Hilly Fields Birdwatch

2012-01-22T20:38:00.000Z

Yes, it's the annual RSPB Birdwatch this weekend. We will be leading walkabouts on Hilly Fields to identify and count the birds we see. The stats will be sent to the RSPB and will also be input to BirdTrack, a database used to monitor bird population levels nationwide.

So come along on Sunday 29 January and help. Don't be shy - we are not experts, just enthusiasts and anyone with an interest in birds can join in. Please bring binoculars if you can.

If you want to do a bird count in your own garden as well, you can download a form from: http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/ But remember the RSPB's golden rule: "We need the highest number that you see at any one time, otherwise you may be counting the same bird twice".

Happy Solstice!

2011-12-21T09:08:00.000Z

In view of the Xmas festivities, Sue and I brought our survey of Hilly Fields bird life forward this month and walked around the park on 19th December - a grey, chilly Monday morning which ended in rain. Despite these conditions, it was worthwhile in terms of the range of species seen.

Winter has brought more gulls inland and Hilly Fields had both black-headed and common gulls in small mixed flocks. The simplest way of telling these two apart (given that the black-headed gull has a white head for much of the year!) is by the colour of legs and bill: red = black-headed gull, yellow = common gull. If you can't make out the colours, then the common gull has a darker back, is slightly larger and seems to hold itself more erect when walking on the ground. It also lacks the black mark behind the eye which is an easy winter identifier of the black-headed gull.

Common gull and black-headed gull together

The starlings have grown in number since last month - there were at least fifty moving around the park today. We also saw a dozen crows descend on a tree on the border of the Stones field - not quite enough for a "Parliament" (one of the collective names for crows), more like a Select Committee. We also caught sight of that colourful corvid, the Jay - one at first in the wood and then two in the trees around the tennis courts and briefly on the ground hopping forward in slow deliberate fashion.

Jay

The upper part of Eastern Road was so alive with birds that it was difficult to keep track. The family of blackbirds was there again (see 1 November post), along with great tits, blue tits, goldfinches, greenfinches and chaffinches. From time to time, the finches swooped down to drink from the gutter which is, in effect, their watering trough. Most rewarding of all was a pair of nuthatches, heard and then seen in the trees and even perched on a lamppost. It was unusual to find them close to the centre of the park as previous sightings have been on the eastern edge and in the adjoining Cliffview back gardens (see 15 July post).

Also recorded were a great spotted woodpecker (seen flying overhead by Sue), several singing robins, magpies, one or two ring-necked parakeets, four sparrows in the Cliffview hedge (as usual), a resurgence of woodpigeons (19 in total) and a few feral pigeons. Oh - and not forgetting the mistle thrush perched high in a tree on the Stones field border and driven off at one point by a smaller bird - probably a great tit. It flew to another tree further along and was heard to emit a few feeble phrases of song, almost as if it was too much trouble.

By contrast, a wren burst briefly into full-blooded melody near Eastern Road - "a cascade of notes...ending with a loud and distinctive trill" as my RSPB Handbook puts it. And a great tit gave

Great tit

a warming-up performance of it's famous two note song. It never sounds to me like "teacher teacher", but that's how the bird books describe it. And it will drive us all mad in the weeks and months to come.

But for now - Happy Solstice, Happy Xmas, Happy New Year!

November Bird Survey

2011-12-01T22:31:00.000Z

Sue and I did another bird survey on Hilly Fields yesterday. It was a fine, sunny morning and fairly calm after the heavy winds of the previous day. So calm, in fact, that we saw little at first, but patience is a necessity when bird watching and eventually our feathered friends started to reveal themselves.

One of the best spots we found was the upper half of Eastern Road - the road which leads to Prendergast School and the playground. During term time, this usually becomes an overflow car park for school staff, but thanks to the public sector strike, we had it to ourselves! Here - as well as great tits, goldfinches and chaffinches - we saw and/or heard:

Greenfinches (4) preening themselves in the sun in the hawthorn trees

Greenfinch

A "family" of four blackbirds - mum, dad and two juveniles
A brief burst of song from a wren - the first we've heard for months (although Sue heard one singing on 19th November)
The "chick chick chick" call of at least one Great Spotted Woodpecker, possibly two

We were also briefly distracted by a red admiral butterfly, flitting about and perching on the bushes. It's not uncommon to see them still flying in November, though this is quite a late appearance and possibly the last we'll see this year.

Elsewhere, we saw and/or heard:

Robins exchanging their warning calls and, along the back of Cliffview Road, two robins singing sweetly to each other. There were also four house sparrows in one of the hedges here
A number of starlings - those that we had a clear view of were in their fresh autumn plumage (after the moulting season), though this will fade over the winter

Starling in fresh autumn plumage

A largish number of feral pigeons which seem to have replaced the usual wood pigeons for the time being
There was also the usual presence of magpies and crows, but still no sign of any redwings

Finally, just as we were about to depart at the top gate on Vicars Hill, Sue spotted a mistle thrush which flew into the park and perched in a tree. A beautifully speckled bird, it sang for us after a while, albeit rather mournfully. It was a very pleasing end to our walk.

Pistachios Cafe etc.

2011-11-21T21:56:00.001Z

Popped into the park to see the "ice" skating on Sunday afternoon and was a little disappointed. It was, of course, just PTFE tiles, not ice but I was expecting a whole tennis court would be covered; this "rink" wasn't much larger that a domestic living room. Nevertheless, a good number of people were enjoying it.

Sketch of proposed Pistachios Cafe

In an adjacent corner refreshments were provided by Pistachios who were also displaying plans for their cafe in the park. Planning permission is, hopefully, imminent so construction should start fairly soon. I can hardly wait!

Plan of Pistachios Cafe

As I left, the sun was breaking through the mist as it set and quite a few of us attempted to capture it with 'phone or camera. I wonder how everyone else's turned out?

Stone Circle in the evening mist

Bird Count Highlights

2011-11-01T20:51:00.001Z

Bird counts at Hilly Fields have continued on a monthly basis and details can now be found on the Lewisham Nature Conservation website: http://natureconservationlewisham.co.uk/the-parks/

Some of the recent highlights are as follows:

Two Chiffchaffs were heard calling on 29 September - a first for Hilly Fields since the Bird Champion scheme began. Probably a rest stop on their migratory journey, although an increasing number of these warblers are over-wintering in the UK

Five mistle thrushes were seen on 10 October in the line of trees leading down to Hilly Fields Crescent

A Blackcap was spotted in the trees bordering Vicars Hill on 26 October. These are still uncommon on HF although one was heard singing in the wood during our dawn chorus walk back in May

Long-tailed tits - a flock of about 12 seen in the trees bordering Vicars Hill on 26 October. Lovely birds if you can get a close-up view

Great Spotted Woodpecker - a clear eye-level view of one on 26 October, hammering away at the trunk of a tree near the playground. The GSW has an unmistakeable combination of black, white and red colours and a bouncy flight

Goldfinches - a flock of about 16 is usually seen and heard in the trees around Prendergast School

What we haven't seen yet are any Redwings, although they've been pouring into the country from Scandinavia since mid-October. Members of the thrush family, Redwings can be identified by a clear white stripe along the side of the head and, believe it or not, by a touch of red under the wing. They've turned up for the last three winters on Hilly Fields with as many as 40 counted in January 2010. If you see any, please let us know via the comments below.

Opening up the Blog

2011-10-31T21:22:00.000Z

I'm gradually opening up this blog to enable others to contribute.

A Nuthatch!

2011-07-15T17:22:00.001+01:00

June/July is the rainy season in the north of Scotland and this year we had to take avoiding action more often than usual by driving on to the next glen or loch whenever the rain approached. It was not a good year for birds either, the list of what we didn't see being longer than those we did.

Nuthatch (RSPB)

So imagine our joy and surprise when a Nuthatch landed on our feeder the day after our return home! He's now a regular visitor and we see him almost every day.

This is the best I could do with my compact camera and Photoshop

Our garden backs onto the park, so he's probably nesting somewhere in the park.

Hilly Fields Dawn Chorus walk

2011-05-19T14:38:00.002+01:00

Over a dozen insomniacs joined Chris McGaw of Rivers and People Project for this dawn chorus stroll around the park, and we were well rewarded.

Some of the 5am insomniacs

Full moon over the Nature Reserve

As we made our way towards the Nature Reserve we had a glorious full moon in front of us and the rising sun behind.

Sun rising over Lewisham

We heard Wren, Blackbird, Woodpigeon and Ring-necked Parakeet in the Nature Reserve but the most notable was the Blackcap.

Later, on the road past the school we stopped to admire the Long-tailed Tits, Goldfinches, a Chaffinch and also heard a Dunnock.

