April 30th 2010

weather: 15-18C, showers pm

Fairlop Waters CP:

• 200+ Swifts around the boating lake
• also 40+ Sand Martins and 3 House Martins
• 2 families of Greylag Geese (1 with 2 goslings, and 1 with 10 goslings)
• 2 Coots on nests (1 on boating lake, 1 on fishing lake)
• Moorhen on nest on the fishing lake
• pr Reed Buntings around the boating lake
• 3+ Willow Warbler, several Blackcaps, Whitethroat and Chiffchaffs singing
• yesterdays 'damaged wing' Common Tern still present this afternoon (4pm)

Fairlop, Forest Farm:

• Kestrel Hunting (DEH)

Gants Hill, Roll Gardens:

• male Blackcap still singing in the garden (TLachhar)

Hainault Forest CP:

• from the lake northwards:
• Mute Swan on nest,
• 1 Coot on nest
• 1 Mallard family with 10 ducklings that appear to be only 1 or 2 days old
• 2 families of Canada Geese (1 with 4 goslings, 1 with 5 goslings)
• Great Crested Grebe
• 1 Collared Dove, 20 Wood Pigeon
• 3 singing Skylark in adjacent fields
• 7 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Green Woodpecker,
• Cuckoo heard calling near the golf course
• 20 Blackbird, Song Thrush, 12 Robin, 17 Wren
• 21 male Chiffchaff, 16 male Blackcap, 8 male Willow Warbler, 3 male Whitethroat
• 11 Carrion Crow, 83 Jackdaw, 26 Magpie, 2 Jay, 2 Starling, 6 House Sparrow
• 40 Blue Tit, 12 Great Tit, 12 Long Tailed Tit,
• 2 Nuthatch
• 17 Chaffinch (DEH)

Ray Park:

• 20 Starling,
• 4 Goldfinch
• Grey Heron (over)
• singing Song Thrush (TLachhar)

South Woodford:

• 2 Swifts over this morning (PGordon)

Wanstead Flats:

• 2 Swallows over (NW) by Alexandra Lake
• Sparrowhawk being mobbed by Crow

Wanstead Park:

• pair of Great Crested Grebe in full courtship display on Heronry Pond
• 8 Whitethroat, including 6 males in the old sewage works area
• singing Willow Warbler in the plain (THarris)
• 25 Swifts over Heronry Pond (JCharter)