June 22nd 2010

Aldborough Riding School, Fairlop:

• Little Owl on a telegraph pole on Painters Road, near the nest site (DEH)

Fairlop Gravel Works:

• south side of Painters Road:
• Grey Heron, Cormorant, 1 Black Headed Gull
• 6 Tufted Duck, Canada Geese, Coots, Mallards,
• 45 Lapwing (flock slowly building up),
• Green Sandpiper
• 5 Little Ringed Plover
• Hobby flying low over the site
• 2 Pheasant
• 2 singing Skylark
• 11 Stock Dove
• fledged Pied Wagtail families
• 2 House Martin
• 3 Whitethroat, 8 Linnet, male Reed Bunting
• 2 Brown Hare!

Roding Valley Park, central:

• 5 Song Thrushes,
• 3 Green Woodpeckers [adult and two juveniles, which have fledged safely],
• 6 Blackcaps [inc. a female feeding three juveniles, which have fledged safely],
• Goldfinch,
• 2 Whitethroats,
• several Swift,
• Long Tailed Tit,
• Chiffchaff. (Alan Hobson)

Valentines Park:

• Good News!... Speculation was right... The Egyptian Geese pair have hatched a 2nd brood or ducklings, after losing their first brood to Carrion Crows last month!... They have 4 ducklings this time, and have marched them over to the boating lake island. (John Crick)
• 2 Little Grebe (1 on each lake), 2 Great Crested Grebe (sitting on nest)
• 3 juv Grey Herons still on, or around the nest
• 12 Mute Swan (pr on Fish Pond, pr+8 on Boating Lake)
• Canada Geese, Mallard, 2 male Pochard (boating lake), Coot, Moorhen,
• Feral Pigeon, Wood Pigeon,
• Ring Necked Parakeet at the eastern end of Cranbrook Cut
• Great Spotted Woodpeckers: The parents are still feeding the "singing tree" in the Plantation. Many singleton skattered across the park, 2 Green Woodpecker (others calling)
• also: Wren, 3 Robin, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Blue Tit, Great Tit, 4 Long Tailed Tit, 2 Jay, Magpie, Carrion Crow, few Starling, 5 House Sparrow, 3 Chaffinch, 1 Greenfinch (Mike Condon)
• 39 Canada Geese, Hybrid Greylag Goose, 1 Black Headed Gull, 8 Starling, Dunnock Also, unfortunately 3 rats - 2 on bank of fish lake, 1 very close to island on boating lake. Not good news for geese. (MSevoir)

Wanstead Flats:

• (07:00-11:00): Hobby (over Alexandra Lake),
• Shelduck (West over Alexandra Lake),
• c. 100 Swifts over Alexandra Lake (more elswhere) after flying ants I presume, later joined by two groups of Black-headed Gull totalling c.50-60) and numerous Starlings,
• 32 Cormorant, 14 Lesser Black-backed Gull,
• 2 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, 7 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Green Woodpecker,
• c.135 Carrion Crow on the playing fields,
• House Sparrow, Blackbird, 3 Mistle Thrush, Robin, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-Tailed Tit, Skylark, Wren, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Wood Pigeon, 1 Stock Dove, Herring Gull, Magpie, Jay, Meadow Pipit, Dunnock, 3 Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Canada Goose, Mallard, 10 Tufted Duck, 1 Gadwall, Mute Swan (+4 cygnets), Ring Necked Parakeet, m Kestrel, Pied Wagtail, 5 House Martin, Moorhen, 4 Little Grebe (no young seen), and Coot (the predictable has happened no coot to be seen on the rapidly diminishing round pond, even the froglets were evacuating in their thousands, I wonder how many people will go home today with frog on their shoes) (Nick Croft).

Wanstead Park:

• 4 Cormorant,
• 5 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Green Woodpecker,
• c50-100 Swift over Heronry,
• 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull, large numbers of Black-Headed Gull, 1 Herring Gull,
• 1 Stock Dove, Mistle Thrush, 8 Song Thrush, 2 Ring Necked Parakeet, c20 Jackdaw, 2 Jay, 6 Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warbler, numerous Blackcap and Whitethroat, 2 Garden Warbler, 6 Little Grebe, 1 Great Crested Grebe, Sand Martin and 2 House Martin, Mute Swan (2 broods totalling 11 cygnets). No sign of the Reed Warbler (Nick Croft).

Woodford Bridge, St. Judes Court:

• Hobby
• a few Swift
• 2 Lesser Black Backed Gulls, 2 Mallard (AHobson)

Woodford Bridge, Claybury Road:

• 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers [adult and juvenile, safely fledged],
• Goldfinch (AHobson)