March 14th 2011

Claybury Park:

• Spring has arrived (or it had this morning) in the shape of the first calling chiffchaff. Singing dunnock, green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers calling and drumming.
• A pair of Nuthatch returning to a tree hole is an encouraging sign.
• Seemed a lot of jays about today, and a jackdaw (uncommon in the park).
• Oddly (after a good morning last Thursday when 5+ were seen) no treecreepers seen or heard today. (Eddie Barnes)

Roding Valley Park:

• Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Jays, pr of Long-tailed Tits, Song Thrush, 6 Common Gulls, LBB Gull, Greenfinch, 2 Wrens. (Alan Hobson)

Valentines Park:

• Egyptian Goose pair still with 3 ducklings
• both pairs of Mute Swan are nest building
• Park staff are in the process of installing a Kingfisher nesting site (Simon Litt)
• 2 Little grebe, Great Crested Grebe, 4 mute Swan, Greylag Goose, 60 Canada Goose, 5 Egytpian Goose (the male chasing off all in sundry, and the 3 ducklings getting bigger day by day), Mallard, 60 Tufted Duck, 20 Moorhen, 150 Coot, 300 Black Headed Gull, 3 Common Gull, Feral Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, 7 Collared Dove, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Green Woodpecker, 2 Pied Wagtail, 2 Great Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, 3 Mistle Thrush, 16 Redwing, 5 Blackbird, 2 Robin, Great Tit, Blue Tit, 5 Long Tailed Tit, 6 Magpie, Carrion Crows, 60 Starling, 7 House Sparrow, 4 Chaffinch, 2 Greenfinch, 2 Goldfinch (Mike Condon)

Wanstead Flats:

• Chiffchaff singing at Alexandra Lake today (Paul Ferris)
• Amazingly, Red Kite east at c11.25, viewed distantly to the north. Low until gained height to lose corvids, then continued east. Also 7 Sparrowhawk (4 simultaeneously), Peregrine NW at c11.55, 4 Shoveler, 70+ Chaffinch east in small groups (J Lethbridge, Mike Taylor); also 5 Great Spotted Woodpecker, male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Green Woodpecker (J Lethbridge)

Wansetad Park:

• drumming Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on the Plain at 07:30 (Natalie Benajeh per Tim Harris).

Woodford Green:

• 4 Jackdaw ot Broadmead Estate (DEH)

Woodford:

• Redwing and Mistle Thrush on the green by the Library (A Hobson)