Dawn Chorus Walk 2020

Rupert King has provided this report on the two person Dawn Chorus Walk on 2 April!
Sadly, as with so many community events, the 2020 Dawn Chorus Walk around Hilly Fields Park had to be cancelled. So instead I met Rachel at 6.00am in the Shade Garden (next to the Bowling Club) to do our own Dawn Chorus Walk – while maintaining social distancing of course! It was a chilly start, overcast but still. The first songbirds we encountered were a blackbird, a robin, a wren and a dunnock, while a great tit called loudly above us. As we moved south along the perimeter path we came upon the large flock of resident sparrows busily chattering away in the dense bushes that line the rear gardens. Such a joyful sound!

The walk began to liven up as we reached the southeast boundary of the park with its rich mix of trees and shrubs: a song thrush singing loudly, some wood pigeons cooing softly and a greater spotted woodpecker hammering out his message across the park. We saw a small flock of redwings – winter visitors that will soon be flying north back to Scandinavia.

By the time we reached the Nature Area (south of the Stone Circle) the sun was rising – there was a brief blaze of colour on the eastern horizon before the sun disappeared behind a bank of cloud. As we hoped the Nature Area provided a proper chorus of birdsong this time including two rival blackcaps, a chiffchaff (our first summer visitors) and some twittering goldfinches. We were very pleased to see that a pair of great tits is now building a nest in a new Schwegler nest box – just 2 weeks after it was put up!

Male Blackcap

As we listened intently to the birds we couldn’t help but notice how quiet the background noise was for a change. Just two planes passed overheard during our walk and traffic along the busy Adelaide Avenue has been reduced to a trickle.

Male Chaffinch

We carried on up Eastern Road with its rich mix of hawthorn and bramble scrub – perfect habitat for birds! Plenty of birdlife here and we discovered a wood pigeon sitting on a nest concealed in ivy. As we reached the top of the road we came upon two male chaffinches behaving very differently: one singing from a tree, the other attacking its own reflection in the wing mirror of a parked car! I have seen this obsessive behaviour before with dunnocks and pied wagtails. Indeed the bird was so obsessed we were able to approach to within a few feet to record it. When we saw a female chaffinch nearby we wondered aloud which male she might prefer?!

The highlight of our walk was undoubtedly the sight of two noisy nuthatches who have taken over another Schwegler nest box near the tennis courts. This is a remarkable development. Personally I only started seeing nuthatches for the first time in the park and nearby cemetery last autumn. Now they are nesting in the park!

Nuthatch at nestbox

During our walk we also saw several carrion crows (two pairs are nesting in the park), magpies, ring necked parakeets, starlings and blue tits. On our return to the Shade Garden we saw a pair of greater spotted woodpeckers and a solitary stock dove high up in the canopy – a bit of a rarity in the park. So in all we saw 21 bird species and heard a lot of birdsong. A successful walk and a delightful way to start the day!

The Birds Are Still Singing

Everywhere is closed except for supermarkets. Everything has been cancelled or 'postponed' while we hide from Covid-19. Brockley Max has been postponed until August ('fingers crossed'). The BrocSoc Midsummer Fayre has been postponed until autumn ('hopefully'). And now to top it all the Friends of Hilly Fields Dawn Chorus Walk has been cancelled. Not postponed. Not resting. Cancelled. It is an ex-walk. There is no dawn chorus to be heard in August or autumn - it's a thing of the spring. But if we're very, very lucky, we might be able to hold one next year.

The Lane

The good news is that the birds are still singing. The residents such as Blackbird, Robin, Song Thrush and Wren can be heard every day on Hilly Fields and have been joined by the usual spring migrant warblers - Blackcap and Chiffchaff. And even more good news, we seem to have a resident pair of Nuthatches who've been seen and heard regularly over the last few weeks. Hopefully, they will nest in the park. So why not go up there on your daily exercise walk and have a listen? It doesn't have to be at dawn, but morning is the best time. A good place to hear the warblers is the lane that runs into the park from Eastern Road with all the trees on either side and the little wood beside it.

