16th March 2007

Clissold Park 0930-1030 MJP
sunny, mild. light SW.



Redwing - 7 (inc. 2 singing)
Chiffchaff - 4 (inc 3 singing)
Goldcrest - 1
Pochard - 8
Little Grebe - 2
GS Woodpecker - 4




Abney Park Cemetery 1100-1130 MJP
cond. as above.

Chiffchaff - 3
Blackcap - 1
Green Woodpecker - 2
GS Woodpecker - 2

15th March 2007

Walthamstow Marshes 1130-1230 MJP
sunny, warm. mod SSW.

Little Owl - 1
Meadow Pipit - 6
Stock Dove - 10
Linnet - 8


Hackney Marshes 1230-1330 MJP
sunny, warm, mod SSW.



Blackcap - 1 singing
Chiffchaff - 3 singing
Teal - 17 (on the river)
Common Gull - 15 (on the football fields)

14th March 2007

again, three local sites covered today:

Stoke Newington Reservoirs 0630-0800 MJP, PR, TB
Sunny, clear, still.



Green Sandpiper - 2
Water Rail - 1
Chiffchaff - 1
Ring-necked Parakeet - 1
Gadwall - 10
Little Grebe - 4
Common Gull - 1 ad
Reed Bunting - 4

another beautiful morning, and although (excluding Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs) spring migration has yet to reach the borough, there are worse ways to spend the early morning in Hackney. The Parakeet is the first to be recorded at the Reservoirs (although the species is occasional at or over other sites in the area).


Walthamstow Marshes 1130-1300 MJP
sunny, warm. light SW.

Little Owl - 2
Meadow Pipit - 1
Grey Wagtail - 2 (over)
Linnet - 7
Goldfinch - 16
Stock Dove - 24
Sparrowhawk - 2
Kestrel - pair



Three pigeon spp. feeding together in the Riding Centre field.


Abney Park Cemetery 1350-1440 MJP, TB
bright, warm. light SW.





Tawny Owl - 1 sunning/roosting
Blackcap - 2

Thanks to Tony (Butler) for the tip-off on the Tawny Owl, which is the first daytime record in the Cemetery for some years.

13th March 2007

three local sites covered today:

Clissold Park 0930-1045 MJP, TB
mainly clear & sunny. light W.

Blackcap - 1 singing
Chiffchaff - 1 singing
Goldcrest - 1
Shoveler - 12
Pochard - 17
Little Grebe - 1


Abney Park Cemetery 1045-1120 MJP, TB

Blackcap - 1 singing
Green Woodpecker - 2
Long-tailed Tit - 7

also 2 Peacocks and a Red Admiral.

Walthamstow Marshes 1145-1315 MJP
sunny, warm. light W.

Little Owl - 1
Linnet - 7
Fieldfare - 13
Redwing - 4
Stock Dove - 12
Green Woodpecker - 1
Meadow Pipit - 3

also Brimstone & Red Admiral on the wing.

12th March 2007 (add.)

The Angel, Islington:

a male Peregrine chased pigeons overhead in the sunshine around 1pm.

11th March 2007

Stoke Newington Reservoirs 1600-1730 MJP, PR
mainly sunny, mild. light NW.





Water Rail - 1
Sparrowhawk - male and female
Shoveler - 10
Green Sandpiper - 1 (ER)
Common Gull - 6
Herring gull - 12

mild, spring conditions made for another pleasant session, with little new to report, but one of the two (or possibly three) wintering Water Rails showed well at close range by the NE outflow of the ER.

A Green Sandpiper again favoured the southern stretch of the ER, where a very small feeding area has developed. Common Gull numbers across Stoke Newington and other local areas have been depleting all week as birds return to their northern breeding grounds, so six at the ER was notable.

Clissold Park 1500-1550 MJP, PR

Goldcrest - 3
Shoveler - 15
Pochard - 18
Sparrowhawk - 1
Mistle Thrush - 4

also Brimstone & Small White on the wing in the park.

9th March 2007

two sites covered:

Clissold Park 0930-1100 MJP
sunny, mild. light W.

