22/1/11: Bittern is star of Cheshunt show again

Up at 06.45 (urghhhh) to get to Cheshunt for a Roy Woodward-led LNHS meeting around former gravel pits in the Lee Valley Regional Park.

Saw 48 species of birds. This time there was a Bittern standing in a channel through the reeds, head pointing skyward, at precisely the time we entered the hide. It remained there for a little while before moving into the reedbed. Whilst we ate our lunches we had a couple more decent views as it came out and crossed these purposefully cut narrow channels, which increase reedbed 'edge' feeding sites.

Other highlights were: a couple of female Goosander, a few Smew, a few Goldeneye, a Pink-footed Goose amongst a flock of Greylags, Wigeon, a gathering of Fieldfares in a cattle field and a very good view of a Treecreeeper towards the end of the meeting.

19/1/11: North Heath Rec and Erith Cemetery birds include Redwing and Greenfinch

There were 15 Wood Pigeon on North Heath recreation ground, around 60 Starlings - mainly in a large tree, but also on house chimneys and TV aerials - where the gardens of houses on Brook Street form part of the park's boundary, and also at least 8 House Sparrows here.

Further along Brook Street, in the eastern part of Erith Cemetery, there were 6 (and possibly one or two more) Redwing - of which I've seen none so far this winter, except on or by Crayford Marshes and, very pleasingly a group of 12 Greenfinch. The latter most probably make use of the nearby Erith Quarry site, which is now mainly secondary scrub. 14 House Sparrows were utilising a feeder in adjoining garden. There were also 20+ Wood Pigeon, 4 Ring-necked Parakeet, 3 Magpie, 2 Carrion Crow, several Starlings, Blue Tit and a Robin.

17/1/11: Crayford birds, high water and a load of rubbish

Having had a meeting near Crayford Way to discuss Bexley Natural Environment Group's submission on the Site Specific Allocations part of the Council's draft Local Development Framework, and the future of BNEFG in the wake of the unexpected death of its Chairman, Jeremy Cotton, over Christmas, I took the opportunity to check out the river and TRW.

Following heavy rain and, no doubt, a contribution from ground saturated by previous snow-melt, the Cray was the highest I'd ever seen it ...

The dry Reedmace stems (centre in the above photo) mark the normal margin of the river

The Cray passing the Riverkeeper Volunteers yard by Footpath 106. The tufts of vegetation sticking out of the right hand side of the river mark the normal extent of the water.

Maiden Lane bridge with the water nearly touching the underside of the roadway

Negative impact: large numbers of plastic bottles and cans, presumably dislodged from places on the riverbank where they had been inaccessible to River clean-ups, or hidden in summer vegetation growth, were now strewn all along the banks by By-way 105

The water level in the Wansunt, where it crosses Thames Road Wetland, was up compared to normal levels, but not as noticeably as on the neighbouring Cray

Water levels on the TRW pools were not much higher than normal, though they had crept outwards up the shallow banks a bit, and in this photo were getting the Brookweed's feet wet in amongst the clumps of dark green rushes (just left of centre)

25 Goldfinches were seen along By-way 105 by the River Cray, and there were a couple of Coot on the river near the Thames Rd bridge, as well as 2 more on the TRW 'lake'. Looking south from the east end of the Sewer Embankment, a Little Egret was spotted in the distance, following a Grey Heron west over the farm between the Cray and the Dartford Loop railway line. There were 10+ Teal and 3 Moorhen on a watery field here.

Circa 240 Starlings were on the electricity pylon at the junction of Thames Rd and University Way. More Teal, 12 Shoveler and 2 Mute Swan were on the flooded fields on the Dartford side of Crayford Creek.

15/1/11: Birds of eastern Bexleyheath

First up, Martens Grove:

1 Green Woodpecker - my first record of this species here, feeding in a grassy glade with Pigeons, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker - later heard drumming, 3 Goldfinch, 1 male Chaffinch, 1 Wren, 22+ Woodpigeon, several Ring-necked Parakeet, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow and Robin.

Then round the corner to Shenstone Park and the 'pinched off' north-east 'enclave' of Hall Place North just over the main road:

Here the birds included 2 Mistle Thrush, 1 Wren and Ring-necked Parakeets.

Across a short section of footpath and I was into Hall Place North 'proper':

Of note were 1 Green Woodpecker, and four separate groups Ring-necked Parakeets heading west over Gravel Hill approaching dusk - totalling circa 43 birds.

There appeared to be no House Sparrows in the school playing field hedge on Gravel Hill, but there was a lot of chirruping from evergreen shrubs by the Council multi-storey car-park on Albion Rd - perhaps they decamp here in the winter for more protection?

9/1/11: Lesnes Abbey wood birds

Went out on the first Lesnes Abbey Conservation Volunteers event of the year, and my first for some time. We were clearing Ivy and other more robust plants from an area where Wild Daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) had been present, but had declined. The wood is noted, for amongst other things, the fact that this is possibly now the only site in the capital where the species is found naturally. Towards the end of the task a couple of clumps of the Narcissus were found, just starting to poke their leaves above ground. There were quite a few shoots of Bush Vetch in this particular location.

For details of the group and the future events diary please see here, all are welcome to get involved. No special skills are needed.

http://www.lacv.btck.co.uk/

Arriving early as usual, I'd done a bit of bird-watching by the Abbey ponds before others arrived. There was 1 Grey Heron, 1 Moorhen, circa 40 Carrion Crow, 4 Magpie, 1 male Chaffinch, 1 Robin, 3 House Sparrow and 2 Blue Tit.

Later in the wood I noted 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Ring-necked Parakeet and a group of circa 43 Woodpigeon.

7/1/11: Erith Cemetery flora and avifauna

Went into Erith Cemetery on Brook Street for the first time, on this occasion the eastern side.

The flora was to some extent typical of the dry, sandy soil in this part of Bexley Borough. There was a huge amount of Common Stork's-bill (Erodium cicutarium), a small amount of Bird's-foot (Ornithopus perpusillus), Sheep's Sorrel, Parsley Piert sp., quite a lot of Mouse-ear Hawkweed, Henbit Deadnettle and a lot of Sedum acre and Sedum (probably) album, the latter two presumably escaped out of the gravel on top of some of the graves.

3 Goldfinch were seen, circa 44 Starlings in Poplars between here and Carlton Rd., Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit, House Sparrows, Carrion Crow and about 25 Wood Pigeons.

On leaving, House Sparrows were heard in bushes in the western section.

Towards dusk about 34 House Sparrows were counted flitting into shrubbery by the car park in Northumberland Heath recreation ground.

6/1/11: Busy for birds in Barnehurst back garden - including Black-and-white Blackbird

Lots of birds in the garden this rainy, but mild afternoon. Up to 10 Starlings, some on the ground and others squabbling around the bird table and trying to get past the Wood Pigeon.

A Magpie. A couple of Blue Tits and a Robin.

Also, after a long period with little Blackbird activity, there were three males and a female on the lawn together. One of the males, a rather sleek and apparently a juvenile bird, has small white areas on its shoulders and a prominent pure white blotch on each cheek, and looks altogether rather handsome. Here he is .... (you'll have to excuse the very poor quality photos, taken with a mobile phone through a double-glazed window in poor light, from a distance and then enlarged a lot):