If you fancy learning a few bird songs to while away the time, there are loads of recordings on You Tube and the RSPB's website has audio recordings of all British birds along with identification features. A good one to start with is the Chiffchaff which has a simple repetitive song of staccato notes as per above. It's unforgettable. Listen to it on the web, then listen to it on Hilly Fields, but hurry. In the last two years, it hasn't hung around for very long. After that, you can try the more varied and melodious songs of the Blackcap and Song Thrush. Good luck and don't forget the social distancing! I'm going back into my bunker now.

At Home In Our Trees

The big deal during May was to find our Great Spotted Woodpeckers en famille again. We heard the shrill call of young peckers from a tree on the edge of the children's playground and located the nesting hole high up on the trunk. Soon an adult woodpecker appeared with food in its beak and after it had gone, two chicks took turns to peek out from the hole. One can be seen in the photo below. Like all juvenile GSWs, it has a red patch on its head which will disappear in the autumn moult. It's an odd place to choose for breeding purposes, being alongside the busy top path and next to the tennis courts, but Mistle Thrushes have bred in the same tree before. This is the third time in six years that we've come across woodpeckers nesting in the park and it's nice to know our trees are appreciated!

Elsewhere, Blackcaps, Chaffinches, Robins and Wrens were all singing and we also heard a few notes from the Goldcrest and Coal Tit,  Blue tits were quiet, no doubt busy finding caterpillars for their young. A flock of Starlings seemed to follow us around the park, sometimes in the trees, sometimes feeding on the grassland. Sue counted 35 in total.  And over Eastern Road, a Jay harassed a pigeon before settling on a branch to give a clear view of its blue and black wing bars. Interesting to reflect that this colourful bird belongs to the same family as the jet-black Crow and the dark blue and white Magpie.

In all, we recorded 19 species during our survey as follows: 35 Starlings, at least 7 Robins and 7 Wrens, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 juveniles, 3 Woodpigeons, at least 2 each of Blackbird, Blackcap, Crow, Great Tit, Magpie and Ring-necked Parakeet and 1 each of Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Feral Pigeon, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, House Sparrow and Jay. Numbers are down a little but, as so often at this time of year, you can't see the birds for the foliage. The little fellow below was no problem to spot however.

Black Caps and White Blossom

Wrens, Robins, Goldfinches and Great Tits were all singing or calling at the lower Vicar's Hill entrance when we arrived for our monthly survey on 28 April. Much the same as last month except that as we moved deeper into the park, we heard two new songs. Every spring, Hilly Fields welcomes two migrant warblers from North Africa: the Blackcap and the Chiffchaff who fly thousands of miles to breed in our cooler climate. The Blackcap's song - which we heard in brief bursts on upper Eastern Road - is usually described as 'fluting' but it has a scratchy undertow and an insistent quality. It's hard to find a good film recording, but the clip below does at least show the simple beauty of this bird with its silver-grey breast and black 'cap'. Not to be outdone, the female has a lovely chestnut brown cap.

In this location, we saw a Dunnock singing, heard a Greenfinch sneering and watched two Blackbirds building a nest. A Wren was pouring out its song from a bare tree, its stumpy tail upturned as usual. On the south slope, Starlings were digging for invertebrates in the grassland - their glossy plumage and bright yellow bills a sign that they too are enjoying the breeding season. The staccato song of the Chiffchaff was heard briefly in the bothy area where we also heard very clearly the laughing call of the Green Woodpecker. This bird has either become a regular visitor or is nesting in or around the park.

By the end of our survey, we had seen or heard 23 species - a very healthy total. By far the most numerous bird was the Starling with a flock of 20, followed by 9 Robins, 7 Woodpigeon, 6 Wrens, 4 each of Goldfinch and Great Tit, 3 each of Blackbird and Parakeet, 2 each of Blue Tit, Crow, Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow, Magpie and Mistle Thrush and 1 each of Blackcap, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Green Woodpecker  and Song Thrush.

