February 13th 2010

weather: cold, overcast, sunny spells, light snowy showers.

Fairlop Waters CP:

• 9am-midday: RSPB NE London Local Group guided walk with TLachhar and DEHull (17 in attendance).
• earlycomers saw Fieldfare fly over the carpark
• 2 Cormorant on the jetty, 1 was wing-spread and both were marked with white plumage on the flanks and head.
• c12 Lapwing on the gravelled island,
• juvenile Mute Swan on the bank, looking very weak, attempted to join our party, and was being hasstled by some dogs. (Tajinder phoned for help, the Swan has been rescued, well fed, and is on its way to a Swan sanctuary!)
• Canada Geese and Greylag geese scattered throughout.
• yesterdays Dark Bellied Brent Goose was still present in the same place, (in the field to the east of the Fishing Lake)
• 55 Tufted Duck on the fishing lake, with a further 10 on the boating lake (male to female ration 2 to 1)
• c10 Gadwall, 32 Shoveler (over), 5 Pochard on the boating lake, 6 Teal on the spit (Hainault Farm)
• Mallard, Coots and Moorhens as exected
• 4 Little Grebe
• Black Headed Gulls and Common Gulls, with 1 single Lesser Black Backed Gull.
• Green Woodpecker (heard) and Grey Heron (over)
• Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over the plain
• c200 Lapwing and 30 Golden Plover seen flying over the gravel works site (from near the spit)
• 13 Meadow Pipit and 5 Skylark in the field by the spit
• 2 Snipe flushed from a flooded section of the plain
• male Kestrel perched on the driving range fence
• 2 parties of Long Tailed Tits (at least 15), Blue Tits and Great Tits, 5 Wren, many Robins a few Blackbirds and Redwings (of which 1 was a real close-up) and a Song Thrush
• Flock of c40 Carrion Crows tree-roosting which included 2 Jackdaw
• 3 Stock Dove (over)
• also: Magpies, Starlings, Pied Wagtail, Feral Pigeon, 2 Collared Dove, Wood Pigeons, Chaffinch
• 2 (possibly 3) Brown Hare seen near the spit. 45 Bird Species seen!

Fairlop Gravel Works:

• 2 Mute Swan, Mallard, the 32 Shoveler (above) were swimming here now, 13 Teal, 4 Gadwall, Coot and Moorhen
• Cormorant (over)
• c400-500 Lapwing (at least 400, other small groups seemed to keep joining the flock), 30 Golden Plover, 1 Green Sandpiper and at least 25 Snipe! (25 flushed, probably a lot more present)
• 1 obliging Woodcock circled the site.
• Great Spotted Woodpecker heard drumming in Hargreaves Scout Camp
• 1 female Pheasant
• 2 Meadow Pipit
• 23 Stock Dove (a flock of 22, flying around a lot, but remaining present, and a single bird resting on the mound)
• 10 Lesser Black Backed Gulls in the gull flock (DEH/TJ/AT/CG)

Ilford, Ingleby Road:

• Blackcap (M) on ivy and pyracantha berries,
• Great Spotted Woodpecker on fat feeder,
• Wren,
• 5 Long-tailed Tits passing through plus usual Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Robins, Great Tits and Blue Tits on feeders. (JCrick)

Roding Valley Park, Central:

• Little Egret on the roding, near Woodford Bridge
• c20 Redwing on the grass outside Broadmead Baptist Church (DEH)

Valentines Park:

• 50+ Redwing flock + 1 Fieldfare
• 2 Mistle Thrush
• 20+ Goldfinch
• 1 Herring Gull in flock
• 3 Cormorants, 2 Grey Herons
• pr Egyptian geese (Barbara J)
• Valentino the Mediterranean Gull is still present, showing well, nearly in complete summer plumage*
• 120 Redwing**
• 21 Pochard*** (PHopkins)

Wanstead Flats:

• 6 Greylag Geese
• Fieldfare, Redwing (JLethbridge)

Epping Forest, High Beech Golf Course: (just outside the borough)

• Woodcock, Corn Bunting (Mike Benyon)

Epping Forest, Strawberry Hill Ponds: (just outside the borough)

• male Australian Wood Duck (Maned Duck), 4 Mandarin; 6 Coal Tit; 2 Nuthatch. (BJ)

* 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.

** This sighting takes the total number of Redwing in the London Borough of Redbridge to over 1000 (taking the highest count recorded at each site) (DEH)

*** This is the highest count of Pochard in Valentines Park this year (and for several years)