Chaffinch beside the school

On the west side of the North Fields there was a flock of 10 Magpies then, beside the cricket pitch with some Woodpigeon were a pair of Stock Doves and, on the hillside behind them, three Mistle Thrush.

We are all very grateful to Chris for this morning's wonderful walk and look forwards to another next year. Let's hope the proposed cafe will be open in time for a welcome cuppa then!

We saw or heard 20 species this morning, for a complete list click below:

Blackbird (3)

Blackcap

Blue Tit (1)

Carrion Crow (3)

Chaffinch (1)

Dunnock

Goldfinch (5)

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Tit (2)

Greenfinch (2)

House Sparrow (1)

Long-tailed Tit (4)

Magpie (10)

Mistle Thrush (3)

Ring-necked Parakeet (5)

Robin (1)

Starling (2)

Stock Dove (2)

Woodpigeon (4)

Wren (1)

Figures indicate birds seen by me, others in our party may have seen a different number.

Stock Dove

Blackcap male

Dunnock

Getting ready for the Dawn Chorus

2011-05-17T21:35:00.002+01:00

I had a quick recce around the park between 04:45 and 05:15 this morning in preparation for Thursday's walk. Didn't see a lot because it was quite a dull and overcast morning, but what a chorus!

Hilly Fields at 5am

What I did see this morning were Blackbird, Starling, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Robin and Mistle Thrush. I heard lots but was particularly pleased to recognise a Blackcap, because I only learnt its banging-two-stones-together call on last Tuesday's dawn chorus walk with Chris along Waterlink Way.

See the Bird Track stats for Hilly Fields

2011-05-11T14:27:00.000+01:00

You can peruse the stats that Bird Track has for Hilly Fields after first registering here then log-on to BirdTrack and click Species by Grid at the bottom of the Data Home page.

This will take you to the Species by Location page where you must first Choose your area using one of the four options provided.

The fastest, if you can remember the code, is Option 4) where you enter TQ 3775, otherwise use Option 2) choosing England then London Nat Hist Soc then Hilly Fields Park. Then click Next.

Under Choose buffer size click Option 1) no buffer.

Finally in Choose your time period and sort criteria select whatever you need (I usually leave the defaults) and click Go.

The area covered by the stats is a 1km square with the entire park in the bottom left and Lewisham Station at top right, but the majority of the stats are ours (except, among others, the Pheasant!). If you then click on a species name, further stats are revealed, such as that Pheasant on 8 Feb 11 in Revelon Road and these graphs of House Sparrow sightings.

Example of stats from BirdTrack

Please try it.

Waterlink Way dawn chorus walk

2011-05-10T10:49:00.003+01:00

Four of us met Chris McGaw at 5am today for a dawn chorus walk.

Small group joined Chris (using bins) at 5am

We were not disappointed, the final list being:

Blackbird

Blackcap (*)

Blue Tit

Carrion Crow

Chaffinch

Chiffchaff (*)

Collared Dove

Dunnock (*)
Feral Pigeon

Goldfinch

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Tit (*)

Green Woodpecker (*)

Greenfinch

Herring Gull

House Sparrow (*)

Jay

Lesser Whitethroat (*)

Long-tailed Tit

Magpie

Mallard

Mistle Thrush

Moorhen

Ring-necked Parakeet

Robin (*)

Song Thrush (*)
Starling

Swift

Whitethroat

Woodpigeon

Wren

*: Heard but not seen by me.
I do hope you'll join us on our own Dawn Chorus Walk in Hilly Fields on the 19th

Big Garden Birdwatch results

2011-04-30T13:14:00.001+01:00

The RSPB has recently published their full results which can be found here . The top 20 species for Greater London closely matched our own but included Collard Dove, Chaffinch, Dunnock and Coal Tit which were not seen in Hilly Fields that day. However, we did enjoy many Redwing, Black-headed Gull, Mistle Thrush, Wren and Great Spotted Woodpecker that didn't feature on the RSPB's Greater London results.

Here are those results:

Starling (most common)

Woodpigeon

Blue Tit

House Sparrow

Blackbird

Feral pigeon

Great Tit

Robin

Magpie

Goldfinch

Collared Dove

Chaffinch

Carrion crow

Ring-necked parakeet

Long-tailed tit

Dunnock

Coal Tit

Greenfinch

Jay

Common gull

Waterlink Way winter dawn chorus walk

2011-02-17T14:11:00.007Z

Four of us met Chris McGaw at Sainsbury's, Bell Green, today for a winter dawn chorus walk of Waterlink Way. We started at 6:30am feeling surprisingly warmer than we did at 5am last May. On the other hand it was misty and not yet light enough for the binoculars.

Some of the Fieldfare

There were two highlights of the day, the first was the flock of Fieldfare in a tree beside the River Pool approx. 150m north of the Winsford Road/Broadmead footbridge, the second was a pair of Kingfisher in a shrub on the west bank of the river approx. 150m further north.

I managed to snatch a couple of photos, but they're poor quality because they were taken with my compact camera with the lens at full zoom, plus digital zoom, plus another order of magnitude enhancement with Photoshop.

Pair of Kingfisher

I took a better photo of a Kingfisher from the Winsford Road/Broadmead footbridge on 24th January. That photo can be seen here
We reached the new bridge into Lewisham Hospital around 8:30 by which time the temperature seemed to have dropped a good 5degC, so we stopped there for a very welcome hot drink.

Birds we heard (but I didn’t see):

• Chaffinch
• Collard Dove *
• Dunnock
• Goldcrest
• Great Spotted (assumed) Woodpecker
• Greenfinch
• Song Thrush *
• Starling
• Stock Dove *
• Wren

Birds I saw and heard

• Blackbird (1)
• Blue Tit (1)
• Carrion Crow (4)
• Fieldfare * (circa 80)
• House Sparrow (9)
• Long-tailed Tit (2)
• Magpie (3)
• Mallard * (7)
• Moorhen * (3)
• Ring-necked Parakeet (2)
• Robin (1)
• Woodpigeon (2)

Birds I saw (but didn’t hear)

• Black-headed Gull (circa 40)
• Common Gull (1)
• Feral Pigeon (14)
• Kingfisher * (2)
• Mistle Thrush (1)

* Birds never seen (by me) in Hilly Fields

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

2011-01-29T14:30:00.002Z

Another successful birdwatch. The provisional results are:

Black-headed Gull 10
Blackbird 2
Blue Tit 4
Carrion Crow 6
Common Gull 16
Feral Pigeon 4
Goldfinch 25
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1
Great Tit 3
Greenfinch 1
House Sparrow 16
Jay 2
Long-tailed Tit 2
Magpie 3
Mistle Thrush 3
Redwing 13
Ring-necked Parakeet 5
Robin 2
Starling circa 60
Woodpigeon 10
Wren 2

That's 21 species, beating our 2009 record!

There were activities for younger birdwatchers too, the most popular being birdbox making.

Making birdboxes

The Redwing return

2011-01-28T21:30:00.000Z

Had a quick recce around the park in preparation for tomorrows Big Garden Birdwatch and found 13 species. It would be good to double that tomorrow!

High on the list were 7 Redwing foraging near the tennis courts, 4 Mistle Thrush in a nearby tree and a flock of around 120 Starlings.

Year-to-date birds of Hilly Fields

2011-01-26T19:38:00.006Z

Click on the image below to enlarge.

Birds of Hilly Fields 30 Jan 2010 to 28 Jan 2010

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T17:48:00.000Z

I was in the park on Tuesday (21st) not expecting to spot many birds so I was quite pleased to see 7 species (Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Great Tit, House Sparrow, Magpie, Starling). Only a couple of most of them, but several Sparrows.

The snow had melted and become a little slushy but the base of it was icy and a little tricky to walk on in places. Keith, the park-keeper, had salted the paths but it hadn't yet made any appreciable effect.

Hilly Fields in melting snow

Over beside the school I spotted a bird box I'd not seen before. How did I ever miss it? It's so obvious!

Bird box beside Prendergast

Work had started in ernest at Prendergast and the workers village was being erected by a crane that could be seen, I'm told, a couple of miles away.

Prendergast construction starts

Don't forget, we will once more be taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch in Hilly Fields on Saturday 29th January 2011. I hope to see you there.

With visits to and by family and friends I'm unlikely to be in the park again this year, so
Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year

Autumn views

2010-11-16T14:04:00.000Z

After rediscovering the House Sparrows, I wandered around the park enjoying the autumnal air.