Meanwhile it's a 'white-out' in certain parts of the park as cow parsley blooms and the white blossom appears on the orchard trees, on the hawthorns and on the candle like flower spikes of the horse chestnut. The magical month of May is upon us!

Cow Parsley

Apple blossom

The 'May blossom' on the hawthorn

Horse chestnut 'candles'

The Little Brown Job

We started our September bird survey from the lower Vicars Hill entrance as usual and soon encountered that legendary species, the Little Brown Job - a term used by birders for any small, nondescript, briefly glimpsed bird that can't be identified. We heard a short snatch of song that sounded vaguely familiar, then saw our suspect flitting high in the trees on the Veda Road border, hidden most of the time by trunks or branches or foliage. It had no clear distinguishing features and after a few minutes of craning our necks, we gave up. It was most likely to have been the juvenile Blackcap that we saw last month, but we couldn't be sure enough to count it. A little further along the trail, we saw another bird high in a tree looking down at us disapprovingly. We had no trouble identifying this one. 'Twas our old 'frenemy', the Ring-necked Parakeet.

It was 21st September, a lovely morning and the last day of summer. Robins and Wrens sang frequently and Speckled Wood butterflies fluttered around the margins of the wood, making the most of the sun. We saw three Goldfinches and heard more twittering in the background. Then we came across another oddity on Upper Eastern Road. Flopped unmoving on a branch, grey with an oddly distorted face, it was clearly a pigeon or dove, but which variety?  Eventually, we realised it was a juvenile Woodpigeon lacking the white collar of the adult and with swellings around the mouth. In all probability, it was suffering from trichomonosis or 'canker', a disease affecting various bird species which blocks the gullet and leads ultimately to death from starvation. There was little we could do other than move on. I don't recall seeing the disease before on Hilly Fields and there were 18 healthy Woodpigeons feeding on the grass nearby.

Elsewhere, we saw 5 Crows, 3 Magpies, 3 House Sparrows, 2 each of Blackbird, Blue Tit and Feral Pigeon and 1 each of Goldcrest and Great Tit. We estimated at least 12 Robins present and at least 7 Wrens as well as the other birds mentioned above - 13 species in all. And some definite signs of autumn: leaves starting to carpet the grassland, red berries on the hawthorns and squirrels leaping through the trees and scurrying up and down trunks, gathering nuts for winter storage.

Blue Tits On Our Trail

Sometimes on our monthly bird surveys, we seem to be followed around the park by one particular species: Robins, for example or Chaffinches or Crows. On 31 August, it was the turn of the Blue Tits. All along our route, we heard their churring call and occasionally saw one flitting between the branches. Some may have been young birds born in the spring; the others were back in action after the huge effort of feeding their young and after the moulting period when they're extra vulnerable to predators like the Sparrowhawk. In this clip, the churring can be heard coming from a Blue Tit off camera and the bird you can see is responding to it.

We saw Great Tits too which are slightly bigger than Blue Tits with a black head and a thick black stripe down their breasts in the male (see photo below), a thinner stripe in  the female. Robins were singing more after their moulting period and the occasional Wren burst into its brief song as we passed. These are likely to be the only two birds we'll hear singing between now and the New Year. On upper Eastern Road, we had a brief glimpse of a juvenile Blackcap nibbling at the haws. The ripening of fruit on the trees and bushes is likely to bring more birds out into the open.

