August 8th 2010

Fairlop Gravel Works:

• female Teal, c10 Tufted Duck, few Pochard
• 3 broods of Little Grebe (pr on the south side have 5 young)
• 5+ Grey Heron, c100 Black Headed Gull
• 3 Kestrel
• 3 Swallow
• few Lapwing (didnt count them today), 8 Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpiper
• c30 Goldfinch
• 4 Stock Dove (DEH)

Fairlop Waters CP:

• Buzzard seen sitting on a post opposite the entrance to Aldborough Hall Stables
• 2 Swallows, 6 House Martins
• Song Thrush, 2 Blackbirds
• 32 Coot, 2 Moorhens, 2 Mute Swans + 1 youn, Cormorant flying over, 25 + Mallard including 1 female with 4 quite young ducklings
• 5 Magpies, 14 Crows.
• 2 Blue Tits, 2 Great Tits, 2 Wrens, 4 Green Woodpeckers, 5 Collared Doves,
• 6 Willow Warblers at least possibly a fall around the Fairlop Angling Club Lake
• 50+ Black Headed Gulls, 100+ Canada Geese (Ian Shaw)

Valentines Park

• lesser black-backed gulls (2 on field), black-headed gulls (lots)
• grey heron (1 on island in boating lake)
• mute swan - could see only 1 adult on boating lake; 2 on fish lake, greylag hybrid on fish lake, mallards, pochards (3m, boating lake), coots, moorhens, little grebe (3, boating lake), great crested grebes - can't be 100% certain but I think I saw 2 from the north bank, under the trees opposite, canada geese
• 2 Grey Wagtail
• long-tailed tits (2 seen, others heard nearby), great tit, blackbird, wood pigeons, feral pigeons, 1 stock dove, magpies, carrion crows.
• Not a single tufted duck! (MSevoir)

Wanstead Flats:

• (06:00-12:00): c.70 Black-headed Gull in day roost next to Alex, then a group of 70+ scoffing grounded flying ants north of Long Wood @18:00, 1 Common Gull, 12 Lesser Black-backed Gull 3 juv), 1 Herring Gull,
• 1 Sparrowhawk, Kestrel,
• 3 Swift, 6+ House Martin,
• Carrion Crow, 22 Jackdaw, 7 Jay, Magpie, Wood Pigeon, 1 Stock Dove, 1 Collared Dove, 20+ Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Wren, 20+ Common Whitethroat, 10+ Chiffchaff, Lesser Whitethroat (east of Long Wood), and a very peculiar sounding bird with a sub song somewhere inbetween blackcap and whitethroat (here we go again!) - shared this experience by phone with Stuart who agreed "peculiar!", never did catch sight of the bird which although very mobile kept hidden,
• Also: 5 Cormorant, Great Tit, Blue Tit, c.100 Starling, 6 Green Woodpecker, 4 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 7 Mistle Thrush, 6 Robin, 3 Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush, Dunnock, 4 Meadow Pipit, 2 Skylark (yay!), Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Mallard, Shoveler, Coot, Moorhen, Little Grebe, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, and 16 Ring-necked Parakeet (Nick Croft).

Wanstead Park:

• (12:00-18:00): Probable Wood Warbler in with one of many roaming LTT flocks (why is there never a grown-up around when you need one),
• 20+ Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap,
• Hobby west over SoM, then 2 calling over Reservoir Wood/Bush Wood, 1 Sparrowhawk ( juv SoM) - so 2 families it is then!
• c .50 Black-headed Gull, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull,
• 5 House Martin,
• Little Grebe (4 in the latest brood south of the main island on Heronry),
• 3 Tufted Duck,
• Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Green Woodpecker, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Cormorant and the escaped White Cheeked Turacao (Nick Croft)

Wanstead Park, Old Sewage Works:

• 11 Whitethroat, 8 Blackcap (inc a 1st-winter male), 9 Chiffchaff, 2 Garden Warbler (2)1 juv Willow Warbler
• Goldfinch (4, inc 2 juvs)
• Also at Heronry Pond 2 ad and 2 juv Little Grebe
• Shoulder of Mutton Pond - 3 ad and 3 juv Little Grebe (THarris)