Cliffview Road side of park

Near the tennis courts I discovered a spot where at least four London landmarks can be seen between the trees - the Shard, the Gherkin (Swis Re), Canary Wharf and the Dome (O2)

Four London landmarks

The Sparrows Return

2010-11-16T13:51:00.000Z

Great news, the House Sparrows are back. I counted ten in the hedge behind Cliffview Road last Wednesday (10 Nov), that's my first sighting of them in Hilly Fields for three months.

Male House Sparrow in Cliffview Road hedge

Female House Sparrow in Cliffview Road hedge

Feeder rehung

2010-10-30T19:32:00.000+01:00

Good news: The birdfeeder has been rehung on its new bracket made, I hear, by Fred. The photo was taken on Monday 25th.

Birdfeeder on new bracket

As for the birdlife... on my last three brief visits I've seen a total of 7 birds (magpies and woodpigeon), the 20+ House Sparrows that congregated in the tree at the bottom of my garden have completely disappeared! However, a friend at the other end and other side of Cliffview Road now sees a dozen in her garden almost every day.
There've been House Sparrows in our garden every day for the last 6 years at least; it saddens me that they've moved away but we still get Blue Tits, Great Tits, Robins, a Greater Spotted Woodpecker and, new to our garden, Long-tailed Tits.

Only six birds in two hours!

2010-10-07T02:46:00.000+01:00

As “Bird Champion”, even during Nick Bertrand's walk and talk yesterday, I was keeping an eye open for birdlife. I hoped to see a lot in two hours but, although I heard Carrion Crows, I only spotted three Magpies, two Woodpigeons and one Jay. I think 3 birds/hour is my worst ever.

Possible woodpecker nest

While talking about a Maple tree, Nick spotted a hole in it which could have been created by a woodpecker (see photo).

In my own garden, which backs onto the park, I haven’t seen any House Sparrows at all for over a month

Trees in an urban park

2010-10-07T02:33:00.001+01:00

Yesterday afternoon’s event was organised by Chris McGaw, Rivers and People Project, who introduced Nick Bertrand of the Creekside Centre. Nick give a talk and walk around Hilly Fields on “Trees in an urban park”. These are my mental notes from this session.

Horse Chestnut leaf miner moths

First topic was the leaf miner moth that’s turning Horse Chestnut leaves brown, then Nick spotted the young Elm trees not far from the gate. Sesile Oak, English Oak and Turkey Oak are all found around the park. One such Oak, near the Bothy, had an unusual gall on it that Nick photographed for later identification.
[8 Oct update from Chris: "We think the unusual gall may be the Hedgehog Gall (Andricus lucidus) which has only established itself in the UK in the last 20-30 years."]
Then we learnt how London Plane survives pollution by shedding its bark.

Young Elm and Nick Bertrand

Chris helping Nick photograph an Oak gall

At the top of the park is a Poplar, this one is fastigiate – with branches pointing upwards – as are most of the Hornbeam in the park. In the west field is a Crack Willow which, I learned today, is so named because its twigs snap off noisily. There’s also quite a few Maple trees, I think the one Nick described was a Silver Maple.

Some of the group with Nick beside fastigiate Poplar

Below the playground is a Beech competing with a London Plane. Past the school are several Hawthorn and then we ventured into the wood to find a Blackthorn, identified by its sloes. Finally we went down to Eastern Avenue where there are more Ash including one whose leaflets are larger and golden, I think Nick said it’s an American variety.
[8 Oct update from Chris: "Looking at my tree books, American Ash seems like the correct ID"]

Is this an American variety of Ash?

I enjoyed it so much that the time just flew by. I do hope Chris can organise more events around Hilly Fields, it’s a great way to get to know and appreciate your local park.

Hilly Fields Walk on October 6th

2010-09-03T14:44:00.000+01:00

There'll be a walk in Hilly Fields, organised by Chris McGaw, On Wednesday 6th October. Here's an extract from his flyer:

For information on this, or any of the other nine walks during September and October, click the "Rivers and People Project" link on the right.

Cricket pitched up, Feeder dropped

2010-08-17T14:35:00.000+01:00

Farmers' Market

During a brief visit to the Farmers' Market on Saturday I noticed that our bird feeder in the quiet garden was hanging loose on its chain. It's a shame that this feeder has proved accident prone; I do hope Glendale re-fix a bracket for it soon.

Bird Feeder

Strange blue tree nearby

The park was pleasantly busy, and the cafe too - I hope it stays beyond the summer holidays – but all this action kept the birds at bay. There were a dozen house sparrows, three magpies, three carrion crows and a solitary woodpigeon. I did hear blue tits and goldfinches in the Cliffview Road hedge, but couldn’t spot any of them.

Cafe

On Monday I had a very pleasant cup of tea at the café while watching work start on the new cricket pitch.

Cricket Pitch

A park busy with summer activities kept the birdlife hidden once more but I did spot five feral pigeons, three magpies and a couple of carrion crows. House sparrows and great tits (probably) sang in the Cliffview hedge.

New Cafe and Green Flag

2010-07-30T23:31:00.005+01:00

At long last I managed some quality time in the park today, about an hour in all.

The first thing I noticed, to my horror, was a large truck driving across the grass. Having been stopped on more than one occasion by people complaining about Glendale vans on the grass, I expect this truck will attract complaints too.

The playground was busy, as were all the tennis courts and the table-tennis too. I've rarely seen the place so well used before 10am, but little birdlife. Just a few Carion Crows and Woodpigeons on the north, soon-to-be-cricket-pitch, field. Down in the meadow south of the school: nothing. Alongside the road west of the school: nothing.

I didn't venture east of the school, but returned to Keith the park-keeper's office to get birdfeed for the feeder in the quiet garden; very quiet, no birds there either. However, along from the garden at the back of Cliffview Road I heard Blue Tits, Greenfiches and a Parakeet. Couldn't spot any on them!

Keith told me the new cafe beside his office will be a regular feature throughout the school holidays, so I took myself off there and had a very decent cup of tea in a real mug for £1.

Later I bumped into friends out for a stroll and walked down past the bowling green with them; no birds there either.

This morning hasn't been a good time for birds in the park; it was probably too busy for them, but back home in Cliffview Road there were Greenfinches, House Sparrows, Blue Tits, Great Tits and a Woodpigeon around our feeder where we've also seen a Great Spotted Woodpecker early every morning for the last week.

Oh, yes! I nearly forgot to mention... Hilly Fields received its Green Flag award on Wednesday

Windy morning

2010-07-16T12:33:00.000+01:00

This morning was the first chance I've had since my holidays to get
into the park.

Unfortunately the strong wind kept almost all the birds hidden. Just
a solitary Woodpigeon and a single Magpie showed themselves in the
north and east fields, and I heard a Goldfinch behind Cliffview
Road.

I think I saw evidence of a boundary marked around the north
field, presumably for the new cricket pitch.

Just for the record, the birds of the Scottish Highlands were noticeably
different this year. There were Hooded Crows and Pied Wagtails
everywhere we went, and lots of Sparrows too.

Evening Birdsong Guided Walk

2010-06-10T21:46:00.002+01:00

Twelve of us joined Chris McGaw (Rivers and People Project) for an excellent guided walk around Hilly Fields this evening. At times the wind kept the birds quiet but we did hear and see 15 species:

Heard (but I didn't see)

Blue Tit
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
House Sparrow
Robin
Wren

Heard and seen

Blackbird (1)
Carrion Crow (2)
Chaffinch (1)
Goldfinch (1)
Magpie (5)
Mistle Thrush (2)

Seen (but I didn't hear)

Starling (7)
Woodpigeon (15)
Sparrowhawk (1)

Yes! The Sparrowhawk is back. At around 20:00 it flew from Vicars Hill direction along the rooftops of Cliffview Road. It all happened too fast for a photo, but here's a couple I took earlier of a Mistle Thrush on a nearby tree and our party watching it.

Chris (8th from the left) will be taking more bird-oriented walks around the park in the future and I'll give notice of these events in this blog.

Playground opens

2010-06-05T22:16:00.002+01:00

Hardly a bird in the park today because it was the last day of Brockley Max and the new childrens' playground was opened by Sir Steve Bullock. Here are a few photos I took of the opening ceremony and Rachel Mooney showing the plans to Sir Steve.

Sculptures and Blue Tit nest

2010-05-25T23:57:00.002+01:00

Driving to the Dawn Chorus walk at 5 o'clock this morning I noticed the new sculptures in the park, so I resolved to take a closer look before catching up with my sleep.

There's one in Hilly Fields Crescent and another at the lower end of Montague Avenue and I took a couple of photos for the blog.

What surprised me as I returned from Montague Avenue was the number of Glendale vehicles in the park. At one point I could see nine of them, and that was just on one side of the hill! Then it dawned on me (excuse the pun), this morning there was to be a Green Flag inspection so the park was being cleaned and tidied, paths swept, grass cut, seats repaired, sandpit raked etc. I do hope it's successful.