Shoveler - 16
Pochard - 18
Mistle Thrush - 4
Green Woodpecker - 1
GS Woodpecker - 3
Goldcrest - 2
Sparrowhawk - 1 male

Abney Park Cemetery 1100-1200 MJP

Redwing - 7
Sparrowhawk - pair
Kestrel - female
Stock Dove - 9 (inc. pairs at nest holes)
Green Woodpecker - 2
GS Woodpecker - 4

8th March 2007

Walthamstow Marshes 1100-1230 MJP

Siskin - 1 female
Linnet - 2

also a male Brimstone on the wing in Millfields Park south (a few hundred metres SW of the marshes)

7th March 2007

Stoke Newington Reservoirs 1300-1430 MJP, PR
mainly bright, changeable. mod NW.



Red-crested Pochard - adult male and adult female, ER
Green Sandpiper - 1, ER
Chiffchaff - 2 (one singing WR, one ER)
Gadwall - 9
Little Grebe - 5
GC Grebe - 4
Shoveler - 5
Sparrowhawk - pair together
Reed Bunting - 1 male

an afternoon wander in spring-like weather, and relatively entertaining (despite the vain hope of an early migrant remaining unfulfilled). A pair of Red-crested Pochards are on the ER, the first record of the year so far - while records are regular in the autumn, sightings in winter, spring and summer are only occasional.



Two Chiffchaffs were present, a singing male along the New River west, and a 'new' bird - distinctly greyer and duller - fed in along the New river east.



A Green Sandpiper (visible in the above picture, perched on a broken reed!) was at the ER, as were the usual duck species, although numbers are significantly lower than in recent weeks (probably indicative of wintering birds beginning to leave).

6th March 2007

two sites covered:

Clissold Park 0900-1030 MJP
early showers, then sunny and mild. light/mod SW.

Shoveler - 14
Pochard - 18
Redwing - 2 (feeding in deer enclosure)
Goldcrest - 4
Mistle Thrush - 3
Little Grebe - 1
Tufted Duck - 7
Goldfinch - 16
Chaffinch - 20
Long-tailed Tit - 7



Walthamstow Marshes 1130-1315 MJP
mainly sunny, mild. light SW.




Stonechat - female
Reed Bunting - singing male
Meadow Pipit - 3
Sparrowhawk - 1 female

3rd March 2007 (2130 - 0000)

2nd March 2007

again, two local patches covered today:

Walthamstow Marshes 1050-1240 MJP
sunny, clear, mild. light SW.



Little Owl - 1
Redwing - 1 (in song)
Siskin - 1 female
Stonechat - 1 male
Linnet - 7
Meadow Pipit - 8
Jackdaw - 1 south
Reed Bunting - pair
Carrion Crow - 290+
Kestrel - pair
Sparrowhawk - 1



A mild, sunny and entertaining on the marshes, with several notable records: a female Siskin has joined the mixed finch flock along the western edge of the riding centre, a Redwing broke into full song several times near the central railway line, and a Little Owl - initially heard calling - was attending a suitable nest site (in a different location to records over the past few months).




Other records included a Jackdaw south over Lea Bridge roundabout, and a male Stonechat in conflict with a male Reed Bunting in the bombcrater field.



Clissold Park 0900-1000 MJP, TB
sunny, clear. light SW.

Goldcrest - 2 (one in song)
Shoveler - 11
Pochard - 18
Little Grebe - pair
Mistle Thrush - 4
GS Woodpecker - 4

1st March 2007

Stoke Newington Reservoirs 0745-1000 MJP, PR, TB
bright, mainly sunny. Mod/gusting WSW.



Green Sandpiper - 2
Chiffchaff - 1
Water Rail - 1
Reed Bunting - pair (male singing)
Sparrowhawk - 1
Kestrel - pair (displaying)
Shoveler - 3
Gadwall - c25
Little Grebe - 3
Great Crested Grebe - 3






Walthamstow Marshes 1115-1320 MJP
sunny. mod-gusty WSW.

Skylark - 1 (over)
Fieldfare - 11 (riding centre field)
Meadow Pipit - 4
Kestrel - pair