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.
Our monthly bird survey on 27 September was almost over, when Conrad spotted a Hobby being chased by Crows over the north field. We had only a brief glimpse at first, but it reappeared having shaken off its pursuers and spent five minutes gliding and swooping over the park. The Hobby has long wings for its body size and catches most of its prey in flight, so its aerial abilities are quite special. It feeds mainly on small birds (though it does catch Swifts) and insects including dragonflies. In this case it was feeding around the plane trees that line Hilly Fields Crescent and we saw it transfer an insect from claw to beak in mid-flight. The plumage was not as dark as usual, so our bird may have been a juvenile. It was either too high or too fast to get a photograph - the image below is from the NatureSpot website.
Photo: Chris Lythall
The Hobby is one of four wild falcons which can be seen in Britain. The other three - Peregrine, Kestrel and Merlin - are resident all year round, whereas the Hobby is a spring migrant which flies here from Africa to breed in our cooler climate and returns in autumn. The hobby we saw will be away any day now. Its scientific name is Falco subbuteo and yes - the fingertip football game Subbuteo is named after it. Its inventor Peter Adolph was a bird lover and first tried to patent the game under the name of 'The Hobby'. When that was turned down as being too general, he used the species name instead which in Latin means 'near to' (sub) 'a buzzard' (buteo).
We recorded twenty other species that day which is a good record for the time of year. These were 14 Woodpigeons, 11 Feral Pigeons and 11 Magpies, 5 Robins (at least), 4 Great Tits, 3 each of Blackbirds, Blue Tits, Crows, Goldfinches, Jays and Wrens, 2 each of Black-headed Gulls, House Martins (passing over) and Song Thrushes, 1 each of Chiffchaff, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Nuthatch, Ring-necked Parakeet and Starling. The Hobby can be celebrated as the 51st species on our list, but let me also put in a word for the Crows. They tend to get taken for granted but are vigilant birds and defenders of the realm and they do draw attention to birds of prey.
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!
Our arrival at the lower Vicars Hill Gate on 30 September was greeted by a faint seep-seep-seep sound from the trees which turned out to be a group of about six Long-tailed Tits scavenging for food. Other than that, our monthly bird survey was another low-key affair and confirmed that July-Sept is the 'quiet quarter' of the birding year on Hilly Fields.
Long-tailed Tit
The bird glimpsed most clearly in flight was a Jay which, as per last month, flew from the direction of the Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries to nab another acorn from the oak tree at the top of the south field. Luckily, this tree has enough acorns left on its branches to feed many more squirrels and birds.
Acorns on oak tree
A Wren was briefly heard singing and a Chiffchaff. The latter was probably preparing for its annual migration back to the Med or West Africa. Apart from the bold Crows and Magpies which strutted in the open spaces, most of the other birds maintained a low profile like the blackbird below, glimpsed in hawthorn foliage on Upper Eastern Road.
Blackbird playing peep-o
Hopefully, by the end of next month, the Gulls and Starlings will have returned from wherever they spend their summer to swell the numbers. Species seen or heard this month: 7 Robins, 7 Woodpigeons, 6 Long-tailed Tits, 5 Magpies, 3 Crows, 2 each of Blackbird, Great Tit, Blue Tit and Ring-necked Parakeets, 1 each of Wren, House Sparrow, Chiffchaff, Goldfinch, Jay and Feral Pigeon.
After a skirmish which ruffled its feathers, this Crow was King of the Bin
The BBC forecast three hours of heavy rain for the morning of 26 August. Naturally, we still turned out for the monthly bird survey. Getting soaked to the skin while unable to see a thing through rain-splattered lenses is all part of the experience (it says here). Luckily the rain was intermittent and we managed to get round the 'course' with only a few raindrops hanging from our stiff upper lips. There were also a couple of highlights. One was hearing a pair of Chiffchaff calling to each other ('huit' 'huit') in the Upper Eastern Rd woodland and getting a brief glimpse of what looked like an adult. These warblers have become regular summer visitors to Hilly Fields and have almost certainly bred there. Could this have been adult and young bird keeping in contact?
Most Chiffchaffs will be preparing for migration back to the Med and Africa which usually takes place later this month. Another bird preparing for winter is the Jay and after hearing its loud screeching, we were lucky enough to see one flying out of an oak tree with something in its beak. It's not difficult to guess what that 'something' was. A new crop of acorns is growing in our oaks and can be seen hanging down on stalks. Jays are famous for storing these (often burying them in the ground), then recovering them later when needed. Occasionally, they'll forget the location and another mighty oak will start to grow...