Male Great Tit on Hilly Fields (31/8/16)

On the whole, it was a little livelier than the previous month and we recorded a total of 15 species. As well as those already mentioned, we saw 8 Woodpigeons, 7 Goldfinch, 6 Sparrows, 2 each of Blackbird, Crow, Long-tailed Tit and Magpie and singles of Chaffinch, Feral Pigeon and Ring-necked Parakeet. The Sparrows were in the Cliffview hedge and difficult to see clearly in the foliage, but one emerged long enough for a photo opportunity. It lacks the dark brown head and black bib of the adult male, but could be a juvenile male rather than a female. This is the time of year when the new kids on the block can cause confusion!

And finally, more Blue Tits. The clip below is over an hour in length, but just try watching the first few minutes for some great close-up footage of this hopelessly cute little bird.

Green Leaves of Summer

Our latest survey (on 28 June) was notable for the range of birds seen or heard - 20 species in total. Numbers of each species were not high but the smaller birds are difficult to see at this time of year when the green leaves of summer provide plenty of cover. And the recent weather pattern of alternating rain and sunshine has led to lush growth everywhere. The bird most frequently heard around the park (and seen in the trees on upper Eastern Road) was the Wren which is one of Britain's smallest and most common birds. Its distinguishing features are the stumpy cocked tail and the dark and pale bars along its sides. Its song is a bold and strong cascade of notes ending in a trill. Both tail and song suggest a spirited bird determined to protect its territory and survive despite its small size.

              
After missing them in May, it was good to record our two migrant warblers again. We heard at least one, probably two Blackcaps singing, and both saw and heard the Chiffchaff. For the last few years, these small birds have been arriving every spring from the Med and North Africa to breed in our cool woodland shade. We also saw a Greenfinch perched high in a tree on Upper Eastern Road,  Apart from its green plumage (with yellow patches on the wings), this bird can be identified by its chunky bill and its sneering call (often described as 'wheezing' in bird books) which somehow seems aimed at us humans striving feebly below. This picture was taken on a winter's day when the sun painted it yellow.

The full roll call was as follows: Blackbird 4, Blackcap 1+, Blue Tit 2, Chaffinch 2, Chiffchaff 1, Coal Tit 1, Crow 4, Dunnock 1, Goldfinch 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Great Tit 1, Greenfinch 1, House Sparrow 4, Magpie 2, Mistle Thrush 1, Ring-necked Parakeet 1, Robin 2, Starling 3, Woodpigeon 2, Wren 9. It is worth noting that we saw no Swifts in the sky above and although I saw 6 one evening a few weeks ago over my garden, their numbers sadly are on the decline. The Coal Tit was heard but not seen. It is an uncommon visitor to Hilly Fields and to our neighbouring green spaces at Ladywell Fields and the Brockley and Ladywell cemeteries. Smaller and less colourful than the Great Tit, it can be identified by the white stripe on the back of its head.

Credit: Aviceda

Nuthatch Saves the Day

30 June: starting as usual from the lower Vicar's Hill entrance, Sue and I worked our way along the Veda Road border, following 'the secret path' (as children call it) between tall grass and cow parsley. It was very quiet in the trees, reflecting the fact that for most birds the breeding season is drawing towards a close. Around the wood, however, and the upper Eastern Road area, a Blackcap and two Chiffchaffs were singing continuously, so for them it's not all over yet. The RSPB says of both these species that 'pairs nesting in the south of England' may have a second brood. Perhaps the singing birds were keeping in touch with each other, either from the nest or from wherever they happened to be searching for food. We also saw a Pied Wagtail looking for insects in the grass among the ancient boulders of the stone circle

But we weren't finding very much and were reconciling ourselves to a low count when we entered the 'shade garden' between the bowling green and the bothy. There, within a few minutes, we had a remarkable haul: a Nuthatch, a Jay, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Mistle Thrush and a family of 8 very lively Long-tailed Tits, most of them recently fledged little 'uns. At one point, it felt as if we'd stepped into a Disney film as the cute tweeting Tits raced around the trunk of a conifer tree. The Nuthatch is not a common visitor to Hilly Fields so it was great to see one again. It is the only British bird that can climb down a tree trunk head first in its search for insects within the bark.

