Bushy Park
A quick round up of 2012 Highlights
I started my new role for The Royal Parks albeit only until the end of June 2013 last January. I couldn’t have asked to work two such great parks (Richmond and Bushy). It turned out that I would be spending much of my time in Bushy Park. My role still allowed me to get out into the park. I was pleasantly on just totting up what I had seen to reach 106 species.
Below is a list of birds that I thought might be possible to see there. I have marked the species that I saw.
| Great crested Grebe | Golden Plover | Eurasian Skylark | 1 | Chiffchaff | 1 | ||
| Little Grebe | 1 | Lapwing | 1 | Barn Swallow | 1 | Goldcrest | 1 |
| Cormorant | 1 | Common Snipe | 1 | Sand Martin | 1 | Firecrest | |
| Little Egret | 1 | Woodcock | 1 | House Martin | 1 | Spotted Flycatcher | 1 |
| Grey Heron | 1 | Curlew | Tree Pipit | 1 | Pied Flycatcher | ||
| Mute Swan | 1 | Redshank | Meadow Pipit | 1 | Long-tailed Tit | 1 | |
| Grey lag Goose | 1 | Green Sandpiper | 1 | Pied Wagtail | 1 | Blue Tit | 1 |
| Canada Goose | 1 | Common Sandpiper | Yellow Wagtail | 1 | Great Tit | 1 | |
| Egyptian Goose | 1 | Black-headed Gull | 1 | Grey Wagtail | 1 | Coal Tit | 1 |
| Common Shelduck | 1 | Common Gull | 1 | Wren | 1 | Nuthatch | 1 |
| Mandarin Duck | 1 | Herring Gull | 1 | Hedge Accentor | 1 | Tree Creeper | 1 |
| Mallard | 1 | Lesser Black-backed Gull | 1 | Robin | 1 | Jay | 1 |
| Eurasian Wigeon | 1 | Great Black-backed Gull | 1 | Common Redstart | Magpie | 1 | |
| Gadwall | 1 | Kittiwake | Whinchat | 1 | Carrion Crow | 1 | |
| Northern Shoveler | 1 | Sandwich Tern | Common Stonechat | 1 | Rook | 1 | |
| Common Teal | 1 | Common Tern | 1 | Northern Wheatear | 1 | Jackdaw | 1 |
| Red crested Pochard | 1 | Feral Rock Dove | 1 | Ring Ouzel | 1 | Starling | 1 |
| Tufted Duck | 1 | Stock Dove | 1 | Blackbird | 1 | House Sparrow | 1 |
| Common Pochard | 1 | Collared Dove | 1 | Fieldfare | 1 | Brambling | |
| Goosander | 1 | Turtle Dove | Mistle Thrush | 1 | Chaffinch | 1 | |
| Ruddy Duck | Wood Pigeon | 1 | Redwing | 1 | Greenfinch | 1 | |
| Common Buzzard | 1 | Rose-ringed Parakeet | 1 | Song Thrush | 1 | Goldfinch | 1 |
| Red Kite | 1 | Cuckoo | 1 | Sedge Warbler | 1 | Hawfinch | 1 |
| Eurasian Sparrowhawk | 1 | Tawny Owl | 1 | Eurasian Reed Warbler | 1 | Bullfinch | 1 |
| Osprey | 1 | Little Owl | 1 | Dartford Warbler | Common Crossbill | 1 | |
| Common Kestrel | 1 | Swift | 1 | Lesser Whitethroat | 1 | Siskin | 1 |
| Eurasian Hobby | 1 | Kingfisher | 1 | Common Whitethroat | 1 | Serin | |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 | Lesser spotted Woodpecker | 1 | Blackcap | 1 | Lesser Redpoll | 1 |
| Water Rail | 1 | Greater spotted Woodpecker | 1 | Garden Warbler | 1 | Meally Redpoll | 1 |
| Moorhen | 1 | Green woodpecker | 1 | Wood Warbler | Reed Bunting | 1 | |
| Coot | 1 | Woodlark | Willow Warbler | 1 | Yellow Hammer |
Below are some of the photos taken last year in Bushy Park
Cold weather in early February saw a small flock of Lapwings spend a couple of days in the paddocks. A Common Snipe also spent time feeding on the pools in the Brew House Fields.
This Stonechat was possibly forced to move by the cold weather. At least 80 Siskins could be found on the western side of the park.
This Little Egret could also been seen by the Roaring Arch.
I was pleased to catch up with a pair of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. Only one pair now remain in the park and I am sure will soon be history due to the presence of the parakeets
In Regent’s Park Kingfishers were annual but elusive. I was lucky to find a spot that the birds favoured.
It was also a pleasure to have another one of my favourite birds the Swallow breeding in the stables.
Little Owls can also be found the birds near Hawthorn Cottage are fairly reliable.
If you were lucky 5 species of birds of prey could be seen during the day.
A highflying Goosander was a pleasant surprise in November
Comments
Sorry for the lateness of this but I've lacked internet access recently:
18 December about 2pm I went looking for the water rail in regents park, didn't see it but saw an odd duck instead - free flying, light grey body and brownish, very small head, small beak, speckled front, 2 black stripes along its back along top of wings, big white wing panels in its wings in flight. Had a tussle with a male gadwall, similar size and colour but looked more sawbillish. Couldn't ID it, looked a bit like a cross between a male and female goosander and a female goldeneye, any ideas or did anyone else spot it?
21 December about 1:30pm - Christmas present from the park, the water rail showed nicely in the ditch for about 15 mins with some moorhens, and then as it disappeared I heard a chiffchaff calling :)
2 January 1:30pm - I was having lunch on hanover island when I spotted the water rail nipping out of the reedbed on the lake side amongst the new reed fringe for a minute. Also flock of about 20 siskins flew off out of the cricket pen across the playing fields!
Essay over, will try to post more promptly next time :)
Happy New Year!
Don't worry about the lateness of the report.As I have said before I am just glad that you and a few others take the time to let me know what they have seen.
The duck that you saw is baffling me. The start of your description was sounding like a 1st winter drake teal but then you throw in white wing bars and reminded you of a sawbill and I am lost. Maybe someone else will put us out of our misery.
It is interesting that you saw the rail amongst the newly planted reeds. I had a beach constructed facing the bridge that I think has now got plants growing on it. I will try and have these removed as it might allow us to view the rail when it is mooching about.
Thanks again
Tony
Cheers
Tony
:)