Last Kestrels in Stockwell.
In 2010 a pair of peregrine falcons raised young for the first time in Vauxhall on the Keybridge House British Telecom building (now demolished in 2016). This was also the last year kestrels raised young in the area (see the map). The kestrels had bred at 2 alternative nest sites for decades. Banham Security building in Wandsworth and just over the borough boundary in Stockwell/South Lambeth, Kemp House residential block SW8.
Read the story of the Vauxhall Peregrines
In 2010 the Banham Security factory building was the last site used and 2 juvenile kestrels fledged.
In 2009 they used the Kemp House nest site, a block of residential flats and fledged 4 juveniles. Up to this year they alternated between the 2 sites and it is possible back i…
Merlin male
To my amazement have just watched a male Merlin drinking from garden fountain in Vauxhall SW8.
Black-necked Grebe
Hey! I'm Kini Roesler from Argentina and I'm trying to visit this weekend to try to see the black-necked grebe that was at the reservoir. I work with the Hooded Grebe in Argentina. If someone wants to join me please contact me (kiniroesler@gmail.com). Best!
Richmond Park Feb 10th
4 Stonechat (1 Female)
Reed Bunting
2 Greenfinches
Kestrel
Song Thrush
5 Green Woodpeckers
Nuthatch
Goldcrest
Red Kite over Northwood
It was for the frist time that I saw a Red Kite this far east. It flew over Northwood ( and the adjacent Haste Hill) Golf Course and was following the strong wind and thermals in a northerly direction. I did see one elsewhere, which I was able to take a picture of as well. Maeland1960 (talk) 14:35, February 23, 2014 (UTC)
New Year's Day 2014
I thought I'd start a blog again this year - to document the epic battle (getting carried away as just been watching the Top 50 moments of Harry Potter...) between my two local patches in 2014.
This year will mark the 30th anniversary of my first trip to Brent Reservoir and since I've been doing various patchlist challenges it's always been my main one. Last year I decided I needed to spend more times doing one of the sites along the Lower Thames and I settled on Swanscombe Marsh to be my new patch. It's hardly local as it takes me two hours to get there whereas if I want to bird at Brent I can just look out of my living room window! More on Swanscombe later when I make my first visit there this year.
New Year's Day at Brent Reservoir has be…
Teals at the Thames
It was a pleasant surprise to see about 15 Common Teals (Anas Crecca) in the Thames last Sunday, across from Fulham stadion. I wasn't expecting them there, since the water is salty. But they seemed to be having a jolly afternoon if you listened ( a lot of whistling and chatting).
They are just beautiful little ducks and it was a pleasure to watch them...and take pictures of them as well.
Maeland1960 (talk) 08:42, December 31, 2013 (UTC)
Walthamstow Reservoirs - Destructive plans afoot
Sorry if someone has already mentioned this but plans are well ahead to open up Walthamstow Reservoirs to:
Cyclists (there is ALREADY a cycle path along the river so no need for them to enter the reservoirs area)
CHILDREN
Dogs
Install a cafe
"make it more accessible to the public" by doing the above and perhaps organising educational things, guided walks, etc.
1) It is already accessible to ANYONE who calls at the office on Ferry Road and pays £1 (except children and dogs!)
2) The wildlife can be seen fairly close to, young waterbirds/ducklings/goslings with their parents wander about on the path or nearby on the banks as they are used to the calm quiet environment, walkers and fishermen. If children and dogs are allowed in, I believe it is inev…
LITTLE GREBE
Hi all,
I am about to start my final year dissertation for my MSc in Ornithology and the Little Grebe will be my chosen species to study. Anybody give me a heads up on where they have sedentary Little Grebes on their patch. I am particular interested in Grebes on urban lakes.
Hope you can help.
Dave Clark
(dave@mailbox.co.uk)
Imperial College London - Ring-necked Parakeet Study (April 11th Roost Counts)
Dear All,
We will be carrying out our second simultaneous roost count from 7:00-8:30pm on Sunday 11th April. Thanks again to those that were involved in our first count in January which totalled over 14,000 parakeets. We have since found a few more roosts which should increase our estimate of the UK parakeet population. This second count will also allow us to start investigating the change in population dynamics throughout the year.