This raised our total to a respectable 19. In addition to those birds already mentioned, we saw and/or heard 4 Robins and 4 Wrens, 3 Blackbirds, 2 each of Swift, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Magpie and 1 each of Blue Tit, Crow, Great Tit and House Sparrow. So the everyday birds were scarce but the less common birds made up for it. And, for once, we didn't see or hear a single parakeet. What a shame.

Turning Towards Summer

The weather was warm enough to bring a few sunbathers out onto the slopes of Hilly Fields on 27th May when we did our monthly bird survey. The birds were vocal but not always visible as the growing foliage makes the 'little brown jobs' (birder talk) difficult to see. We heard plenty of Wrens and Chaffinches, for example, but they were well hidden. One bird we did catch sight of and heard repeatedly was the Blackcap, a migrant warbler which arrives every summer from Africa and the Med (there is a smaller winter migration from Germany). This bird seems to be more widespread in Lewisham than ever and is easy to recognise having a grey-white breast and a black 'cap' (male) or chestnut brown cap (female).

The Blackcap has a cheerful, insistent song which can be heard here.

The other common migrant warbler is the Chiffchaff which we heard on upper Eastern Road. Elsewhere, the clamour of chicks caught our attention in the little grove opposite the bothy. We tracked the sound down to a small number of Blue Tit fledglings who were out of the nest being fed by mum and dad in the upper branches. A Long-tailed Tit was hanging around with them as well. A few House Sparrows were lurking in the Cliffview hedge as usual, a dozen or so Starlings were pecking at the grassland (they usually disappear for a while in summer) while soaring above us in the blue sky was the welcome sight of Swifts - five together at one point. They arrive in the UK in the first half of May after a 4000 mile journey from southern Africa. We also saw or heard 5 Robins, 3 each of Blackbird and Woodpigeon, 2 each of Crow, Great Tit, Magpie and Ring-necked Parakeet and one each of Goldfinch and Greenfinch - 18 species in all.

Long-tailed Tit

Meanwhile, in other nature news, the dog and sweet briar roses are appearing in the borders just as the cow parsley and May blossom start to fade. Along with the buttercups, the vetch and plantain in the long grass, these are a sure sign that spring is turning towards summer.

Come Rain Come Shine

It looked as if our monthly bird survey on 29th April was going to be a wash-out. Heavy rain and a chilling wind made conditions very difficult for the first 45 minutes. We heard a Blackcap or two and a Wren or two singing, as well a Great Tit calling, but otherwise the birds were silent and hidden. We lingered for a while in the shelter of the little wood, admiring the wild garlic and wondering whether to go for a coffee. Then in the space of five minutes, everything changed. The rain stopped, the clouds parted and the sun began to shine. Emerging onto upper Eastern Road, we were greeted by a Blackbird high in a bare tree.

Before long we'd heard the first Chiffchaff of the year singing, heard and seen a Dunnock, glimpsed a Jay - our first for several months - and a pair of Mistle Thrushes. A Greenfinch sneered, a Chaffinch trilled and Robins began to pipe up too. On the south slope, Starlings searched for worms in the wake of the Glendale tractor as it mowed the grass.

On the north field, a Crow waddled past the newly painted gym equipment without being tempted to try it. And in the garden next to the bowling green, four House Sparrows chased amongst the white flowering cow parsley. But by now, ominous clouds were re-appearing and the rain soon started to fall again. This time, we made straight for the cafe, but with a respectable 19 species recorded.

The total list: 25 Starlings, 8 Wrens, 4 each of Great Tit, House Sparrow, Robin and Woodpigeon, 3 each of Blackbird and Dunnock, 2 each of Blue Tit, Ring-necked Parakeet, Blackcap, Crow, Chiffchaff and Mistle Thrush and 1 each of Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Magpie, Feral Pigeon and Jay. Your spotters: Tom, Sue and Judith.

