6th August

Regent’s Park

One of Dave’s Fab Four turns up.

Pied Flycatcher: a female/juv was in the Cricket Pen, area 31 at 9.25am, “great find Birdman-euston”.

Garden Warbler: one close to the flycatcher.

Common Whitethroat: one also in area 31.

Willow Warbler: six in area 31.

Chiffchaff: 3 in area 31.

Reed Warbler: one feeding in the Bamboo clumps at the end of area 34.

Richmond Park

I spent today in Richmond Park tagging trees that contained OPM nests. I didn’t have anytime to really bird, so I thought I would check on the Common Tern juveniles. At first they weren’t there but after a short time they flew in with their parents. So I apologise for yet more tern photos, but terns are such elegant birds.

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I cant ever remember seeing a tern perched on a branch before or a fence.

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Yet another irresponsible dog owner that cant read

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A family party of 5 Grey Wagtails were by the Pen Ponds enclosure

  

Comments

After seeing the tern photos....I am putting away the digi scope .... Magnificent photographs Tony....Pied Fly a great spot....sadly missed, to busy focusing the digital scope.
I didn't see the Pied Fly, it was quiet breezy in the pen during the afternoon.

Digiscoping is fine and I still do it if the target is stationary.
birdman_euston said…
7 Aug:

Cloudy, cooler than yesterday (13C) with a chill S wind that kept the ever-surprising, ever-mobile flock of songbirds in the Cricket Pen hidden behind the leaves for the most part. At the moment, the lure of plentiful food seems to be stronger than the pull of migration for many of the songbirds I've found there this past week - a 'feather' in the Park's cap due to your efforts and others', Tony!

Pied Flycatcher 1 (briefly seen twice in the Cricket Pen, area 31 at 07:35 - probably the same bird as yesterday but although I birded the Pen for much of the next two hours I didn't see it again; however, as reported to the London Bird Club Wiki, Andrew Birks found a Spotted Flycatcher in the Pen at lunchtime today).
Because I got a perfect view of the wing pattern of the female PF seen yesterday, I researched its age on the net and I'm confident that it was an adult bird, as its middle tertials had narrow, unworn white feather-edgings of even width.

Garden Warbler 2 ( in Cricket Pen at 07:35).

Common Whitethroat 1 (ditto).

Willow Warbler 7+ (6+ in the Cricket Pen and one in the willow saplings in the Old Golf School nature paddock, area 39).

Chiffchaff 3.

Little Grebe 8 (three adults feeding five young - i'm happy to confirm that the family of four I first saw in the Longbridge sanctuary three days ago is the *third* success of the summer because I saw the second, a family of five, off Bandstand Island, area 7 this morning as well).

House Martin 5.
birdman_euston said…
7 Aug (correction):

In fact, Andrew Birks found his Spotted Flycatcher not in the Cricket Pen but in the "small avenue of rowans" just W of the nature paddock in the Old Golf School, area 39 around noon today.
birdman_euston said…
8 Aug:

Warm (17C), cloudy and calm at dawn after a good soaking of rain overnight that brought out the army of slugs in force.

Garden Warbler 1 (Cricket Pen, area 31 at 07:25).

Willow Warbler 8 (six in the Cricket Pen and singles at the viewing platform, area 35 and near the line of small rowan trees in area 39).

Reed Warbler 2 (at NW end of area-5 reed bed at 07:55).

Chiffchaff 1 (the last of the dwindling summer residents, calling from its territory in the grounds of The Holme, area 10 at 08:15).

Black-headed Gull 135 (one juvenile; some of the local mob have flown the coop, at least temporarily, now that half of the moored rowing-boats they roosted on have been removed to clean off the 'whitewash').

House Martin 7.

Swift 1.

(Wood Bitter-vetch wilting rapidly in the area-40 field.)
birdman_euston said…
9 Aug:

Clear, calm, warm (17C) and muggy at dawn: high summer has returned for a few days at least.

Little Grebe 16 [7 ad & 9 yg; a fourth brood of four has hatched just W of York Bridge, area 13 - there may be as many as five pairs (including a possible nesting pair at N end of Bandstand Island, area 7) and 12 young (although I haven't seen the first family of four in area 2 for over a week now) on the Boating Lake at present, feeding on recently-emerged shoals of those tiny, plump, silvery fish that to me look more like stickleback than perch fry].

Great Crested Grebe 4 ad (including one incubating eggs at NE tip of Heron Island, area 8).

Garden Warbler 2 (one in the nature paddock, area 39 at 08:15 and another in the Cricket Pen, area 31 at 10:05).

Willow Warbler 7 (two in Queen Mary's Gardens, area 18 at 06:10, three in the nature paddock, area 39 at 08:15 and two in the Cricket Pen at 10:05).

Chiffchaff 3 (one calling in The Holme, area 10, one scruffy juvenile calling near The Holme at Longbridge and one in Cricket Pen).

Black-headed Gull 50 (adults feeding on Holme Green, with 5 imm on or near the fenceposts offshore, at 06:35).
Moulted gull feathers are floating everywhere in the Boating Lake.

(A fast-growing bloom of duckweed has covered nearly the entire surface of the SE arm of the lake E of York Bridge.)