We are dependent on volunteers to help us count as we are simultaneously covering several areas across the South East. For those that counted in January just let me know if you would be happy to count again on 11th April and if you have a preferred roost. For those that are new to volunteer please fill in the attac…
Walthamstow Res, Feb 15th
The 'suspiciously-like a Dusky Warbler' finally got confirmed at lunchtime so I maanged to leave work early and head up there in the afternoon. It was calling when I first got there but flew along the canalside bushes and disappeared. It then showed briefly to RJW before vanishing again. We all split up to search, four of us popping in to Tottenham Marshes to look for it but no sign there. I decided to check from the reservoir side and as I got there I heard it call and could see it on the top of the concrete wall. I called the nearest people over and it started to shoew again although a little bit more distantly. Eventually most people got good enough views of this first for London! A very successful twitch although I couldn't manage to f…
Brent Res Feb 13th
Another bitterly cold day. Fortunately we had a conservation work party scheduled - clearing the reeds that were blocking the views from the hides - so after a little while we'd worked up enough sweat so as not to notice. I was still trying to cool down about half-an-hour after finishing! But at least we've now got a clear view of the mud in east marsh for the anticpated wader-fest in spring!
Bird wise today, no real change, both the female Scaup & drake Goldeneye were still present. And the hoped for movement of rare wildfowl missed us as Whooper Swans were reported at two other sites. Bugger!
Westminster Feb 12th
I had planned to go to St James's Park this lunchtime as a couple of Yellow-legged Gulls were reported there yesterday but as it was raining I decided to give it a miss. So I wasn't expecting to get any patchlist additions today, however, mid-afternoon I glanced out of the window as a Peregrine shot past! Excellent, that's my second one I've had since moving in just over 18 months ago.
Brent Res Feb 7th
Another cold day that got colder as the morning went on due to a NE breeze. There be snow on the way! The drake Goldeneye ws still around which was a surprise as they rarely stay more than a day. A flock of Lapwings was on the rafts, I counted 11 when they got spooked and had a fly around before returning. When they did this again they picked up a couple of strays to make 13. Later they did it again and the number had got up to 15. After I left it went up to 16. One wonders if they were scanning the skies for odd Lapwings which they went up to rescue?
I did manage one more for the patchlist challenge, a Kingfisher which I heard going along the canal feeder as I returned home, now on 74 of the 79 total species recorded at Brent this year.
Great's & Blue Tits Feeding Out of the Hand.
Hi Michael
Nice video of Great tit, Blues and the odd Robin coming in to feed out the hand, And look forward to more of your interesting postings from your travals around the inner london parks.
Best Regards Malcolm
Brent Res Feb 6th
A very gloomy start, low cloud and some mist meant it was difficult to make out the far end of the reservoir from the hide. Hopeful of the conditions bringing in rare scarce wildfowl we stayed in the hide and were eventually rewarded when a fine drake Goldeneye flew in and landed close by. An hour and a half later it was joined by a female Scaup, at one point both of them were together. Two useful additions to my patchlist challenge. Also saw the Tawny Owl again at its day roost, being harrased by Jays & Magpies!
Westminster Feb 5th
Another wander around St James's Park at lunchtime, hoping to photograph the Med Gull again as the light was much better. It wasn't where it was the previous 2 days but I found it on the other side of the path, away from the lake. and it was very close, perfect. Well actually too close at times as it got to within one metre! Still managed to get some cracking photos though - and I could hear a Mistle Thrush singing as well which was an addition to the patchlist challenge!
Westminster Feb 4th
Another walk around St James's Park this lunchtime in a light drizzle. Still, at least ths Med Gull was there again and this time I had my camera. Not to difficult to get a shot as it was very close. opefully an adult next time! Also added Goldcrest to my yearlist, but still no raptors!
Westminster Feb 3rd
My first visit to St James's Park this week (and month!) and it paid off. I walked around the lake checking through all the gulls and eventually found what I was looking for - the 1st-winter Mediterranean Gull that I'd seen a couple of times at the back end of last year. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me this time as it was very close so will have to try again! And shortly after that success I added two more birds to my patchlist - by the cafe I heard a Treecreeper calling persistantly and while looking for that found a Greenfinch feeding under some bushes! So now up to 39 for the year.
