Isle of Dogs & East India Dock Basin, east London - 11th December 2009

A long overdue visit to a cluster of sites on and close to the Isle of Dogs in the East End (and the latest in this ongoing series of London patch familiarisation). Today's guide was the esteemed Mr. Nick Tanner, long-serving local birder and walking encyclopedia of London records (one of two limited volumes if we throw in a Mr. MacKenzie of Paddington green).

We covered Bow Creek Ecology Park and the riverbank (Chiffys, Redshanks, Common Sand and plentiful Reed Buntings), East India Dock Basin (almost 200 Teal, other ducks, more Reed Buntings), Mudchute Farm (21 Monk Parakeets, unarguably charming, in these circumstances at least), and the river (at the traditional Ring-billed Gull site - no sign unfortunately, but a pair of adult Peregrines kicking back on an industrial building).

Walthamstow Reservoirs, east London - 9th December 2009

argentatus Herring Gull, Kingfisher, diner and dinner

Another opportunity to combine work and local birding, with another jaunt just beyond the Hackney border. This time a full, snaking circuit of all the southern group of reservoirs (a good three hours or so to cover the site fully) in mercifully still, fairly mild conditions; in truth very little around, it still being fairly early in the winter and conditions being relatively settled and mild. Still, the crawl along the almost submerged tunnel over to West Warwick is always an It's-A-Knockout style challenge, and the Water Rails at the other end were well worth it.

Dagenham Chase, east London - 4th Dec 2009

Grey Heron, Long-tailed Tits

Another work-related excuse to explore a well-known, yet - here it comes again - criminally-underwatched urban patch. Like various, previously mentioned others, it's a magnet for migrants, especially those that find themselves with limited choices within the endless sprawl of Greater London; and of course, it's barely covered - except on the occasions when a rarity turns up, when it's predictably inundated.

Quite how such places aren't covered with the dedication and commitment they deserve is mystifying, with such a vast and concentrated part of the UK populace within spitting distance here in Babylon; surely there are more birders within striking range in the heart of the East End?

And The Chase has more to offer than the ornithologically attractive but aesthically bleak environs of an oceanic reservoir, manicured parkland, or indeed Rainham Marshes - the latter of course being a honey-pot for the countless processions just a few km south, which tells its own story.

It's a great place, with an enviable, almost ideal mix of habitats, swathes of undisturbed open space, and a fantastic, muddy-margined, magnetic pool and wetland (the Slack) smack bang in the middle - not to mention the extensive grassland, woodland, marsh, meadows and scrub.

On this beautiful sunny winter day I went walkabout with LWT colleague and top chap Mr. Dominic Allen (and unfortunately minus sole local birder Vince, who was otherwise engaged but provided a very useful bespoke site guide).

We spent a good three hours wandering through the mix of habitats, and it could easily have been more. And it's only about an hour from my door in Hackney - come spring, it may well be hard to resist.

Regent's Park, central London - 1st December 2009

Another work-related opportunity to swan around another London site, and a chance to hook up with one of the capital's longest serving patch-watchers, resident Wildlife Officer Tony Duckett. A bespoke guided tour of the park courtesy of Tony, a true gent and the proud owner of thirty-odd year's worth of local records. The BBC forecast was very grim, which naturally resulted in a beautifully sunny, still few hours in these well-known Loyalist ex-hunting grounds.

No migrants to speak of as was to be expected, but a chance to familiarise with the site and also it's extensive wildfowl collection. Too many exotics to mention, but good practice to compare e.g. Lesser and Greater Scaup within a few metres; a drake of the latter species is as tame as the rest, and yet apparently arrived 14 years ago, fully-winged and obviously intent on the easy life.

Tony also showed me around the migrant honey-pots, of which there are several particularly mouth-watering areas which scream e.g flycatchers, warblers and chats; little wonder he enjoys his extended walkabouts in spring and autumn so much....

Also managed to get close to a ringed Black-headed Gull, and by circling it with the camera I got photos from all angles and hence the full ring number. It's life story to follow, hopefully.

Walthamstow Reservoirs, east London - 27th November 2009

In the bleak mid-winter, hope for storms or big freeze-ups; at least in London town. We've had an endless procession of the former over the last few weeks, of variable severity, with anti-cyclones crashing in from the Atlantic and up the channel; with displaced seabirds scattered liberally across the south and west, local water bodies are always worth a shot.

Maintaining a vigil at our two relative duck-ponds known as Stoke Newington Reservoirs has yet to produce such a scarcity (one day... one day), and so with a Leach's reported further up the valley on the oceanic William Girling Reservoir, an opportunity to cover the north side of Walthamstow Res was taken. Checking the increasingly inaccurate BBC weather at midnight, sunshine and stillness were promised all day, after the preceding storm-force south-westerlies and rain. Unsurprisingly in retrospect, the wind remained bitingly strong and cold, almost blowing away 'scope and tripod on the banks of Lockwood, and bringing in sharp, cutting showers.


