The forecast I saw on the Beeb at 5.25am said it was going to be sunny, well that’s a joke. The morning in Bushy Park started damp and drizzly before we had glimpses of the sun before the heavy band of rain arrived at 12.50pm. I do hate it when Dave (from Regent’s Pk) phones, it is normally bird news and something that I have to hope will remain until 3.30pm, the time that I get back there. He phoned this morning at 8.00am with an unusual record (see below).
Regent’s Park
Shelduck: five birds on the lake.
Tawny Owl: one was in the Leaf Yard Wood, area 41 at 7.10am. The pair in this area moved nest locations a few years back and we are unsure if they have bred successfully for several years.
Red-legged Partridge: this was something that the finder didn’t expect to see on this piece of non arable land. This is the second park record, the last being a bird that was seen walking around the Outer Circle. It is impossible to say whether it is one from outside London or an escapee from someone's aviary.
Water Rail: still present in area 2. It will be interesting to see how long it stays a once the boats are on hire again. The larger area of reeds might make it feel a little safer.
Blackcap: a male was singing by the entrance to Primrose Hill. It is still slightly early for genuine migrants to reach us and is more likely to be an over-wintering bird.
Siskin: still a few birds knocking around the NE end of the lake.
Bushy Park
Not much chance to bird. On the bright side and we need some brightness Skylarks were in good voice near Upper Lodge Road and in the south-east corner of the park.
Grey Heron on the lookout for an amphibian brekki
Not surprisingly it is a one-sided contest.
Then you digest it.
Comments
1) there's a large patch of bare earth on the hillside that could have attracted it iinitially;
2) the same escapee/farmland arguments could be raised about the similarly non-native Pheasant, which is on both Park lists; and finally,
3) I had last November's Bullfinch, my second-best bird so far, in the same spot and I've long suspected there's a flyway 'funnel' over that part of the Park for birds on passage - which might partly explain why there's a pair of Sparrowhawks nesting there!
Red legs are a bird of grasslands and scrub and arid areas, not parkland, unless it surrounded by the fore-mentioned.
It would have had to be flying at low level to see a patch of soil. The pheasant would fit in the same category as a bird of unknown origin.
There is a flight-line that birds possibly follow that links the larger areas of green space and water on a line SW to NE. The only reason that I haven't included the previous bird from my list was it slipped off the radar while editing.
It is up to you if you what you how you class it. It is a Red-legged Partridge and an interesting record.