Tuesday 25 May 2010

Another Waterlink Way Dawn Chorus

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.

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