on to the next reservoir to see if the diver had moved on, & picked up a few species in addition to the west reservoir: Pochard, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Mallard, H Gull; at the end of the path a scrubby area with a couple of large trees held nosiy groups of Great Tit, Long-Tailed Tit, Starling, Greenfinch & Goldfinch.
Unfortunately no sign of the diver on either reservoir & I later learnt that it had flown off west earlier that day after being disturbed by boats on the water.
25 species, none new.
After the Isle of Dogs, a trek up to Stoke Newington for the reservoirs were a great-northern diver had been reported for the past fortnight & which would be another UK tick. However I took a little longer to get there after getting a bus that went in the opposite direction to where the reservoirs were!
West Reservoir.
Walking along the canal-side bank, on the opposite side to the reservoir, but which allowed good views across the water for usual common reservoir species: Black-Headed Gull, Common Gull, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Cormorant, Coot, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Canada Goose, Shoveler in mainly in pairs & in good numbers; along the path Blue Tit, Wren, Crow & Blackbird; a pair of Gadwall on the canal which was a nice surprise; back on the reservoir Great-Crested Grebe.
East Reservoir, from 14:45pm.
I continued on to the next reservoir to see if the diver had moved on, & picked up a few species in addition to the west reservoir: Pochard, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Mallard, H Gull; at the end of the path a scrubby area with a couple of large trees held nosiy groups of Great Tit, Long-Tailed Tit, Starling, Greenfinch & Goldfinch.
Unfortunately no sign of the diver on either reservoir & I later learnt that it had flown off west earlier that day after being disturbed by boats on the water.
25 species, none new.
Isle of Dogs, London, 15/02/2009
Weather: dull, cold, still. From 11:45am.
Another trip out to the Isle of Dogs (last time was 13th January) for the regular & long-staying ring-billed gull which I'd missed the first couple of times because I'd always got the tide wrong. This time I was determined to get there at low tide & after riding the buses because the tube was down for engineering, & the DLR, I made it in time.
Off at Island Gardens & along the river walk up to the Glenaffric Road slipway, lots of gulls foraging on the muddy banks: Black-Headed Gull; lesser numbers of, but still numerous Common Gull; a few Lesser Black-Backed Gull with a few Woodpigeon & Carrion Crow also; & the occasional Herring Gull, & mainly first winter birds also.
At a viewpoint area to the left of the slipway, overlooking a section of exposed bank, I scanned through the gulls in order to pick out the ring-billed, which was no easy task because of the number of common gulls & their variability of plumage as Spring creeps around the corner. In particular a few had quite prominent rings on their bills but the weaker-looking bill finally told that they were not what I was after. During the time spent here however a few Goldfinch flew over, & a few Mallard moved through. Finally though I did pick out an individual with fewer flecks on its head, a deeper chest, a stronger bill with a ring & the diagnostic pale iris of the Ring-Billed Gull, a UK first, which spent some time preening before wandering about the back foraging. Whilst I watched it, a couple of fellow birders came back from further up the river, they were following a first winter Mediterranean Gull which they picked out amongst the black-heads, & which was a nice bonus.
After watching the ring-billed for several more minutes I headed off but not before also seeing a lone Pied Wagtail & several Cormorant coming into fine spring plumage with white head-dress & thing-patch.
12 species, none new but one UK first.
Another trip out to the Isle of Dogs (last time was 13th January) for the regular & long-staying ring-billed gull which I'd missed the first couple of times because I'd always got the tide wrong. This time I was determined to get there at low tide & after riding the buses because the tube was down for engineering, & the DLR, I made it in time.
Off at Island Gardens & along the river walk up to the Glenaffric Road slipway, lots of gulls foraging on the muddy banks: Black-Headed Gull; lesser numbers of, but still numerous Common Gull; a few Lesser Black-Backed Gull with a few Woodpigeon & Carrion Crow also; & the occasional Herring Gull, & mainly first winter birds also.
At a viewpoint area to the left of the slipway, overlooking a section of exposed bank, I scanned through the gulls in order to pick out the ring-billed, which was no easy task because of the number of common gulls & their variability of plumage as Spring creeps around the corner. In particular a few had quite prominent rings on their bills but the weaker-looking bill finally told that they were not what I was after. During the time spent here however a few Goldfinch flew over, & a few Mallard moved through. Finally though I did pick out an individual with fewer flecks on its head, a deeper chest, a stronger bill with a ring & the diagnostic pale iris of the Ring-Billed Gull, a UK first, which spent some time preening before wandering about the back foraging. Whilst I watched it, a couple of fellow birders came back from further up the river, they were following a first winter Mediterranean Gull which they picked out amongst the black-heads, & which was a nice bonus.
After watching the ring-billed for several more minutes I headed off but not before also seeing a lone Pied Wagtail & several Cormorant coming into fine spring plumage with white head-dress & thing-patch.
12 species, none new but one UK first.
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