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'''Please list sightings in alphabetical order by site. Do not post details of scarce breeding birds (those included in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, amended 2000). Any such reports will be removed. Please report them instead to the appropriate London Natural History Society bird recorder.''' Note that records submitted here may be added to the LNHS database for use in the London Bird Report; by posting your news here you agree to have your records copied by the LNHS recorder.

Thursday 2nd June 2011

 * Alexandra Park: fledged broods of Coal Tit and Whitethroat, plus still many singing Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, and 40+ Swifts (David Callahan).
 * Barking Bay: 2 Avocet 10:50 (Birdguides).
 * Brookmill Park (Lewisham) 1 Heron, 12 Mallard, 1 drake Mandarin (yesterday's bird was a female, the first time I've seen one here) 6 Moorhen, 5 Coot, 10 Woodpigeon, 1 Swift, 1 Grey Wagtail, 5 Wren, 3 Dunnock, 4 Robin, 10 Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush, 5 Blackcap (4 singing males & 1 female) 1 Chiffchaff, Blue, Great & Long-tailed Tit flock, 3 Magpie, 4 Carrion Crow, 1 Goldfinch, 4 Greenfinch. (Conrad Ellam)
 * Crayford Marshes: Lesser Whitethroat, Cetti's Warbler, 5 Common Tern, 5 Ringed Plover, Little Egret, 2 Rook. (Kev Jarvis).
 * East Wickham Open Space (Welling): Green woodpecker, swift (2), wren (4), robin (5), blackbird (6), song thrush, blackcap, common whitethroat (4), long-tailed tit (7 incl. 5 recently fledged young), blue tit (4), great tit (7 incl. 4 young), jay, carrion crow, starlings, house sparrow (20), chaffinch (2), greenfinch (8). Ralph Todd
 * Hampstead Heath (Highgate 1 Pond): 2 Reed Warbler; (Hampstead 1 Pond): Grey Wagtail; elsewhere, Lesser Whitethroat, 3+ Common Whitethroat, pr Little Grebe, 3 pr Great Crested Grebe (2 with chicks), 20+ Swifts (Chris Bird).
 * Lewisham Centre: Grey Wagtail/s (one seen and heard, probably others out of sight) on rooftops (Joe Beale and Yu-Hsuan Lin)
 * London Wetland Centre: 2 Common Buzzard high west and north-west 07:45 and 08:40, Hobby, Little Egret west then circled main lake a.m., 16 Common Tern with 2 broods, 3 Reed Warbler broods, 2 Common Whitethroat (LWC website).
 * Lonsdale Road Res:1 Common Tern, 1 Egyptian Goose, 2 Mute Swan with 5 cygnets, 1 Tawny Owl in usual tree, 4 Stock Dove, 4 singing Reed Warbler, 4 singing Blackcap, 5 House Martin, c.20 Swift, 1 Kestrel, 10 Tufted Duck, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Jay, 3 Heron, 1 Cormorant (M Bournat)
 * Paddington Green: male Peregrine Falcon in the area a.m. (D. McKenzie).
 * Pinner Park Farm 1 Common Buzzard (about one mile up) headed off north at 16:21, 35 Swift, 4 Swallow, 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 18 Goldfinch, 2 Black-headed Gull (the first in several weeks), 2 Jackdaw & still 6 Canada Goose goslings on the main pond (Jon Ridge).
 * Regent's Park: Little Owl at least 2 chicks, Kestrel 3 chicks plus Hummingbird Hawkmoth (Tony Duckett).
 * Shirley Park GC: 2 pairs of Moorhen have fledged 7 young so far, 2 pairs of Swallow entering a building near Oak's Farm (Croydon Birders).
 * Wandsworth (King George's Park): Common Buzzard over drifting West (MRH).
 * Wormwood Scrubs: 1 quietly singing Reed Warbler (unusual here), 5 Jackdaw, c3 Stock Dove, usual summer migrants plus belated report of a Common Buzzard on 31st May (The Scrubbers).