Brent Res Jan 31st
And I thought it was cold yesterday! A freezing day so didn't spend too long up the res - long enough however to add two to my patchlist, a heard only Chiffchaff near the hide and a couple of Greylags that flew in and landed by the dam. Despite almost half of the res being iced over the f***ing sailors decided to come out and scare off a lot of the ducks who had nowhere else to go as their usual sanctuary in north marsh was totally frozen. I hope some of them capsized!
Not much more to be added now until some of the displaced birds start to return, like Kingfisher & Grey Wagtail.
Brent Res Jan 30th
A freezing cold day with an overnight dusting of snow - not what I was expecting! At least it was bright & sunny. As I was scanning through the ducks from the hide, Andrew Verrall arrived to say he'd just seen a Tawny Owl roosting in East Marsh. We went out together and he showed me the bird, it was sitting right out in the open in the sunshine, a lovely bird and a nice addition to my patchlist. There were up to 2 birds sitting in the same area last year so it was good to know they're still around.
Very little else seen though, a flyover Jackdaw and a handful of Fieldfares & Redwings.
Norfolk Jan 22-25
A weekend away from Brent Res, my first this year. I don't normally fret about what might turn up when I'm away if I'm going somewhere else where the birding is better. And you can't get much better than Norfolk. On a wet Friday we started at Santon Warren on the promise of 200 Bramblings. We could only manage 5-6 but it'll do and we carried on to Lynford Arboretum. Almost the first birds we saw there were a small flock of Crossbills feeding in the Larches and then a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - excellent, first one I've seen there. We went down to the Paddock but it was devoid of Hawfinches but a flock of Siskin flew over and we heard Marsh Tit. It was on to Welney next, stopping enroute to see a flock of Bewick's Swans. After lunch and se…
Westminster Jan 21st
A nice sunny day for a change as I walked around St James's Park. And it was clearly enough to get quite a few birds singing and it wasn't long before I heard my target bird - Coal Tit, the last resident passerine that I needed for the year. I was half hoping for a raptor to fly over as well but that didn't happen so it'll have to be another day...
Brent Res Jan 19th
Another quick visit before work so wasn't expecting much. From the hide I was counting/scanning the Snipe and the next thing I knew a drake Mandarin was in view! Excellent, they're barely annual here although I've seen them maybe 8-10 times. Which is more than can be said for Leo who still hasn't seen one after more than 50 years birding at Brent! I wonder if he'll trade me both partridges for this morning's sighting?
Westminster Jan 17th
A lunchtime walk around St James's Park. I was surprised to see so much ice on the lake stil after the mild weekend. The gulls seem to like at ias they were plenty standing around on it including a colour-ringed Herring Gull. I've got the number so I'll try and trace it. There was also a LBB Gull which was new for the year along Shoveler and Great Spotted Woodpecker so 3 additions for the patchlist comp was very productive. Still no raptors though!
Brent Res Jan 17th
After seeing virtually nothing in wet & windy conditions yesterday I was hopeful for today with the forecast being calmer and even sunny! I spent the first hour and a half doing the monthly WeBS count. It did mean I did a proper check of all the gulls and made sure thetre wasn't anything intersting hiding amongst them. I did see a small flock of gulls fly over with a Great Black-back amongst them which was new for the year and when I was in the hide, I also heard a Linnet going over. Once the count had been completed I had a long walk around the area with Andrew Verrall. The sky looked good for something flying over and we saw a flock of 17 Lapwings and a single Skylark. As we walked up the slope we heard a Treecreeper although we couldn't…
Rainham Marshes Jan 15
I got a text from Dominic Mitchell this morning saying he'd just found (or refound) a Glaucous Gull at Rainham, a bird I still needed for my London list. After mulling it over and checking I had a clear afternoon I decided to leave work at 12.00 and head over there. Fortunately getting there from work on public transport is pretty easy, got the tube from Westminster to Tower Hill, walked up the road to Fenchurch Street and even had time to buy a coffee before getting on the 12.35 train. Arriving at Purfleet just before 1.00 it was then a 15 minute walk to the reserve, although I had to go a slightly longer way round as the bridge over the river was closed as they were resurfacing it. I did see they were building a new bridge at the mouth o…
Brent Res Jan 12th
Popped up the res for a little while before work hoping that yesterday's Red-crested Pochards would still be around. Unfortunately they'd gone overnight and nothing much had replaced them. I did notice that there seemed to be a lot of Gadwall so proceeded to count them and ended up with a new site record: 447!