Starling

Footnote; earlier this month I heard a Song Thrush singing for three days running from the direction of the wood. Back in January, we mentioned how Phil - who does a monthly bird count in the Brockley & Ladywell cemeteries - had seen one during our Big Birdwatch event. This was the first recorded sighting of a Song Thrush on Hilly Fields since the Bird Champion scheme began in 2007. This month, Phil saw no less than 5 Song Thrushes in the cemeteries, so hopefully we'll see and hear more of them in the future.

Birdsong and Blossom

The first thing that greeted me after toiling up Vicars Hill on the last day of April was the sight and sound of a Robin singing from the top of an ash tree. It seemed to be revelling in the sunshine that had reddened its breast even more. Arriving from a different direction, Judith had already had a clear view of a Great Spotted Woodpecker so our monthly survey was off to a good start. Great Tits were calling repeatedly from the green borders of the park and Blackbirds, Chiffchaffs and Wrens were regularly bursting into song. Only the Blue Tits were quiet, presumably busy with their broods.

Along the Veda Rd border, we heard our first Blackcap of the year and at least one other was singing elsewhere in the park. This was a welcome return for these spring migrant warblers whose presence and song all adds to the diversity of the park. A pair overwintered in the area during 2012/13 but not this last winter as far as I'm aware. Greenfinches, a Goldfinch and a Dunnock were all heard singing in various locations, while a Blackbird seemed to be duetting with a Robin in the little garden next to the bowling green. But as the foliage grows denser, it's getting harder to see small birds and often the only glimpse we got was as they flew away. Here's a You Tube clip of a male Blackcap; the female has a chestnut brown cap.

In addition to those mentioned above, we saw or heard nine Starlings feeding on the grassland, five Wrens, four Crows, three each of Magpie, Woodpigeon and Ring-necked Parakeet and one each of Chaffinch and House Sparrow. We also heard a Magpie chick calling plaintively from its nest in a tree on upper Eastern Rd. Counting small birds in a large park such as Hilly Fields is always difficult, but we estimate there are at least nine robins spread around in different territories and probably more than the five Wrens that we've entered on BirdTrack.




Woodpigeons canoodling in the sun

Meanwhile in other nature news, the May blossom is out on the hawthorns as anybody who's been in the park recently can't help but have noticed. The creamy white 'candles' are on the horse chestnuts and of course the cow parsley is everywhere. In short, it's that time of year when 'everything is beeoodiful' as Ray Stevens warbled back in the 1960s. And the ash trees are finally blossoming too, their green pinnate leaves appearing alongside last year's seedcases (known as 'keys') which have somehow survived the winter gales.

May blossom on the hawthorns

'Candles' of blossom on the horse chestnuts

Old Ash keys and new leaves

April Bird Survey: Springtime Song

Sue and I did our monthly bird survey on 30th April - a warm sunny morning with just a slight chill here and there to remind us of the cold winter not long left behind. Most of the trees were in leaf, the cow parsley was beginning to flower and the birds were in full springtime song. Blackbirds, Robins, Wrens, Great Tits and Chaffinches could be heard abundantly around the park and we also saw and heard at least three male Blackcaps. There were brief glimpses of the Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Goldcrest and we spent some time trying to get a clear view of a silent warbler that was flitting about high in the branches of a leafy tree. In the end, we concluded that it was probably a Chiffchaff. The only regulars that were missing were Goldfinches and Mistle Thrushes though they have both been seen and heard since.

Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs are the only warblers we seem to get on Hilly Fields and only the Blackcap stays around for the summer. Those we saw would be spring migrants, recent arrivals and will already be in the throes of nest building and breeding. The wintering Blackcaps will by now have returned to central Europe. Blackcaps are just a tiny bit smaller than House Sparrows and it is only the male that has a black cap; the female's being a sweet chestnut brown. Often, though, the easiest way to spot them in the bush is by the white downy breast. You will hear them singing at this time of year though not as often as the songbirds I've mentioned above. Their song is very attractive, starting in a scratchy stuttering manner and becoming more "fluting" towards the end. Here's an example:

Our final tally was 19 species: 8 Blackbirds, 3+ Blackcaps, 3+ Blue Tits, Chaffinch, 5 Feral Pigeons, Great Spotted Woodpecker, only 1 House Sparrow (unusual), 2 Long-tailed Tits, Ring-necked Parakeet, 4 Starlings, 3+ Wrens, 2+ Carrion Crows, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, 4+ Great Tits, Jay, Magpie, 6+ Robins, 3+ Woodpigeons. This is one of the few months in which the Feral (or 'London') Pigeon has outnumbered the plumper Wood Pigeon (the one with the white collar). The House Sparrows must have been out and about. We have now recorded 41 different bird species at Hilly Fields since the Bird Champion Project began in 2007 and I will publish the full list in our next post or you can read our report on the Lewisham Nature Conservation website here. The most recent new sighting was a Lesser Black-backed Gull seen here in splendid isolation near the cricket pitch on 20th April:

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. 

Black Caps and Red Wings

I mentioned the sighting of a female Blackcap on Hilly Fields in my "December Bird Survey" post. Since then, this little bird has made the national press and television (well, the Independent and BBC's Winterwatch at least) and it's all due to the British Trust for Ornithology. The BTO has initiated a January Blackcap garden survey, details of which can be found on their website: http://www.bto.org/. It has also produced evidence that Blackcaps which winter in the UK are not - as I confidently asserted - staying on after the spring migratory flocks return to Spain and North Africa in autumn, but are part of a separate population from Central Europe - particularly Germany. Whereas in the past, these birds have gone south from Germany in autumn, they now prefer to spend their winter vacation here (see the yellow arrow in the diagram below).

"What?!" I hear you say. "They prefer Britain to the Med! Talk about bird-brained..." But they've discovered that it's warm enough here and, even better, their return journey is much shorter, allowing them to get back quickly to Germany in the spring and nab the best nesting sites. Not so silly after all, eh? "We have a new winter bird" is how Michael McCarthy put it in the Independent. And the upshot for us is that we will have year-round Blackcaps in Hilly Fields, albeit not in great numbers. Their use of garden feeders is on the increase and if you have one, it is worth doing the BTO survey. In my experience, the feature that stands out in the Blackcap is its pale grey breast. Once you've seen that, check if they have a black head (male) or chestnut brown (female). Here's a close-up clip of a male:

Redwings are another species which winter in the UK, arriving in their thousands from Scandinavia. Members of the Thrush family, they have speckled breasts but the main distinguishing features are red patches on their sides and a white stripe over each eye. Yesterday we did a special mid-month survey of Hilly Fields prior to our Big Birdwatch event (Sunday 27 January at 10.30) and saw four of them which is the first sighting on HF since Keith recorded a small flock of seven two years ago.

In addition, we saw 30+ Starlings, 17 Goldfinches, 15 Wood Pigeons, 11 Common Gulls, lots of Great Tits, Blue Tits and Robins, Crows, Magpies, Blackbirds, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Mistle Thrushes, House Sparrows and one each of Jay, Ring-necked Parakeet, Wren, Feral Pigeon and Black-headed Gull. A total of 20 species which augers well for the (stop me if I've mentioned this before) Big Birdwatch event on Sunday 27 January at 10.30. Incidentally, there seemed to be a growing awareness amongst some birds yesterday that the mating season is getting closer. Certainly, this Robin was singing very lustily in Hilly Fields Wood...

December Bird Survey

Our December bird survey took place on the 21st - a fine sunny day though the ground was still rain sodden in places. It was also the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and, according to some, the day on which the world would end - although the Mayans were saying that was baloney. And of course they were right.

