September 16th 2010

Fairlop Gravel Works:

• c50 Teal, 26 Pochard, c12 Tufted Duck, 4 Gadwall, c10 Little Grebe
• 12 Grey Heron, 6 Cormorant
• c60 Lapwing, 6 Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpiper, 3 Snipe and 1 Greenshank (all south side, apart from 1 of the Green Sandpiper)
• 1 male Sparrowhawk being mobbed (successfully) by 4 Pied Wagtail,
• 1 juv Buzzard (very pale underneath) low, being mobbed by 7 Carrion Crows, landed somewhere in adjacent field (nr Allotments)
• 1 Swallow (over)
• 1 juvenile Green Woodpecker, 10 Meadow Pipit, 13 Linnet,

Gants Hill, Roll Gardens:

• 1 Chiffchaff - seen around 7.35 ish on buddleia front drive & then also on telephone line near my front bedroom window.
• 2 Jays - on neighbours tree 8.20am then flew over our garden in direction of Cranbrook rd north.
• 1 male Sparrowhawk - flying past back bedroom window into other neighbour'stree then lost from view (no kill this time). (Alan Thomas)

Hainault, Farmland:

• Farmland between Hainault Road and Romford Road
• 2 Buzzard (not the same bird as above, as both darker birds), both flushed from low bushes, then circling together, occasionally landing on trees/ground (still present at dusk)
• 2 Sparrowhawk, 1 female Kestrel
• 100 mixed Gulls flock taking advantage of the tracker churning up the field, also 140+ Carrion Crow, 25+ Jackdaw, 4 Jay, and a few Magpie
• 1 male Pheasant
• lots of Woodpigeon, (including a few dead ones and 1 dying one, who fell prey to the shotgun)
• 40+ House Sparrows in a flock near Billet Road
• 1 beautiful male Wheatear feeding
• 2 Chaffinch, 7 Linnet, 2 Meadow Pipit, 4 Swallows and 7 teenage dickheads on trailbikes with no helmets, making noise and scaring everything off.

Wanstead Flats:

• Wryneck sitting in Elder bush for about ten minutes after I got on to it, then flew from east end of Long Wood toward the south side mid-a.m.. (first of the year!)
• Redstart, 4 Whetear, 2 Whinchat (1 Alexandra Lake scrub, 1 south end of broom field),
• 3 Spotted Flycatcher (E end of Long Wood),
• Tree Pipit (over Alexandra Lake), Yellow Wagtail (over broom field north end), Grey Wagtail, 25+ Meadow Pipit, 4+ Skylark,
• 7+ Green Woodpecker, 4+ Great Spotted Woodpecker,
• 20+ Mistle Thrush,
• 12+ Chiffhcaff, Willow Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, 4 Chaffinch,
• 10+ Greenfinch, Linnet,
• 2 Kestrel, 4 Sparrowhawk,
• 2 Grey Heron, 9 Gadwall, 2 pair Shoveler, Common Gull,
• Great Black Backed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull,
• 5 adult Mute Swan on Alex (ooh there be trouble!),
• 28 Ring Necked Parakeet and some other stuff which pales into insignificance (53 sp - a good day, Nick Croft/ Steve Thorpe).
• 14:30 - 16:45: Honey Buzzard south 15:00 approx,
• also Hobby and Pied Flycatcher briefly,
• 3 Spotted Flycatcher still E of Long Wood, 3 Wheatear still there and Whinchat, no sign of Wryneck (Stuart Fisher)