Image: RSPB
Apart from those two sightings, it was a quiet morning, no doubt partly due to the weather. At one stage, it seemed unlikely that we'd reach double figures, but in the end we recorded 13 species. The other birds seen and/or heard were Wood Pigeons, Robins (now singing again after their moult), Wrens (occasionally singing), Great Tits, Blue Tits, Blackbirds, Goldfinches, Magpies, Crows, House Sparrows and Parakeets.
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.
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.
We had mixed weather on 24th September for our monthly bird survey, starting with a clouded sky which led to rain, then clearing to blue sky and sunshine. The birds were reasonably active for the time of year and there were three particular highlights. Firstly, clear views of a pair of Chiffchaffs in the hedging along the eastern boundary of the school site. One bird .in particular hovered with fluttering wings in front of the trees and bushes as it looked for food. The Chiffchaff's main diet consists of insects including plant aphids, but it will sometimes eat berries of which there was a supply in the hedge. At this time of year, they will be building up fat and energy reserves for the migratory flight back to the Med and West Africa. Difficult to photograph because of their quick movements but the pic below shows the pale, lemony breast, white stripe above the eye and black line through the eye. The Chiffchaff is about the same size as a Blue Tit.
The next highlight came when Sue spotted a Jay flying over the south field from the direction of the Brockley & Ladywell cemeteries. It landed in an oak tree, but after only a few seconds flew back the way it had come. We walked closer to the tree and soon discovered why its visit had been so short. There were already two Jays sitting in the branches and Hilly Fields is their territory. No way were they going to share their acorn supply. The Jay is the most colourful member of the Corvid family with its pink breast and the bright blue wing patches which often give away its presence when deep in foliage. Its call is a wild raucous screech.
Jay in Hilly Fields Wood
The third highlight was the arrival of a small flock of Long-tailed Tits in the garden next to the bowling green. We became aware of them suddenly in the branches above us, twittering quietly to each other as they hopped around. Long-tailed Tits are very pretty birds but flit about so quickly that they're difficult to catch on camera. My photo taken from directly below shows the pale fluffy underbelly and the long tail which almost merges with the tree branches. I've added a photo from the Web which gives a clearer view of the whole bird.
Photo by Joe Cockram
Elsewhere, Blue Tits and Great Tits were active in the trees and we even heard the latter's two-note 'teacher, teacher' call briefly. Robins were singing again now that their moulting period is over and we estimate there are at least 11 of them holding territories in the park. The fact that Robins are so territorial and don't move around much makes it easier to do an accurate count. There were 18 Wood Pigeons feeding on the grassland, 8 Feral Pigeons wandering on grass and pathways and at least 8 House Sparrows in the Cliffview hedge. The rest of the count: 5 Swallows passing overhead, 3 each of Blackbird, Crow and Magpie, 2 Ring-necked Parakeets and one apiece of Goldfinch and Wren. Giving us the same total as last month: 16 species.
This year's dawn chorus walk on 2 April was blessed with good weather and plenty of birdsong. Sixteen people came along as we walked around the green border of Hilly Fields (seeing the sunrise over lovely Lewisham), through the nature reserve and the upper part of Eastern Road, then down St Cyprian's Passage to the Brockley & Ladywell cemeteries. On Hilly Fields as expected, we heard plenty of Great Tits calling and Robins and Wrens singing, but also the newly arrived Chiffchaffs sending out their sharp, insistent song. And of course we heard the Blackbird which starts singing in the 'darkest hour' before dawn. On top of the hill, a Redwing was seen in the trees, a late-stayer as most of its fellows have returned to Scandinavia. And in front of the school, not only did we see Long-tailed Tits and Starlings but the youngest member of our party was able to show us some excellent pictures of them from her Ladybird Book of Birds.
In the cemeteries, the highlight was undoubtedly the Green Woodpecker which was heard almost as soon as we entered. Eventually we found it high in the branches of a tree and I think most people caught at least a glimpse of it. But if it wasn't easy to see, it's laughing call (known as a 'yaffle' to birders) was very distinct. And amazingly, its cousin a Great Spotted Woodpecker then landed on the same tree, briefly turning it into Woodpecker Central. Further on we heard (and briefly saw) a Song Thrush, again high in a tree, repeating each song phrase several times over as they famously do. We also heard a Greenfinch sneering and, inevitably, a Ring-necked Parakeet.
'There it is!' Spotting the Green Woodpecker...
And here's what it looked like from below...
...and what it looks like close-up [Stock Photo]
In all, we saw and/or heard 19 species on our walk: Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Robin, Wren, Chiffchaff, Woodpigeon, House Sparrow, Redwing, Crow, Blackbird, Magpie, Starling, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush, Greenfinch, Ring-necked Parakeet and a Mistle Thrush heard singing near the playground as we walked back through Hilly Fields. A good haul and I'm glad that everyone seemed to enjoy the walk. Thanks to Rachel from the Friends of Hilly Fields for publicising it and thanks to the FoBLC and Mike Guilfoyle for enabling early access to the cemeteries.