On passing the tree on the corner of the playground beside the tennis courts, I spotted a Blue Tit's nest, a parent was frequently to and fro, probably with food for young.

Another Waterlink Way Dawn Chorus

2010-05-25T17:00:00.001+01:00

We're lucky Chris McGaw was pursuaded to repeat his dawn chorus walk of Waterlink Way today. On the plus side it was 8 to 10 degrees warmer this morning than three weeks ago, on the other hand we started half-an-hour earlier!

Nine of us managed the 5am start, three had been on one of Chris' other dawn chorus walks whereas six were new to the experience.
Birds we heard (but I didn’t see):

Blackcap *
Blue Tit
Cetti's Warbler *
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff *
Great Tit
Greenfinch
House Sparrow
Lesser Whitethroat *
Reed Warbler *
Robin
Song Thrush *
Stock Dove *
Swift
Whitethroat *
Wren *

Birds I saw and heard

Blackbird
Carrion Crow
Dunnock
Goldfinch
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Greenfinch
Magpie
Moorhen *
Ring-necked Parakeet
Starling
Woodpigeon

Birds I saw (but didn’t hear)

Collared Dove *
Feral Pigeon
Grey Wagtail *
Jay
Kestrel
Long-tailed Tit
Mallard *

* Birds never seen (by me) in Hilly Fields

Being warmer than last time I was able to take a few notes about some of the birdsong, I just hope I can remember them for future reference:

Cetti's Warbler: an explosive metallic song;
Blackcap: like a speeded-up blackbird;
Chaffinch: a bowler running up to the crease with a final flourish;
Wren: piercing with a trill near the end;
Dunnock: an even sounding warble like a wren but with no trill;
Greenfinch: a wheezing sound;
Robin: song is sad, alarm is a tick-tick;
Whitethroat: a non-musical scratchy warble;
Woodpigeon: 5 notes with stress on the 2nd;
Collared Dove: 3 notes with stress on the 2nd;
Stock Dove: a cyclical series of notes.

I didn't stay for the cup of tea and chat at the end as there was to be a Green Flag inspection of Hilly Fields park later and I wanted to be there if I could.

Waterlink Way Dawn Chorus

2010-05-05T17:04:00.002+01:00

I'm a night owl, not an early bird, so to ensure that I got to Sainsbury’s in Bell Green by 05:30 I had to stay up all night. That's how, yesterday morning at 5degC and in a northerly wind, I met Chris McGaw and seven others for his Dawn Chorus Walk along Waterlink Way. Chris runs the Rivers and People Project for Lewisham Council and his birdsong identification skills are amazing.

Our first stop was the Pool River immediately behind the store. Within just a few minutes the number of birds whose song Chris had identified was into double figures. If you ever get the chance to join one of his dawn chorus walks, don’t hesitate.

Most of the birdsong was heard on the first half of the walk, by the time we arrived at the confluence with the Ravensbourne River the sun was up and many of the birds had quietened down. We finished at the environment centre, whose name I forget but it used to be the southbound waiting room of Ladywell station, for a very welcome hot drink, biscuits and fruit. I returned by 75 and 181 buses to pick up my car. At 05:15 it took 10 minutes to drive there, at 08:20 it took 40 minutes to drive home!

Birds we heard (but didn’t see):

Cetti's Warbler *
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff *
Collard Dove *
Dunnock
Greenfinch
House Sparrow
Lesser Whitethroat *
Reed Warbler *
Song Thrush *
Woodpigeon
Wren

Birds we saw and heard

Blackbird
Blackcap *
Blue Tit
Carrion Crow
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Magpie
Mallard *
Moorhen *
Ring-necked Parakeet
Robin
Starling
Whitethroat *

Birds we saw (but didn’t hear)

Feral Pigeon
Grey Heron *
Herring Gull *
Jay

* Birds never seen (by me) in Hilly Fields

Forgive me for posting info unrelated to Hilly Fields, but it IS a local birdy blog!

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch results 2010

2010-04-27T21:34:00.000+01:00

The national results for the Big Garden Birdwatch showed that smaller-bodied birds are more susceptible to the cold and suffered from the length and depth of last winter.

The top 20 birds in Greater London gardens were:

Woodpigeon
Starling
House_Sparrow
Blue_Tit
Blackbird
Feral_pigeon
Robin
Great_Tit
Magpie
Collared_Dove
Goldfinch
Chaffinch
Carrion_crow
Dunnock
Ring_necked_parakeet
Long_tailed_tit
Greenfinch
Coal_Tit
Wren
Jay

On our birdwatch we didn't see any Collard Dove, Ring-necked Parakeet, Wren or Jay but we did spot a Common Gull, a Redwing and a pair of Mistle Thrushes.

For more on the BGBW results, click here.

Mistle Thrush nesting again

2010-04-05T03:47:00.001+01:00

Walked through the park on Easter Sunday morning on my way towards Crofton Park and an hour or so later returned from the direction of Ladywell. It was cold and windy so, sensibly perhaps, not many birds about and not many people either, although I did spot the park keeper at a distance.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a pair of Mistle Thrush feeding beside the Cliffview Road path as I usually find them on the other side of the park. There were no House Sparrows in the Cliffview hedge either, perhaps because part of it has been cut even lower than before.

Wandered over to see what progress had been made on the playground and hapily found a Mistle Thrush nesting in the very same fork of the tree as last year. It's plainly a good spot for them even though it must be the busiest junction in the park.

Total haul? Blackbird (1), Chaffinch (3), Feral Pigeon (2), Goldfinch (1), Mistle Thrush (3), Starling (3)

I also met one of our friendly dog-walkers who'd seen a woman picking daffodils in the park and a Glendale van leaving tyre tracks along the grass verge.

On the positive side, I was pleased to see the brambles that hung over the fence along Vicars Hill were cut right back just a couple of days after the last Friends of Hilly Fields meeting. It's nice to know they make a difference!

Last of the Redwing?

2010-03-04T11:50:00.001Z

I was pleasantly surprised to fine a pair of Redwing in the East Field yesterday. It's the furthest east I've seen them in Hilly Fields as they're usually in the West Field or the Meadow. As winter visitors they'll be off to Iceland or Scandinavia by the end of this month, so let's enjoy them while we can. Hopefully they'll return to Hilly Fields this October.

Another rare visitor to the East Field was a Mistle Thrush, usually seen around the school or south-west of it. Along with Chaffinches, Blackbirds, Blue Tits, House Sparrows, Black-headed Gulls and a Common Gull it was pretty busy along the eastern perimeter of the park.

Rather poor photos snatched with my pocket camera show the Redwing foraging in the grass and Mistle Thrush in a tree

Why there are so many Redwing this year

2010-02-02T17:40:00.000Z

Here's a link to an interesting article on why there are so many Redwing wintering in the UK this year.

Two more species sighted on Big Garden Birdwatch

2010-01-30T14:31:00.007Z

We were so lucky with the weather being dry, bright and sunny with little wind. However, it was only just above zero. Last year's 20 species record was not beaten, but we did sight three species not recorded in Hilly Fields for over 2 years (see below).
There were a good number of visitors and I took parties of five or six at a time around the park to see what we could find.

I was quite surprised not to find any birds at all in the South Field, Meadow or West Field (compared with two days ago) and very few around School area. Sports were being played in the North Field so none were spotted there either. The vast majority were to the south of the Stones Field and east of the East Field (i.e. along the Cliffview Road hedge).

This is the result:

Blackbird (2)

Blue Tit (2)

Carrion Crow (3)

Chaffinch (3)

Coal Tit (2) - First sighting

Common Gull (1)
Dunnock (1) - First sighting

Feral Pigeon (2)

Goldfinch (2)

Greenfinch (2)- First sighting

Great Tit (3)

House Sparrow (11)

Long-tailed Tit (2)
Magpie (2)
Mistle Thrush (2)
Redwing (1)
Robin (1)
Starling (1)
Woodpigeon (4)

[Correction on 01/02/2010: The Dunnock was previously omitted from this list (my error), and today I've seen one in my garden, a mere 50m from where we spotted it on Saturday.]

Long-tailed Tit

We are all indebted to Vicki Wheeler, Nature Conservation Officer, for organizing the event - especially the tea, coffee and biscuits which were certainly needed after wandering around the park in such cold weather. With Vicki's help, our younger visitors made birdfeeders from pots, lard and birdseed to take home and hang up in their own gardens.

