October 27th

Claybury Park:

• Coal Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, flock of Long-tailed Tits, 3 Jays
• Roding Lane North [next to Claybury]: Mistle Thrush, Jay, around half a dozen Common Gulls, Pied Wagtail (AHobson)

Fairlop Waters:

• The conservation rangers and volunteers had a very successful, if not exhausting, day today clearing the lake island at Fairlop of bramble and Michaelmas daisy. I think we have covered about 2/3s of the island so hopefully the Lapwings will like it! We sighted ~25 Lapwings landing just as we were leaving! (Naomi Vincent)

Valentines Park:

• U3A Birding Group Walk (9.45-noon)
• 4 Little Grebes on the boating lake (2 adults, 2 first winter juveniles)
• 2 Great Crested Grebes on the boating lake (both adults, presumably the youngsta has flown the nest)
• 1 Cormorant and 1 Grey Heron both on the boating lake
• 11 Mute Swan (1 cygnet was not present today)
• Canada Geese, 2 Feral Greylag Geese
• 5 Egyptian Geese, 1 on the fish pond, and 4 pretty mobile
• Mallards, Tufted Ducks, 1 Shoveler, 2 Pochard, Coots, Moorhens,
• 1 first winter Herring Gull, 2 Lesser Black Backed Gull, 2 Common Gulls, many Black Headed Gulls, though less than yesterday, and 1 trusty Mediterranean Gull aka Valentino!
• Feral Pigeon, 1 Stock Dove on Melbourne Field, Woodpigeons, 1 COllared Dove
• Kingfisher actively feeding for over 5 mins on the fenced off section of Cranbrook Cut
• 2 Pied Wagtail on the Cricket Field, 2 Grey Wagtail (1 on Cranbrook Cut and one on the path by Fiveways Crossroads
• Wren in the Dell, many singing Robins, Dunnock, Blackbirds, few Mistle Thrush,
• Goldcrest moving along the HaHa trees down from the Cedar Tree
• Also: Great Tits, Blue Tits, 2 Jay, CarrionCrows, Magpies, several hundred Starlings, 3 House Sparrows (Hedges in Brisbane Road), 5 Chaffinch, 1 female Greenfinch, 5 Goldfinch moving along Cranbrook Cut (via Mike Condon)

Wanstead Flats:

• 200+ Starling west, 2 Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush,
• c. 700 Gull on morning roost west of Alexandra Lake (mainy Black Headed and Common Gull),
• good numbers of Wood Pigeon south tree hopping,
• Goldcrest, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, 8 Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, 6 Pochard (5m), 5 Shoveler (3m), Teal (f), 3 Gadwall (2m), Kestrel, 70 Jackdaw with Gulls, Grey Heron (NC/Steve Thorpe).

Wanstead Park:

• (09:00-11:00): 7 Little Grebe (5 Heronry), Great Crested Grebe (perch), 18 Pochard (17 Heronry), 3 Shoveler (OW), c. 40 Tufted Duck (16 OW, 2 Perch, remainder Heronry), 71 Gadwall (64 OW, 7 Perch), 18 + Goldcrest, 3 Grey Heron, 2 Lesser Redpoll, Coal Tit, Nuthatch calling in the Dell (NC/ST)