Turning Point

I don't want to sound wildly optimistic but I think we may have reached a turning point. With temperatures soaring into double figures (19°C promised on Sunday), things are changing on Hilly Fields and no doubt elsewhere. On Wednesday morning, at least a dozen Redwings (with a few Fieldfares mixed in) were twittering excitedly in the West Field trees alongside Montague Avenue. It sounded as if they knew that the time was approaching for their delayed (by bad weather) flight back to Scandinavia. Sure enough, when I led a group of dawn chorus walkers over there the following morning at 06.30 hrs, the trees were silent.

Redwing in one of the West Field trees - red under the wing and a white stripe over the eye

The Black-headed Gulls departed sometime over the weekend. Today, Friday, I noticed one or two Common Gulls overhead but there was no sign of the usual flock on the grass, so they too have presumably gone forth to multiply. I also saw this morning, however, the two resident Mistle Thrushes singing for the first time this year and heard a Chiffchaff singing in one of the Eastern Road hawthorns. The Chiffchaff is a spring migrant which flies to the UK each year from the Med and West Africa - an olive brown warbler about the size of a Blue Tit. They have been arriving more slowly than usual, presumably because of the weather and there have been reports of them flopping in exhaustion on reaching the south coast beaches. But one at least has made it this far and they've also been heard in other nearby locations. The Chiffchaff is not always easy to spot, but its song is very distinctive and easily remembered.

Elsewhere, nest building is going on apace. A Crow's nest can be seen high in one of the London Plane trees on the northern border of the bowling green and the resident Magpies are nesting at the top of one of the Eastern Road hawthorns. A little further down Eastern Road just past the green gates, Long-tailed Tits have built a nest in a bramble bush, but it seems to have been abandoned. We can't be sure why, but it is a bad location - too close to the pavement and too vulnerable - and their nests also suffer from a high level of predation by other species.

Changes are visible in the plant world too where there really are "green shoots of recovery" to be seen. Cow Parsley is spreading across the ground, particularly around the lower Vicars Hill entrance, ready to accompany the May blossom next month. And the wild Sweet Violets which Nick Bertrand pointed out to us on the Rivers and People walk last month are now coming into flower. Look for a bright green patch just off the path which runs alongside the Cliffview Rd border. On the whole, there is much to look forward to in the coming weeks.

The dawn chorus walk on Thursday was well attended. 15 people turned up at 6 am after a night's rain which was still lightly persisting. Naturally, we heard Great Tits calling everywhere, Wrens with their mighty trilling song, a Blackbird singing beautifully on Eastern Road and saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker high in a tree on the Adelaide Avenue border. Nothing spectacular but sometimes the simplest things can mesmerise. People were much taken by the sight of a female Chaffinch singing on a low branch only a few feet in front of us outside the school. After Hilly Fields, we went on to the Brockley and Ladywell cemeteries where we heard Robins (strangely quiet on Hilly Fields), a Dunnock and, in the distance, the laughing call of a Green Woodpecker - though not everybody heard that, including me! However, everybody did hear a Song Thrush repeating its varied phrases (as many as a hundred in its repertoire) from the top of a tree.

Here's what a Green Woodpecker looks like and what it's laughing call or "yaffle" sounds like:

 The cemeteries are of Victorian origin and, as well as containing much local history, they are in effect a nature reserve in the heart  of Lewisham. In fact, the council has listed them as a Grade 1 Site of Borough Importance for biodiversity and nature conservation purposes. The Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries have their own website - http://www.foblc.org.uk/ - and hold guided walks. The next one is on Sunday 21st April starting from the Brockley Road gate at 2pm and lasting about 1 hour 45 mins. Thanks to Lewisham Council for allowing us access to the cemeteries outside normal hours, special thanks to Mike Guilfoyle from the Friends who came along at 7 am to unlock the gate for us and thanks to Rachel for publicising the event via Facebook and http://www.hilly.org.uk/

Good News, Bad News, Sad News

The good news is that the Lewisham Rivers and People Project is coming to Hilly Fields. "The Hill Is Alive! Birds, Beasts and Wildflowers in an Urban Park" is the title of a walk taking place on Thursday 28 March starting at 10.30. Meet on the corner of Adelaide Avenue and Eastern Road. The walk will be led by Nick Bertrand, the legendary Deptford botanist, which means that expert and entertaining commentary about flowers and trees in the park is guaranteed. There will also be input on bird life from the Bird Champions group. We might see a Blackcap like the one in this photo by Keith Ward taken in his back garden which adjoins Hilly Fields:

Or the Great Spotted Woodpecker (below) 'spotted' by Mike Keogh near the lower Vicars Hill entrance on 5 March:

Not sure what "beasts" we'll encounter other than dogs and squirrels, but you never know. Perhaps some bees and butterflies will have appeared by then. I saw my first bumble bee of 2013 last week in Kelsey Park, Bromley.

The bad news is that these are the last months of the Rivers and People Project. After holding regular nature events in Lewisham since April 2010, funding is running out and the project comes to an end in July. Before then, however,there is a packed programme of walks, wades, river dippings - even an introduction to "Pressing and Mounting Wildflowers". The next event is this Saturday (23 March) at Oxleas Wood, starting at 2pm - "a walk around this magnificent ancient woodland". See the Lewisham Nature Conservation website for more details - http://natureconservationlewisham.co.uk/rivers-people/ - or take a look at the programme pinned up outside the cafe.

The sad news is that our ex-parkie, Keith Seabrook, passed away on 28 February after a long illness. Many park users will remember Keith who can be seen in the background of this photo from our RSPB Big Birdwatch event in January 2012.

Always friendly and helpful, Keith kept the park in good order and was very supportive of both the Friends of Hilly Fields and the Bird Champion project. He would often fill up the bird feeder for us if we couldn't get to it and then complain when the parakeets descended on it! The funeral is on Monday March 25 at 9.30 am at Hither Green Crematorium.