A Murmuration of Starlings

2010-01-28T16:11:00.001Z

This afternoon there were close to 200 birds in the park:

Blackbird (3)

Carrion Crow (3)

Feral Pigeon (1)

Great Tit (3)

House Sparrow (15)

Magpie (2)

Redwing (c40) - yes, really, circa forty Redwing in the west field!

Robin (1)

Starling (>110) - competing with the Redwing for food.

Woodpigeon (3)

Sorry for the poor quality, but here's a photo of about 150 Starlings and Redwing.

How many will you see during Saturday's Birdwatch?

Hedge trimming continues

2010-01-21T15:47:00.006Z

There's a noticable change to the park as you walk along the Cliffview Road side of the park because the trimming of the boundary hedge down to a metre or so is continuing.

This must make a huge difference to the amount of light those houses receive in the afternoon.

I'm also happy to report that we now have a new supply of birdfood. The feeder was filled sometime during the last week, for which the birds and I are grateful and Vicki (Nature Conservation Officer) supplied more feed yesterday.

The feed we've used to date was black sunflower seed, but the feeder in the quiet garden has been filled with a birdseed mixture, probably one of the no-mess mixtures. It'll be interesting to see if that attracts more birds than black sunflower seed alone.

"...there were 20 or so birds..."

2010-01-18T17:46:00.004Z

In response to Hilly’s comment [see Brisk Walk, 1 Jan] about 20 mid-brown birds, larger than a sparrow and smaller than a thrush, pecking at the grass: my guess would be either Redwing or Fieldfare.

Both are common winter visitors, both flock, both eat worms, both are brown-ish.

The Redwing is midway between House Sparrow and Mistle Thrush in size, whereas the Fieldfare is nearer to the Mistle Thrush.

My money is on the Redwing [top pic] because its red underwing patch could be hard to see without binoculars, whereas the grey head and black tail of the Fieldfare would probably be more obvious.

Brisk Walk

2010-01-01T20:55:00.003Z

Had a brisk walk in the park before lunch and saw:

Blackbird (2)
Blue Tit (3)
Carrion Crow (1)
Common Gull (2)
Feral Pigeon (4)
Goldfinch (2)
House Sparrow (6)
Robin [heard but not seen]
Starling (5)
Woodpigeon (1)

The wind was cold and reached every part of the park, so I didn't linger.

New Year

2010-01-01T01:35:00.005Z

Well, there's another Christmas behind us. This was no less hectic than previous. Some would say it's my own fault for marrying into a regular cycle of Christmas, wedding anniversary, wife's birthday and New Year all one week but, to be honest, it is a great week.

Miraculously I did find some quality time in Hilly Fields too, on Boxing Day. Sadly, not many birds did, just the usual smattering of sparrows, crows, woodpigeon, blue tit and magpie plus several starlings, some of which were occupying nests near the tennis courts.

Please note that the next RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch will take place the last weekend of January and we will be in Hilly Fields on Saturday 30th January from 11am with activities for everyone

London House Sparrow Parks Project

2009-12-10T20:50:00.005Z

Just received the Autumn 2009 edition of the RSPB's London House Sparrow Parks Project (LHSPP) newsletter, as promised, so here's a summary:

"London's parks and gardens used to be full of house sparrows. These once common birds have seen a terrible fall in numbers and are now hardly seen in the centre of London at all. One reason for this seems to be a poor supply of food - insects and seeds - for them to eat."

The LHSPP has set up a trial of grass and flower mixes in 20 parks across the city and are monitoring them for insects and seeds and to see whether birds use them.

I did ask if the RSPB had considered conducting any of their trials in Hilly Fields - or Lewisham, at least - but they said they wouldn't be working in our area.

The two trials closest to Hilly Fields are Burgess Park and Peckham Rye Park, both in Southwark. Other trials south of the river are in Beddington Park, Cheam Park, Perrets Field, Rose Hill Park east and St. Hellier Open Space, all in Sutton plus Tooting Bec Common in Wandsworth.

The types of plot they are testing are:

"Long grass: the original park grass left long to give insects somewhere to live over winter, and to provide birds with grass seed.

"Wildflower meadows: a mix of native grass and flowers planted to provide seeds, give insects somewhere to live, and also to provide more nectar for insects.

"'Wildlife Seed' plots: a mix of flowers and other plants often found around edges of fields, that should provide a lot of seed and should also be good for insects."

If you'd like more information, you could try the RSPB London Office: 020 7808 1240
For advice on gardening for wildlife, visit Homes for Wildlife

Busy, busy, bad weather, busy

2009-11-28T21:26:00.005Z

I used to be able to get quality time in the park three or four times a week, but these last couple of months have been so very different. I have other interests which, just now, are taking up to three days a week. Hopefully, this will reduce soon, but every time this month when I've seen my way clear to visit the park it's either been raining, or very windy or the school's just out or it's dark: the four main conditions that are not good for birdspotting.

Now it's looking like I'll not get any time in the park this month at all, so all I can say is "better luck next month".

Meanwhile I can report that the RSPB has started a new project, the London House Sparrow Parks Project, this time working with eight Borough Councils, excluding Lewisham unfortunately, testing whether long grass, wildflower meadows, or a tailored 'wildlife seed mix' best provide foods that house sparrows need. This is a three year trial and they have agreed to keep me informed, so I'll occasionally be passing on snippets of news.

The RSPB hope the project will also raise awareness of the plight of the ‘Cockney sparra’, and that they can encourage people to consider sparrows in their own gardens too, beyond providing bird feeders, water or nestboxes. Leaving areas of longer grass and maintaining thick shrubby vegetation should help provide them with somewhere safe to feed, roost and nest.

London House Sparrow Project ends

2009-10-06T14:15:00.003+01:00

I received the final newsletter of the London House Sparrow Project this weekend. Here are a few extracts from the text:

“After 5 years of counting your local sparrows, the project is now coming to an end. We are very grateful to all of you for your kind help over the years, whether you helped feed the sparrows, allowed us access to your gardens, or plied us with welcome cups of tea.
“So what have we found after five years of feeding sparrows? Feeding mealworms during the summer increased nesting success of sparrows in every year. However, we only saw an impact of feeding on adult numbers when we fed year-round seed as well as mealworms. [A graph then shows that] adult numbers increased on fed sites, only after seed feeding was introduced in 2007. This suggests sparrows lack sufficient insects to feed their young, and also seed to get them through the autumn and winter.
“With a focus on a few sites over the winter we've been able to work out the “survival rates” (percentage surviving from one year to the next) of our sparrows at the fed and "unfed" sites. Analysis suggests that about 51% of our colour-ringed birds are getting through the winter months, which is pretty much the figure that is cited in other studies as the percentage annual survival for house sparrows. So it doesn't appear that our sparrows are unduly suffering over the winter. It does sound like a lot of birds perishing each year - we have to remember that such small creatures are often rather short-lived, and that maintaining the population depends on a lot of young being produced to counter this.
“For our last fieldwork we looked at a few sites this summer to check on our survey methods for fledglings” [this included the Cliffview Road site; Bird Champ].
“Meanwhile, our exciting new project has begun. The RSPB House Sparrow Parks Project. Officer, Jacqui Weir, with the help of the Royals Parks, the London boroughs and SITA Trust, is trying out large scale experiments on London's green spaces, to find out what sort of park management is best for bugs and seeds, and therefore sparrows and other birds. This is an amazing project which will hopefully produce improvements to London's grassland biodiversity! Jacqui [jacqueline.weir@rspb.org.uk] is the primary contact for your enquiries about this work
“Once again thank you to everyone for your amazing support, we could not have done it without you. And please do visit http://www.rspb.org.uk/ for more details of how you can continue to support our work. In the meantime, please keep looking after your local sparrows!”

So that’s it. The end of the London House Sparrow Project. We’ll miss Chris Orsman’s regular visits here and thank him again for the generous donation of seed, feeder and nest boxes for Hilly Fields Park.

Four Mistle Thrush, no less!

2009-09-25T14:48:00.006+01:00

Despite best efforts I haven't managed to get into the park for a long time. I used to think that being retired would give me lots of time to myself, but reality is the reverse: I had more free time when I was fully employed!

In recent weeks it seemed that every time I had the opportunity to get into Hilly Fields it was either very windy or raining or Prendergast School was just out. The three worst time to see the birds.

This morning was delightfully different. First I filled the birdfeeder in the Quiet Garden then took a walk across the park. That's when I spotted the first Mistle Thrush in the West field just north of the meadow; a few moments later it was joined by another and a couple of minutes later another pair showed up. They were seeking food in the grass and gradually making their way south to the meadow.