Wednesday 1st June 2011

 * Hi, today I heard a bird in a small reed bed - I couldn't see it but it was making a really loud, strangled crying sound. Has anyone got any ideas as to what bird it might be? Where, When etc maybe someone can check it out or you can try to get a recording? (Bob Husband) If it sounded like a pig being slaughtered, it's probably a water rail. Thanks for getting back, here's some more information: It was in the river infront of Island Barn Reservoir (Near Imber Court Police station) at about 8:30 at night. Just listened to Snipe on the RSPB website - http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/snipe/index.aspx - it sounded more like this bird - particularly towards the end. It could be a fox (Andrew Self) Don't think it was a fox as I hear them most nights. Can we rule out very young Moorhens & Coots? - they can deliver a huge range of rather perplexing yelps, grunts & sqeaks (JR). Don't think its a moorhen or coot - I haven't seen any parents coming out of the reeds either.... Managed to get a recording of it though.
 * Bromley-by-Bow: Oystercatcher north over River Lea (05:30), 7 Stock Dove, 5 Blackcap, 7 Whitethroat (including a family), 2 Grey Wagtail, Song Thrush, 6+ Sand Martin (Stuart Fisher).
 * Brookmill Park (Lewisham): 15 Mallard, 1 Mandarin, 6 Moorhen, 5 Coot, 6 Woodpigeon, 1 Stock Dove, 2 Swift, 2 Grey Wagtail, 5 Wren, 3 Dunnock, 3 Robin, 8 Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush, 3 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 juvenile Goldcrest, Blue, Great & Long-tailed Tit flock, 1 Jay, 5 Magpie (2 adults & 3 juveniles), 2 House Sparrow, 1 Goldfinch, 4 Greenfinch (Conrad Ellam).
 * Fleet Street: apparent albinistic Herring Gull perched briefly on roof of Goldman Sachs building at 13.40. Very pale (almost all white) bird showing virtually no black in wing tips or at least a dull pale grey colour rather than black. Size correct for Herring - I am ruling out other 'white' gulls due to season. Could this be the infamous ringed bird SH1T which appears at various other London sites? (Neil Batten).
 * Crayford Marshes: Cuckoo, Lesser Whitethroat, male Corn Bunting, 2 Cetti's Warbler, c50 Swift, 9 Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Grey Wagtail (Kev Jarvis & Steve Carter).
 * East India Dock Basin NR: 1 2nd-summer Mediterranean Gull, 2 Oystercatchers, 4 House Martins, 80+ 1st-summer Black-headed Gulls, 2 Sparrowhawks, Peregrine (Gary A James and ELBF).
 * Holmethorpe SPs: Oystercatcher over, Cuckoo, Lesser Whitethroat (HSP blog).
 * Lloyd Park: 75 Swift (Croydon Birders).
 * London EC1: 2 Black Redstarts feeding in my office courtyard all afternoon. Couldn't see well enough to tell sex but not necessarily a pair - some fairly aggressive chasing going on. (Tom Smith)
 * London Wetland Centre: 4 Mute Swan cygnets, male Shoveler, Sparrowhawk, Great Crested Grebe chick, Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, 12 Common Tern and 3 chicks (LWC website).
 * Margravine Cemetery: 3-4 Mistle Thrush, 1m Great Spotted Woodpecker feeding young, 3 Swift (Nathalie Mahieu).
 * Moorgate: male Peregrine perched on red crane, remaining there for a minute or two even when the crane was moving (David Callahan).
 * Paddington Green: male Peregrine Falcon feeding from 18:30, joined by female from 19:15 (D. McKenzie).
 * Rickmansworth: Osprey west over Waitrose car park 18:45 (Birdguides) also seen flying due north low over my garden in Highfield Way, Rickmansworth at 18.49 (Andrew Moon).
 * Wanstead Flats: pr Gadwall, 1m Pochard, pr Tufted Duck, another batch of 6 Greylag goslings, 25 + Swift (over Alex) plus 10+ over cemetry to the south, 4 House Martin, 1 Swallow (north), Lesser Whitethroat (scrub east of Alex), Willow Warbler (SSSI), plenty of young Common Whitethroat, 3 Little Grebe, 2 Stock Dove, Heron and 2 large Terrapin on Alex island (first I've seen here) (Nick Croft).
 * Wanstead Park: pr Gadwall, 2 pr Tufted Duck, Egyptian Goose, 2 Aylesbury ducklings dumped by somebody (caught and boxed up for the park keepers), 5 Great Crested Grebe, 5 Little Grebe (still only 1 visible chick), Little Egret, Kingfisher, Swift, Swallow (north), 2 House Martin, Sparrowhawk, Reed Warbler. Met a fellow birder who had come looking for Garganey - apparently recorded as being present in last month's Birdwatching magazine, off to check (Nick Croft).
 * South Norwood Lake: pair Mute Swan, pair Great Crested Grebe (with 2 young) 1 Cormorant, 12 Tufted Duck, c12 Ring-neckeed Parakeet, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Common Whitethroat, 1 Willow Warbler, c6 Blackcap, 5 Chiffchaff, c20 Long-tailed Tit, c12 Common Swift, 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Nuthatch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, c6 House Sparrow (John Watson & Gavin Hawgood).
 * Wormwood Scrubs: Kestrel, 4 Linnet, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Common Whitethroat, male Blackcap singing, Song Thrush (N Miller).

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