February 14, 2010

February 14th 2010

weather: 5C mostly cloudy
Fairlop Waters CP:
  • dark bellied Brent Goose* (3rd day)
  • 11 Wigeon (Alan Bell)
Hainault Golf Course:
  • 50+ Fieldfare in the field next to the golf course (there the Car Boot usually is)
Valentines Park:
  • Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gull (Juvenile), Common Gulls,
  • Mediterranean Gull** (Valentino, near- full hood, standing on a boat, preening then sleeping, in amongst Black-headed Gulls)
  • 4 Cormorants, 2 Grey Herons
  • Tufted Ducks, Pochards, Mallards, Coots, Moorhens
  • Great-crested Grebe
  • Mute Swans, Canada Geese
  • Carrion Crow mobbing a Heron
  • Blackbirds,
  • Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail
  • Green Woodpecker, Great-spotted Woodpeckers fighting
  • Mistle Thrushes fighting, 100+ Redwings
  • Starlings,
  • Blue Tits and Great Tits on the feeders (Emma Charles)
  • Pochard number has risen even further to a record 24! (PHopkins)
Wanstead Park:
  • Lesser Spotted Woodpecker near the Dell this morning (Marco Johnson)
Woodford Green, Broadmead Estate:
  • Mistle Thrush and Goldfinch calling early this morning
Chigwell, High Meadows: (just outside the borough)
  • garden sightings on Limes Farm (LJeffries)
  • 4 House Sparrows (normally seen in the garden)
  • Unusually there was 1 male Blackcap with them - I've never before seen a Blackcap in my garden.
  • Also saw a Dunnock, a Robin, a Blue Tit and 9 Starlings.
Epping Forest, Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge: (just outside the borough)
  • Ring Necked Parakeet (Patrick O'Donnell)
Epping Forest, Connaught Water: (just outside the borough)
  • Mandarin, Wigeon, 36 Teal, Red Crested Pochard,
  • Great Spotted Woodpecker. (PHa)


* This is the first sightings of Brent Goose at Fairlop Waters since 1991 (19 years ago!)

** Valentino is likely to leave this week... and head back to Antwerp in Belgium where he spends his summer (via France). The latest winter sighting of him the last 2 years has been on the 15th Feb and 17th Feb respectively. We hope that he returns for his 11th consecutive winter in Valentines Park sometime during mid-October.

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