10th January

Regent’s Park

Not much to report and certainly no photo opportunities, even with yesterdays sunny afternoon. I have been a little concerned as changes I made to the rail feeding station. I had tried to make the entrances into the cage narrower to deter the Moorhens. I hadn’t seen the bird taking any food since it arrived last year and neither had Dave. However I had some good news yesterday, the bird was seen feeding inside the cage. I am waiting to here if the Moorhens are still gaining access. The next sunny day I will see if I can get a photo, something I was unable to do during the winter of 2011/12.

That was really the only update from Regent’s apart from.

Common Teal: a female was seen on the lake.

Siskin: one was in the Cricket Pen.

Bushy Park:

News from the last couple of days.

Common Teal: a pair were on the Scrape yesterday.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker: a male was drumming in the Round Plantation yesterday afternoon. The mild conditions must have fooled him, normally woodpeckers start drumming towards the end of February.

Kingfisher: a female was perched by the river just north of Dukes Head Passage opposite the screen.

Fieldfare: five were feeding in the Brew House Field and a single bird was in the paddock nearest Dukes Head Passage. It or another was present in the same location last week.

Redwing: 25 were perched in the dead/dieing Willow trees by Upper Lodge Road yesterday morning.

Lesser Redpoll: one was in trees by the river on Dukes Head Passage yesterday.

Siskin: a flock of at least 120 were feeding on Alder seeds by the river in the Woodland Garden today.

 

Comments

Eland said…
A lovely afternoon to be in the park with several, and very approachable long-tailed tit flocks, a number of goldcrests and a couple of drumming greater spotted woodpeckers. I thought I wasn't going to see anything out of the ordinary but luckily on the way back from the waterhouse pond, walking towards the iron bridge area, I heard some parakeets behind and saw a female sparrowhawk shooting low along with the parakeets following. It landed somewhere in the dead trees and bushes to the right of the longford river and I managed to find it perched on a dead tree.
I was told last year just after I had started working in the park that L S Woodpeckers were visiting a garden of one of the lodges near the water house gardens. The one nearest Hampton Hill.