I didn't have my camera with me, which is rare, so took a few photos with the mobile phone. In my excitement I forgot that its zoom facility is purely electronic so, since I took most photos at full zoom, the resulting jpegs are only 15KB instead of the normal 3MB and appallingly bad resolution. The best of them has been put through Photoshop to enhance the three birds but you still need the arrows to see exactly where they are.

Kestrel unperturbed

2009-08-06T21:04:00.003+01:00

Cllr Mike Keogh emailed me some photos he took a couple of days ago of the Kestrel in the meadow. Mike wrote:

"Have you seen the kestrel at the bottom of the school to bottom Montague Ave path, on lamppost just before trees. It is in and out of the meadow ... and hangs out on top of lighting column looking quite scruffy and unperturbed by passers-by."

This photo shows the Kestrel on a lamppost on the path near Prendergast School, which is in the background.

Thanks Mike.

The Kestrel's back (& me too!)

2009-07-19T20:07:00.006+01:00

After a few weeks absence on holiday in the Scottish Highlands and then essential maintenence around the house and garden I am, at last, back to the normal routine.

I must mention (because this is very rare) that the Highlands were dry and very hot: up to 30 degC. and only one rainy day. There were plenty of Osprey nearby, one even took a fish just 100m from our apartment, and no shortage of House Sparrows.

For the past few weeks Chris, from the RSPB, has been surveying Cliffview Road and this side of Hilly Fields weekly instead of monthly. When he was here on Thursday, Chris told me the weekly visits have been very successful, from the point of view of the London House Sparrow Project, but next week could be the last of the more frequent visits as breeding is almost over for this season.

I was in Hilly Fields this afternoon and met Keeper Justine who has quite an interest in the birdlife and brought me up-to-date on what was around. I filled the feeder in the Garden and then wandered over past the Playground when suddenly a Kestrel swooped down on something. Whatever it was must've got away because the two photos I managed show the Kestrel without a catch.

RSPB weekly survey

2009-06-03T12:24:00.006+01:00

If you see this man with binoculars looking towards the roof of your house, all is well, he's not casing the joint!

This is Chris Orsman from the RSPB on his now weekly survey of House Sparrows in the Cliffview Road area. Chris is a key member of the London House Sparrow Project team which, until recently, surveyed 66 sites across London on a roughly monthly basis. The number of sites has now been reduced to permit weekly visits to the more active sites - including ours.

Chris will be in Hilly Fields park peering into our gardens and also in one or two gardens in Cliffview Road.

Some of his visits may be quite early in the morning but most surveys in our area will be on Wednesdays.

Nests galore

2009-05-20T21:32:00.008+01:00

I haven't found the time to get into the park for two or three weeks, so today's findings quite made up for that.

First I found, in the quiet garden, a pair of Robins feeding a young one on the ground. All three had flown before I could get my camera out.

Next, near the school, I spotted a Mistle Thrush. It flew into a tree, straight to its nest and proceeded to feed its young. There were at least two of them. While watching that, Blue Tits were frequently flying into and out of the same tree. Just the other side to the Mistle Thrush nest was a natural hole in the tree with an occupied nest.

Around the other side of the play area I found one of the nestboxes made by pupils of Prendergast School was occupied by another family of Blue Tits.

Finally I returned to the Mistle thrush nest and managed to get a quick photo there too.

Quite a successful hour.

London House Sparrow Project

2009-05-08T15:12:00.004+01:00

I’ve just received a call from Chris Orsman from the RSPB London House Sparrow Project.

Until now, they've been monitoring 66 sites around London on a roughly monthly basis, half of them fed with live food and the other half (including ours) are control sites. They are now dropping sites with fewest House Sparrows and intend to monitor the remainder (including ours) on a weekly basis.

To this end Chris, armed with clipboard and binoculars, will be peering over garden hedges around Hilly Fields Park surveying the nesting sites, many of which are in our roofs. Before he begins this new phase next week, Chris intends to visit those houses to introduce himself and assure you he’s not up to no good!

Sparrowhawk

2009-04-05T21:22:00.004+01:00

This afternoon, around 5:30, a Sparrowhawk flew from the park and landed right beside the birdfeeders in my garden. It must have thought a meal would eventually turn up as it stayed there for about five minutes. Anyway, I did manage to get a pretty good photo of it before it flew back into the park.

(I include it in this blog because my garden backs onto the park)

Hedge Trimming Begins

2009-04-05T21:09:00.006+01:00

I was in the park yesterday, Saturday, to fill the birdfeeder which was completely empty. It was a joy to find almost the entire garden carpeted with flowers - see pic.

Glendale have begun to trim the hedges along the Cliffview Road side of the park. The first few metres of hedge are trimmed.

Also there's new planting and fences repaired - thanks mainly, I understand, to Keith the Park Keeper.

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2009 - national results

2009-03-25T11:28:00.002Z

The RSPB published their Big Garden Birdwatch 2009 results today, with more than half a million people taking part - more than ever before - and also a surprise new entrant in the Top Ten.

The top 10 for Greater London are:

Starling
Woodpigeon
House Sparrow
Blue Tit
Blackbird
Feral Pigeon
Robin
Great tit
Magpie
Collared dove

and our own results for Hilly Fields (we had a tie for 10th place) are:

Black-headed Gull
House Sparrow
Starling
Feral Pigeon
Woodpigeon
Carrion Crow
Blue Tit, Magpie, Common Gull
Blackbird, Ring-necked Parakeet, Mistle Thrush

The full RSPB results can be found here

Thanks again to all who took part in Hilly Fields.

"Who Killed the Cockney Sparrer?"

2009-03-20T04:53:00.003Z

Listening to Radio 4 last Thursday I bumped into this programme in which "Nature detective Tom Heap investigates who, or what, is killing the common sparrow."

I found it quite interesting, especially because it mentions the 66 test feeding sites around London, of which my garden is one. Also, about 20 minutes in, Chris Orsman describes how they catch and ring birds - Chris is my contact at RSPB and visits my garden and Hilly Fields Park regularly to survey the birds.

If you'd like to hear more of the mystery of the disappearing sparrow, you have until Thurdsay 25th March 2009 to Listen Again, so here is a link to the programme's website.

Goldcrests and hedge trimming

2009-03-14T15:55:00.006Z

Next week Glendale aim to trim the hedge that borders the gardens on the north-east (Cliffview Road) side of the park, so I had a good look at the birdlife in the hedge today on my way to the Farmers' Market and the Ladywell Assembly.

Flitting from branch to branch today were about 16 House Sparrows, a solitary male Blackbird and a pair of restless Goldcrests. I've received a few reports of Goldcrests in the neighbourhood but this is the first time I've spotted any in Hilly Fields over the last couple of years. The BirdTrack site has none at all reported for Hilly Fields (or map reference TQ3775) since their records began in 2005.

This is a stock photo of a Goldfinch, not mine.

Often described as a snooker ball with legs, they're the smallest British bird and suprisingly common as there's probably 5M pairs around in the winter months, reducing to 1.5M pairs in the summer.

Very slightly larger and much much rarer at 400 pairs is the Firecrest, similar but with a bold white eyebrow.

The park was quite busy, so few other birds were around except 10 Woodpigeons and a pair of Magpies in the meadow.

-------------------------------------------

3pm Friday 20th March

Sorry to say the hedge hasn't been trimmed yet, let's hope that late trimming doesn't disturb the all-too-rare House Sparrows.

More Redwing

2009-02-12T17:07:00.004Z

A little after 3pm today a pair of Redwing were in the Meadow area, close to Adelaide Avenue, exactly where one was spotted on Big Garden Birdwatch day.

They kept to the 10m strip closest to the road and looked as though they were feeding on grubs and worms. Close nearby were a pair of Mistle Thrush also feeding.

(This is a stock image, not one of today's birds)

New Links

2009-02-12T12:18:00.004Z

I have now added a Links section in the right-hand panel. These initial links are:

Hilly Fields Park User Group - Keep up-to-date with what's happening in your park.

Bird Track - Enter your sightings in this national database (see here for info)

RSPB - For everything you want to know about birds.

C J Wildbirdfood - Bird food and feeders at reasonable prices.

Budding Ornithologists

2009-02-10T17:02:00.001Z

Just been sent this pic of budding ornithologists at the Birdwatch Day

Snow festival in the park

2009-02-02T23:24:00.002Z

I don't think I've ever seen so many people in the park as there were today - except for organised sport, the turn of the millennium and Concord's last flight - and I've certainly never seen so many snowmen anywhere. They were all sizes and shapes; one looked sculpted and another was an elephant's head complete with tusks.

Here are photos of a few of them.

While in the park I didn't see any birds at all, although I could hear birdsong in a few places.