Tried various places in the North Marsh for Woodcock after two were seen there yesterday but no luck with those either. As I walked back over the cricket pitch with Andrew Verrall we noticed a big commotion and found ourselves looking at our second Common Buzzard in four days - this one being chased by a big group of Crows and Magpies. Eventually it gained height, all but one Crow had given up, then flew off west.
Westminster Jan 11
First lunchtime visit to the Thames this year. I popped over to the little park by the Houses of Parliament for half an hour - it was a bit too cold to stay any longer. While I was feeding a fair chunk of my sarnie to a Black-headed Gull, I noticed a Great Crested Grebe suddenly surface on the river below - this is the first one i've ever seen here on the river although they're quite regular in St James's Park. So that made up for the lack of a Med Gull which had been seen on this stretch of the Thames over the weekend. I'll have to try again when the tide is lower as there weren't many gulls today.
As an aside I also added Woodpigeon to my office window list today - 18 months after moving in! Just shows how bleak it can be for very common…
Brent Res Jan 10th
Another cold day at Brent, no more snow though. And seemingly not much of anything really. No change in duck species apart from one Ruddy Duck (no doubt taking refuge at Brent to avoid being shot!). I decided to look for Chiffchaff in East Marsh but no sign of the 5 that were there in December, then I walked around to Neasden Rec to check the Alders for Siskin. No luck there either. As I walked back home I was thinking there must be Woodcock here somewhere. The path by the side of reservoir takes a big detour to avoid a wet copse with a little stream. As it was unfrozen it looked perfect for a roosting Woodcock so in I went - and out went a Woodcock!! Excellent. A little while later Roy Beddard called to say he'd flushed one from the path …
Brent Res Jan 9th
Hoping to get something new in the cold weather. And with a biting NE wind it was really cold out so I was quite relieved to get to the hide for some shelter. There was still some large patches of clear water amongst the ice but despite scanning several times I couldn't find anything new. And so the skies, plenty more scanning produced some flocks of Redwing & Fieldfare over but nothing else. As I was thinking of leaving at 11.30 I suddenly noticed a lot of birds flying around over the South Bank - must be a raptor I thought and quickly picked up a large bird of prey being mobbed by a Crow. I got the other people in the hide onto the bird and we could soon see that it was a Common Buzzard. It picked up a few more Crows in pursuit as it cro…
Westminster Jan 7th
I decided to brave the freezing conditions and have a wander around St James's Park at lunchtime. I did seriously consider whether it was worth it when I got there as the orbital path was akin to an ice rink. Still, as I'd managed to get there I decided to continue anyway as there was bound to be some yearticks to be had on my Westminster patchlist. I changed the boundaries on my Westminster patch this year so I could include the park and have settled on a 1km radius from my office in Great Smith Street.
Finally managed to nail Blackbird & Robin - must be a sign of the times when one gets Ring-necked Parakeet on one's patchlist three days before Robin! Also had a good scan of the ducks and managed to find a Ruddy Duck amongst the captive Wh…
Brent Res Jan 6th
I didn't expect to add anything to my Brent list today as it was a work day. However, it had snowed in Westminster all morning and was getting heavier by early afternoon so I thought I'd leave early while the Jubilee Line was still running! By the time I arrived in Neasden it was nearly a blizzard and the snow had settled to a depth of about 10 centimetres or 4 inches if you're over 60.
With a bit of daylight remaining I went up Neasden Rec with the intention of scanning the wildfowl for anything interesting. It was quite hard work as the only open patches were on the far bank and the snow was coming down heavily - straight into my scope. Needless to say I didn't see much except I did flush a Meadow Pipit on the way which was new for the ye…
Malcolm Riddler - Morden Hall Park - Ravensbury Park - Sutcliffe Park Blog
Morden Hall Park 2010 - Introduction Morden Hall Park is a National Trust property around 120 acres in size situated within the London Borough of Merton, Southwest London TQ264687.. It is very much an urban park no more than 5mins walk from Morden Town Centre and Morden Underground Station.