Europe's Tien Shan


The BNP invade from their nearby Essex stronghold

Which wouldn't have been an issue should the conditions have provided a glittering reward, in the shape of a petrel, phalarope or even skua maybe; if not, more realistically, a quality duck amongst the wintering throng would have done just fine (as would a wader or an errant passerine along the banks). Dutifully checking and double checking everything that moved (and most things that didn't), the meagre highlight was a total of five Goldeneye - quality in a sense, but entirely predictable here at this time of year.

Waders were confined to two Green Sands on the flood relief channel, and this is probably the first time ever even a local Little Egret couldn't be bothered to put in an appearance. Fortune favours the brave, but sadly not the stupid. Maybe that running around after other people's birds ('twatching' or something?) is worth a .... only kidding.

A Kite's -eye view of the local patch

Back in August, I was lucky enough to gain access to the roof of one of the three tower blocks that overshadow Stoke Newington Reservoirs, a place I've probably spent more hours at than I've spent sleeping. Fascinating to get the same view of our inner London oasis as the multitudes of migrants, of all denominations, we've hit and missed over the years.

Tower 42, City of London - 6th November 2009

One of those unique avian-related experiences that it's hard to turn down, and hard to beat... I had the golden opportunity to spend pre-dawn til late morning on the very top of Tower 42, aka the former NatWest Tower, and the tallest building in the city.

We were test-driving visible migration-watching from this most teetering and exposed of rooftops, in the name of a mini-documentary for the good people of Birdguides.

Setting off from Mother Hackney shortly after 5 a.m., I met up with the rest of the team, up we ascended. Two very brief, sci-fi-esque elevator rides later and we were close to the summit; but the final push was more colourful than expected - through tiny window-less storerooms, up narrow spiral staircases, through floors of growling generators, fiery furnaces and snakes of cables and pipes, and finally up two precarious vertical ladders.

We made up on the roof well before dawn, and Lord, what a sight to behold. Avoiding satellite dishes, huge ventilation shafts, aerials and various other trip hazards, we were looking down at the Gherkin to our immediate east, and further to Canary Wharf and Dartford; to the west, the BT Tower; to the south-west, the London Eye; to the north-west, Alexandra Palce and Hampstead Heath; to the north, Abney Park Cemetery and Stoke Newington Reservoirs; and to the north-east, Walthamstow Reservoirs and Epping forest.

Pre-dawn and London looked dramatic; post-dawnstill dramatic, but the thick, grey Dickensian cloud partially enveloped much of the panorama. Bad timing for our experiment, especially with clear, sunny mornings (and good visible migration) before and after.... still, we picked up a few parties of Woodpigeons (totalling 250), a Little Egret flying over Walthamstow Reservoirs (!), a Peregrine over the Barbican, and two Great Black-backed Gulls over Hackney Marshes (a borough first for the autumn).

Of real interest was the perspective provided from such a great height, bang in the middle of the city - from a migrant's point of view, the 'green island' attraction of various London sites was obvious. And the lasting impression from the session was one of enormous potential - given the right conditions, sky-watching here (particularly for raptors in the spring) could well make for an exciting study.



East, with Canary Wharf on the skyline



South-east, with Tower Bridge and the river



South-west and West, with the London Eye (both photos) and the BT Tower to the right, above)


North, with Emirates stadium glowing left of centre, the A10 illuminated right of centre, and Liverpool St station in the bottom right-hand corner


North


East


South-east


with the 60x zoom focused on Banbury Reservoir, well up the Lea Valley

Flamborough Head, East Yorks - 17th - 20th October 2009 - absolutely jack

A fourth and final coastal soiree for autumn 2009 - after several days at Flamborough in early Sep, Portland mid-Sep, St. Agnes for two weeks up until mid Oct - and a final roll of the die for a dramatic fall or a grade-A self-find. Dream on (until 2010 - and escaping western Europe several times at least)....

A few regulation bits and pieces - Snow and Lapland Buntings, late warblers, limited skua and shearwater movements on the sea, a confiding Jack Snipe at Head Farm, trapped Firecrest and Brambling in the gardens - were somewhat meagre returns for south-easterlies in mid-Oct on the cape. Just don't mention the Radde's just before, Dusky just after, and Bluetail up the road at Bempton the following day....

Walthamstow Marshes, east London - 5th November 2009

A detour across the marsh after a visible migration session on Wilson's Hill (just over the border in Springfield Park, Hackney), with four Stonechats and a small flock of Meadow Pipits in their favoured spot, and lots of wagtails and finches around the stables. I don't make it over onto the marsh anywhere near as much as I used to, and these days it's criminally under-watched - it's a crime to see such a promising place almost ignored in such an urban area....

....especially with a proven track record in the past. I covered the marshes regularly during 2007 especially, and it paid out with Stone-curlew, Ring Ouzel, Marsh Harrier, Turtle Dove and Jack Snipe amongst others. It'll come as no surprise when somebody prepared to put the time in stumbles upon a Lesser Grey Shrike or a Richard's Pipit one of these days.