I made up for this shortfall in my own garden, which backs onto the park, where there were up Robin (2), Starling (4), Chaffinch (2), Woodpigeon (3), Blue Tit (3), Great Tit (1) and House Sparrow (c20).

RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch a great success

2009-01-25T00:10:00.016Z

There were birds to draw, masks to colour and wear, quizzes to solve, bird-feeders to make from flowerpot, lard and seeds then decorate and hang around the park or take home to hang in the garden.

Best of all, there were more species seen in the park today than have ever been seen since our records began.

All the more rarely seen birds were on display but the star of the day was a newcomer: a Redwing was first spotted with two Mistle Thrushes in the meadow near the road and later seen on the slope in front of the school.

The full list of birds is:-

Black-headed Gull 23
Blackbird 2
Blue Tit 10
Carrion Crow 4
Common Gull 3
Feral Pigeon 6
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1
Great Tit 2
Greenfinch 1
Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 14
Jay 1
Magpie 3
Mistle Thrush 2
Redwing 1
Ring-necked Parakeet 2
Robin 2
Starling 18
Woodpigeon 5
Wren 1

Everyone had a great day.

Special thanks to Lara and Rachel and, of course, the birds of Hilly Fields.

2008 Roundup

2008-12-31T23:01:00.003Z

It's been an interesting year birdwatching in Hilly Fields. I've made 44 such visits and seen 21 different species as follows:

Species (no. of visits seen) Maximum seen
Black-headed Gull (6) c60
Blackbird (15) 3
Blue Tit (15) 6
Carrion Crow (26) 7
Chaffinch (5) 2
Feral Pigeon (8) 5
Goldfinch (5) 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker (1) 1
Great Tit (8) 2
House Martin (1) 2
House Sparrow (34) c24
Jay (2) 2
Kestrel (2) 1
Long-tailed Tit (12) 2
Magpie (14) 4
Mistle Thrush (2) 2
Ring-necked Parakeet (11) 4
Robin (15) 3
Sparrowhawk (1) 1
Starling (3) 7
Woodpigeon (34) 26

By far the most plentiful are Black-headed Gull, Woodpigeon and House Sparrow and the most frequently seen are Woodpigeon, House Sparrow and Carrion Crow.

Christmas in the park

2008-12-25T23:43:00.002Z

What a beautiful morning!

A nearly cloudless sky allowed the low mid-winter sun to form long shadows in its golden light and there was birdsong aplenty. I left the binoculars at home but still found black-headed gulls, blackbird, blue tits, great tits, house sparrows, jays, magpies and woodpigeon.

However, the northerly breeze didn't encourage loitering and I soon returned home for Christmas dinner.

Merry Christmas.

Eleven species today

2008-12-22T15:36:00.002Z

For only the second time this year, there were eleven bird species in the park when I visited between 11:30 and Noon. The last time I found that many was 26th January 2008.

There were:

Black-headed Gull
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Carrion Crow
Goldfinch
Great Tit
House Sparrow
Magpie
Robin
Starling
Woodpigeon

I must also mention that on Friday 14th December I watched a Sparrowhawk wheeling around over Hilly Fields Park.

Bird Boxes

2008-12-08T23:04:00.005Z

Recently Glendale have been busy in Hilly Fields putting up bird nesting boxes. Late Autumn or early Winter is the best time of year to do this as the boxes will be nicely weathered by the time birds are looking for nest sites in the spring.

They've now installed 11 bird nest boxes in the park, but where are they? Can you spot them all?

Here are photos of three I spotted today when I went to fill the bird feeder.

If you install a bird box in your garden, try to put it where the hot afternoon sun won't find it, such as a shady wall or one that faces north-east.

November roundup

2008-12-01T23:56:00.004Z

I only managed quality time in the park on two occasions this month. There were 58 birds from 10 species, namely: Blackbird, Black-headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow, Jay, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie and Woodpigeon

Most of the time when I would’ve liked to wander through the park I was busily defending my four birdfeeders against a family of grey squirrels, and losing.

My table feeder is squirrel proof as is the table feeder which is the same kind as in Hilly Fields’ quiet garden. The peanut feeder and fat-ball feeder are another matter and require constant attention and frequent adjustment of whatever defences I’m able to provide.

The RSPB recommend chilli powder but the largest squirrel appears to be immune to its affects. Success came after I rigged up a large baffle. I thought that was the end of it until yesterday, because someone has found my store of fat-balls, got the lid off and taken at least two!

Long-Tailed Tits return and a Jay visits the Garden

2008-11-12T16:27:00.008Z

A lovely sunny autumnal day, a rarity this year, so I decided to have lunch in the park and, just walking through the gate at the top of Vicars Hill, I spoted a pair of Long-Tailed Tits in the tree opposite the gate. They’re one of my favourite little birds and I haven’t seen them in the park since the end of May so I was beginning to think we’d lost them. It’s good to see them back. (This is a stock photo, not today's bird)

On the way to the Flower Garden I passed the usual bush full of House Sparrows on the Cliffview Road side and Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon and a Magpie in the field.

I stopped in my tracks just inside the Flower Garden when I spotted a rare Jay in the tree above the birdfeeder – rare to Hilly Fields, that is, because my bird book says they’re twice as numerous as Long-Tailed Tits. It was eating a berry then flew to a neighbouring tree before flying off in a north-easterly direction. (This is a stock photo, not today's bird)

The birdfeeder was full when I arrived today, so I must thank somebody for filling it for me. Blue Tits used the feeder while a Blackbird scrubbed around for worms in the fallen leaves and I had my lunch. Job done.

October Roundup

2008-10-31T20:56:00.005Z

I only managed to get into Hilly Fields four times this month, but on those visits I did count at least 97 birds of 9 species, including today's Kestral.

On my way home today I walked across Hilly Fields. I was halfway up the meadow when a small flock of birds, mostly Magpies but two were larger and brown, landed in a tree beside Prendergast School. Moments later a solitary Kestral flew from the tree to soar and hover over the meadow. Was that really two Kestrels I saw? I stayed a few minutes but without my binoculars I couldn't see the other large bird in the tree.

The nine species this month were:

Species (no. of visits) max. count

Blue Tit (2) 2,
Carrion Crow (4) 5,
Feral Pigeon (1) 1,
House Sparrow (4) 12,
Kestrel (1) 1,
Magpie (2) 3,
Ring-necked Parakeet (1) 1,
Robin (1) 1,
Woodpigeon (3) 26

BirdTrack and Hilly Fields Park

2008-10-19T23:43:00.004+01:00

Great news! The Bird Track Organisation has accepted Hilly Fields Park as one of its recognised bird sites. So now you can register with BTO and declare Hilly Fields Park as your recording site. Just follow these easy steps:-

1/ To register with BirdTrack, click here and complete the BirdTrack Registration Form

Registered users logon to BirdTrack here , then go to Data Home and click Submit Species List to report a bird count.

2/ To declare Hilly Fields Park as one of your recording sites, from Data Home click Create New Site then, on the Site Registration screen under Option B, select London Nat Hist Soc.

Another screen will pop up where you should double-click Hilly Fields Park --> TQ3775 and then the Go button which will have appeared on the Registration screen.

That’s all there is to it. Almost everything else on the BTO site is intuitive. Have a good look around it.

I asked BTO if they had a facility to permit a group to view each others records of a site, which we would like to do. Mark Grantham of BTO replied:

“…there isn't a facility to do this at the moment, but we are working on something along these lines. This will work through the 'Species by Location' feature we have developed. By entering a specific grid reference you can see a species list for the site, but only by month or year at the moment. We hope to expand this so people can see individual lists soon though, which should suit your needs.”

To try this, go to Species by grid on the Data Home page. Either navigate to Hilly Fields Park via the drop-down menu at bottom left, or enter grid reference TQ3775 at bottom right, then select no buffer and a time period and you’ll get the list of species around the park.

Interestingly, someone reported a Redwing in 2006!

September roundup

2008-09-30T15:07:00.002+01:00

Another month has flown by (excuse the pun) and I note that, on my 9 visits to the park, I've reported 113 birds of 9 species, the most notable being the Kestrel.

The feeder in the Flower garden only had to be filled once, partly because they don't need much extra food at this time of year and also, I suspect, because of the feeders in nearby gardens.

The BirdTrack Organisation is at this moment setting up Hilly Fields as one of its known bird sites, so very soon in this blog I'll be able to tell you how to register and then report on the birds you've seen here (and elsewhere too). Also we'll all be able to get their stats. on the birds of Hilly Fields.

Kestrel in the Meadow

2008-09-11T00:52:00.022+01:00

Wandered over to the meadow to see the wildlife information board, and got a real treat: a Kestrel

I first spotted it sitting on a lamppost, and edged cautiosly closer to get a better photo.