If you are interested in any aspect of the park or indeed Ravensbury Park or Sutcliffe Park please leave a comment. In the meantime the following links will take you to various pages which provide detail of the parks and the ornithological surveys I am doing at the moment. Happy Birding and thanks for looking at this blogs.
Morden Hall Park 2010 - Breeding Bird Surveys And Standard Walk Count Results
- Morden Hall Park 2010 - Breeding bird Census & Standard Wa…
Westminster Jan 4
Typically my first addition to my Westminster 2010 yearlist was a Feral Pigeon as I walked from the tube station to my office. At lunchtime I had a walk around St James's Park. THe lake was mostly frozen over but there were still plenty of tourists around. I managed to get 25 species including most of the regulars with Egyptian Goose & 4 Ring-necked Parakeets the best species although both of these exotics have become fairly regular now. I particularly enjoyed the female Smew & Red-breasted Merganser but as they're part of the collection I couldn't count them on the list. Maybe in this cold spell I'll get some real ones?
Brent Res Jan 3rd
Well it didn't take long - just my third visit to Brent this year and I failed to add a yeartick. Without anything moving there wasn't much prospect really. I counted all the Teal - 182 which I think is a new site record. Also took a 'walk' through the jungle of East Marsh, the path in front of the factories has long overgrown, disappeared, got blocked by fallen trees, crossed by pollution spills etc. There was a chance of Chiffchaff and I did hear a sinle call which could have been but didn't see anything.
I won't have much time to add anything else now for the rest of the week as I'll be at work. Still got to pop up at dusk and listen for owls.
Brent Res Jan 2nd
Firstly, a quicl update on yesterday. I omitted Teal from my list so I actually finished the day on 57 species which is pretty respectable. Today was always going to be much tougher. With most of the commoner ticks out of the way, it was down to searching for the elusive ones or hoping something good flew over. Like a Lapwing. It didn't. In fact, nothing flew over at all. Well, OK, that's not quite true, we saw the Little Egret fly in and drop behind the dam again but that was it. What happened to that cold weather movement? There was a light dusting of snow overnight and half of the northern reservoir had frozen over so it was cold enough to get things moving.
Still, at least I could be content with the two year ticks I did manage, even i…
Brent Res Jan 1st
Just back from almost six hours birding up the res. I set myself a target of 50 species for the day to start off the 2010 patchlistlist competition and comfortably beat that with 56 species. The first bird of the day was a gull flying around before dawn and although I suspected it was a Black-headed Gull I decided not to start the year off with a string! So it was a Crow a few minutes later that kicked the yearlist off. As I left the house in slightly better light (but still pre-dawn) I saw a real Black-headed Gull and followed this up with a few more common species but not the Robin I was expecting. They must have had a late night as I didn't get one until species number 7. I already had 11 species before arriving at the reservoir at 08.0…
Brent Res Yearlist
I thought I'd start a new blog for 2010 about my birding at Brent, based loosly on my efforts in the Patchlist Competition. 2009 has been a great year for me - and Brent (more of that later). As there's only a few hours of daylight left it's fair to say I'm going to finish on 135 species which gives me the runner-up spot in the competition. As the fat yellow man says "Woo-hoo!"
That's not only my highest yearlist at Brent but also the all time highest list by any single observer, not bad considering the reservoir has been around over 170 years! In some ways it's been a strange achievement - great because I got to see all (well almost - I dipped two Whinchats!) the common and scarcer birds during the year but also failed to see a single rari…
Morden Hall Park 2010
Morden Hall Park - Introduction
Morden Hall Park is a National Trust property around 120 acres in size situated within the London Borough of Merton, Southwest London TQ264687.. It is very much an urban park no more than 5mins walk from Morden Town Centre and Morden Underground station.
Morden Hall Park 2010 - Breeding Bird Surveys And Standard Walk Count Results
- Morden Hall Park 2010 - Breeding bird Census & Standard Walk weekly/Monthly Count Survey Results.. (Page 1)
- Morden Hall Park 2010 - Breeding bird Census & Standard Walk weekly/Monthly Count Survey Results.. (Page 2)
- Morden Hall Park 2010 - Breeding bird Census & Standard Walk weekly/Monthly Count Survey Results.. (Page 3)
- My Patch Lists 2010 - (Morden Hall Park) - (Ravensbury Park)…