The better weather brought plenty of birds out, but the highlight was a clear view of a female Blackcap in the garden between bowling green and bothy. Blackcaps are warblers with a pretty song which we heard often last spring. They are still mainly spring migrants to the UK and spend the winter in Spain, Portugal or West Africa, but as our climate has warmed, a small population overwinters here (estimated as "3000 and increasing" by the RSPB). By coincidence, Sue had seen a male Blackcap in her garden a few days earlier, so it is gratifying to know that they are hanging on in lovely Lewisham. The male has a black head (hence the name 'Blackcap') and the female a brown head; both have a light grey breast. Our female didn't stay around long enough for me to get a photo, but here's one from the Web.

Female Blackcap

Just before the Blackcap appeared, we saw a Dunnock (possibly two) scrabbling around in the undergrowth. Dunnocks seem to be permanent residents of Hilly Fields, though we've never seen more than one or two at any one time and I doubt that there are many around the park. They are small, furtive birds that tend to creep around close to cover.

Dunnock

In all, we saw 17 different species during our walkabout. The 'big' numbers were 22 Blackheaded Gulls, 13 Starlings, 10 Woodpigeons and 9 Common Gulls. There were 6 House Sparrows in the Cliffview hedge which is slightly more than usual. We heard the high-pitched trilling of Goldfinches quite often, but never saw more than 4 together. Similarly, we heard and saw Robins, Great Tits and Blue Tits galore but never more than 3 at any one time. We also saw small numbers of Magpies, Crows, Blackbirds and Ring-necked Parakeets as well as a solitary Chaffinch and at one point heard a Greenfinch sneering at us from somewhere out of sight. Here's a shot of one of the Starlings high up in a poplar tree -they really do have attractive glossy speckled coats though you need a close-up view to appreciate it.

In other news, the Tawny Owl was heard again earlier this month by a Cliffview resident (thanks, Keith!).  Great Tits which have been quiet since early summer can now be heard calling most days and other birds should be getting more vocal from January onwards. On which 'note', may I thank everyone who takes the time to visit and read (and occasionally comment on) Hilly Fields Birdwatch and wish you all the best for 2013.

April Bird Survey

We had a rain-free but quiet morning (30 April) for our monthly bird survey, rather like last month. Most of the usual birds were seen or heard but in fewer numbers. We heard the Great Spotted Woodpecker only once, heard only one Blackcap (we had seen Blackcaps on separate occasions earlier in the month in the wood/Eastern Rd area) and saw only one Goldfinch. We also had the feeling that we were constantly just missing birds, that they had been there behind our backs but flown just before we turned around! Of course the fact that the trees and bushes are now in full bloom provides them with much more cover. It is notable also that far fewer Great Tits were heard, whereas since the New Year their calls have been coming at us in quadrophonic sound. The highest number of birds seen in one place was a flock of nine starlings, but this is well down on the numbers that we were seeing in the main winter months.

Great Tits - the male has a broader black stripe down the breast

All this can be put down mainly to the ongoing breeding season and indeed we saw both a Starling and a Blue Tit carrying insects in their bills presumably to feed the fledglings in their nests. On the plus side, quite a few Blue Tits were seen and heard in different places as we walked around and a fair number of Wrens were heard with their piercing song. It was nice also to see a Long-tailed Tit in the garden next to the Bothy - an unmistakable bird simply because its tail is indeed long in relation to its body size. On the other side of the Bothy, we witnessed a fierce skirmish between a very dark brown female blackbird and a male. Needless to say, the female won the day - they are aggressive defenders of territory, especially at this time of year. The female always provides a visual reminder that Blackbirds belong to the Thrush family, although their speckled breasts don't stand out as strongly as the Song or Mistle Thrush.

In lulls between bird sightings, we did see an Orange Tip butterfly and a probable Holly Blue, though it was fluttering so fast we can't be sure. But enough of biodiversity. We demand better weather and more birds!

Bird Count Highlights

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.