Then it spotted me and flew off into a tree beside the school.

I walked slowly towards the tree, keeping to the footpath that curves up towards the playground and when I was nearly at the junction of paths it swooped down to catch something, probaby a mouse, in the undergrowth at the edge of the meadow.

I grabbed two more photos as the Kestrel ripped apart its catch

...and another as it flew away.

Sparrowhawk!

2008-09-07T19:59:00.002+01:00

In my garden, hanging below a lilac tree, is a birdfeeder. While I was filling it this afternoon several House Sparrows landed in the tree, queuing up to feed as they often do during the daily fill.

Suddenly something spooked them and they scattered in all directions. In its panic one even brushed my ear as it flew past me.

Then I saw the Sparrowhawk, perched directly in front of me about a metre away at eye-height. It had flown in from Hilly Fields and just failed to grab a meal. We both remained motionless, staring at one another for about ten seconds then the Sparrowhawk flew off.

What an experience!

Goodbye Wendy

2008-09-06T16:00:00.005+01:00

Neither Wendy nor Lawrie's foodstall were in the park yesterday so the birdfood was inaccessible. This was not of immediate concern as it was, I believe, only the second time I've been in the park and seen no birds at all. Mind you, it was raining fairly heavily at the time, so they were probably taking shelter.

I was particularly sorry not to see Wendy as it was her last day with Glendale and I wanted to thank her personally for being so supportive and for contacting me whenever the birdfeeder was empty. All the best, Wendy, enjoy the south coast!

Good news, bad news

2008-08-28T16:40:00.000+01:00

The good news is that the feeder got topped up today as Wendy was back from her holiday in the west country. To avoid these access problems in the future, Wendy has moved the feed and pole to another room; one that Lawrie at the cafe has the key for.

The bad news (for us) is that Wendy is leaving at the end of next week. I'll be sorry to see her go as she's been so very supportive of the birdwatch project, even 'phoning or texting me when she discovered the feeder empty. I wish Wendy every success and happiness in her future venture down south.

Community Sports and Fair still very active. Only birds seen were about a dozen House Sparrows in the hedge behind Cliffview Road.

Access problems

2008-08-27T23:23:00.000+01:00

Now that I've caught up with events since this project started, all blogs from here on should be reasonably current.

Yesterday I'd arranged to show Rachel the trick of recovering the feeder for refilling, but there was no park keeper available so we couldn't get into the office where the long pole and feed are kept. Wendy, we knew, was on holiday but we did expect a temporary keeper to be available. Have to try again tomorrow.

Meanwhile, only saw 4 crow and 2 woodpigeon.

Today I tried again. Lawrie, who runs the food stall on the top path, knows everyone and is a mine of information so I asked him. There's no keeper today either, but while I was there Lawrie received a text from Wendy saying she'll be back tomorrow.

We must find a better way of getting to the birdfood, or a better place to keep it.

Community Sports and the Fair are both very active today. Only 4 crow and a solitary magpie.

Year-to-date sighting summary

2008-08-27T00:32:00.000+01:00

Whenever I'm in the park, even if it's just a short visit to the Farmers' Market, I note the birds I see for Lara's spreadsheet, results of which are posted on the park notice boards.
I also report the same sightings to BirdTrack and the stats below are from these records
(1 Nov 07 to 26 Aug 08).

Species (no. of visits) Max Count

Blackbird (12) 3
Black-headed Gull (2) 60
Blue Tit (10) 3
Carrion Crow (17) 6
Chaffinch (5) 2
Feral Pigeon (5) 2
Goldfinch (4) 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker (1) 1
Great Tit (5) 1
House Martin (1) 2
House Sparrow (23) 30
Long-tailed Tit (11) 2
Magpie (6) 2
Mistle Thrush (2) 2
Ring-necked Parakeet (10) 3
Robin (10) 2
Starling (2) 7
Woodpigeon (19) 5

e.g. Up to 5 Woodpigeon were seen on 19 separate visits

The 60 Black-headed Gulls were in the NE field, where the fairs are
held, on 21st January this year. Over 50 were still there a week later.

The Great Spotted Woodpecker was in the flower garden on 21st
November last year. I haven't seen him in the park since, but often
hear him.

For the last week a Great Spotted Woodpecker has visited
the peanut feeder in our garden every morning and evening.

On 12th August a solitary House Martin was feeding on the wing in the
flower garden

The 30 House Sparrows were in the hedge on the Cliffview Road side of
the park on 28th December. This doesn't quite match the 50 seen
August last year, but a significant number all the same.

Feeder with Bling

2008-08-26T14:50:00.000+01:00

Friday 26^th October 2007: The first bird is seen on the feeder: it's a Blue Tit. A few days later, another: a Great Tit this time.

Many more birds found the feeder and became regular visitors over the next three months until, on 1^st February 2008, it was stolen. This couldn't have happened at a worse time for the birds, as food is difficult to find at this time of year, and it greatly disappointed a party of local school children who'd come on a special visit that very day just to see the feeder!

So, Glendale now had to get a new feeder and some means to make it more secure. Meanwhile, Gordonbrock students drew several different bird species for the bird champion sign which was soon to be produced and another local school – Prendergast, I think - made 13 bird boxes for the park.

The beginning of April 2008 saw the hanging of the first bird-feeder with bling – a stout and shiny chain to secure it to the tree (see photo). It's a little higher than before so we now have a special extended pole to recover the feeder for refilling.

Early May Chris (RSPB) donated four nest boxes, suitable for House Sparrows or perhaps Blue Tits. He advised us that the boxes are best sited on the North-East quadrant of a tree or building (and out of vandals reach!)

While on an early morning House Sparrow survey Chris saw a Mistle Thrush with nest material in a tree quite close to Wendy's office, just a few yards along and to the right of the path towards the school. Learning this, I ventured into the park a little later and found a pair in the same tree. They were in the same tree the following day too (see photo), but I haven't seen them since. Perhaps they chose a different nesting site.

Chris visited again early June 2008 and donated a bag of seed.

Early Sightings

2008-08-25T04:05:00.001+01:00

During the weeks before the feeders were hung, I visited the park several times to record the birds. They were mostly short visits of under half-an-hour and all on the Vicars Hill / Cliffview Road side of the park. The maximum recorded were:

Blackbird 1
Black-headed Gull 2
Blue Tit 1
Carrion Crow 3
Feral Pigeon 9
House Sparrow c50
Woodpigeon 21

This photo Taken near the top Vicars Hill gate shows where we found circa 50 House Sparrows.

Chris from the London House Sparrow Project visited the morning of 10 August 2007 and I mentioned counting in excess of 18 there the previous day, so we ambled into the park and there they were! It took a bit of counting as they're forever flitting from branch to branch.

Hanging the feeders

2008-08-22T15:39:00.000+01:00

19 October 2007

My contact with Chris was vey useful as the RSPB kindly donated a feeder, some birdfood to get us started and advice on where to site the feeders.

We met park-keeper Wendy, Lara and her colleagues from Glendale and first identified a tree quite close to Wendy's office from which to hang the feeder donated by Chris.
This is beside a busy path which could discourage feeding, however it does have suitable places nearby where birds can perch to check the coast is clear before feeding.

The main feeder was hung in the Flower Garden, between the Bothy and the Bowling Green.

Each site had its own advantages and disadvantages.

This site is peaceful but there's no nearby perching, the closest bush being holly which is too prickly for them. Howevery, we were hopeful that they would soon be using these feeders.

Sadly, the very next morning the RSPB donated feeder was gone!

How I got involved

2008-08-22T14:07:00.001+01:00

Late 2004

Took part in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch counting the maximum number of each species of bird in the garden over a one-hour period and reported a particularly large number of House Sparrows: 22.

Subsequently I received a letter from Chris Orsman (RSPB) asking for further details of how we, and our neighbours, feed the birds.

February 2005

Chris visited and invited us to be a site in the London House Sparrow Project. This is experimenting with supplementary feeding at a number of sparrow colonies, providing live mealworms for the sparrows to feed to their young. We are to be a control site (no live food). Chris makes several visits each year to survey our garden and the immediate neighbourhood.

December 2005

On one of his wildlife walks in Hilly Fields, Mike Keogh admired the green roof of my garage which can be seen from the park. I introduced myself and mentioned Chris and the London House Sparrow Project. That labelled me as a birder!

July 2007

Some eighteen months later Glendale and Lewisham Council are starting a new Bird Champion Project, which aims to survey the park for different bird species and involve the park users in the park’s biodiversity. To this end Lara Al-Jabi asked Rachel Mooney for a Bird Champion for Hilly Fields Park. The rest, as they say, is history.