If you would like a second chance to join a local dawn chorus walk, Lawrence is organising one along the River Pool on Thursday April 17th at 6am, meet outside the Sydenham Sainsbury Savacentre. The River Pool between Bell Green and Catford is one of the natural glories of Lewisham. If we are very lucky, we may catch a glimpse of a Kingfisher or Sparrowhawk, but we should certainly hear Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, probably a Song Thrush and many other birds. Check here for more details.
Our monthly bird survey on 26 March began well with the sighting of a pair of Jays in the trees along the Veda Road border. It is sometimes hard to believe that these birds with their colourful pink and fawn bodies and bright blue wing patches belong to the same family as the all-black Carrion Crow, but they do - as also do Magpies. Further on we saw a Crow with nesting material in its beak and as we worked our way round the park with Robins, Wrens, Great Tits and Blue Tits singing and calling, it was evident that the birds were busy preparing for the mating season.
Crow with nesting material in the children's playground
In the wood, we heard what I'd been hoping for - the song of a Chiffchaff. This is a small warbler with a pale lemony breast and a white stripe above the eye. It migrates to Britain every spring from the Mediterranean and West Africa. This year it got here just before the Saharan dust! It's only in the last 3 years that we've seen or heard Chiffchaffs on Hilly Fields and only last year that they stayed the whole summer and bred. A few days after the survey, I heard two Chiffchaffs singing and there may be a third somewhere in the trees around the Veda Road/Eastern Road back gardens. Their song is very distinctive and easy to remember. Here's a clip I posted on the blog last year
In the trees at the back of the tennis courts, we had some good views of a Great Spotted Woodpecker and later Judith saw a Mistle Thrush on the grass in front of the courts. There was no sign of any gulls - the mild weather has presumably tempted them back to the coasts. Next to the bothy, some sort of territorial skirmish was going on between a plucky little House Sparrow and two Blackbirds. Here's one of the latter peeping out rather cautiously from a bush:
In total, we saw and/or heard 19 different species. As well as those already mentioned, these include no less than 25 Feral Pigeons on the cricket pitch observed by Sue on her way home, 11 Starlings, 4 Woodpigeons, 2 Magpies, Goldfinches and Ring-necked Parakeets, a singing Dunnock and a solitary Long-tailed Tit. All in your local green space on a fine spring morning. I'll update on the Dawn Chorus Walk in a few days...
August 28th was a fine sunny day for our monthly survey but the birds weren't coming out to play. We heard more than we saw and our final tally was only boosted to 13 species by the screeching of an unseen Jay and the brief glimpse of a Green Woodpecker which was probably visiting from Brockley & Ladywell cemeteries. Great Tits and Blue Tits were fairly active in the trees and small flocks of Crows, Magpies and Woodpigeons followed us about the park. The good news is that Robins are singing again after their summer moult when they retreat into the undergrowth and sulk. We estimated that we'd seen or heard 7 in total on our rounds.
We saw only one Blackbird which is unusual and heard the occasional Goldfinch. Three House Sparrows, two Ring-necked Parakeets and a Feral Pigeon made up the total. The week before, Sue had seen even fewer birds but had at least the excitement of watching a Sparrowhawk being chased by a Crow! Before going for a coffee at the cafe, we took a look at a recently vacated Robin's nest just inside the bothy gates which Lee the park keeper had pointed out to us - a cup nest created in thick ivy against a wall. I wonder how many chicks were born here and how many survived?
Elsewhere in Lewisham, a few Swallows have been seen which means they're probably starting to think about heading south. And in other news, blackberries are ripening again after having had just the right amount of sunshine and rainfall in the last few weeks. I haven't sampled the Hilly Fields crop, but tried some at the RSPB Rainham reserve in Essex and they were delicious. On the park grassland, buttercups have given way to swathes of little dandelion-like flowers. These have been identified for me by Nick Bertrand (ace Creekside Centre botanist) as Autumn Hawkbit. Taken together, all these signs can mean only one thing. The last days of summer are upon us.
Postscript 3rd September: heard a Chiffchaff singing again on Eastern Road this morning. I mentioned last month that a pair of Chiffchaffs had produced at least one youngster on Hilly Fields this summer. It's possible that they could overwinter here, but more likely that they'll be off back to the Med in 2-3 weeks time. And who can blame them?
Time drifts on and we approach another transitional point in the bird year. The sounds of silence, or at least quietness, are upon us. There are still cheeps and chirps and calls to be heard out there, but song is on the way out. The 'dawn chorus' this morning consisted of a single Wren and some Herring Gulls mewing in the distance. The Blackbird which has been heard from 3.45 am during June and early July is resting its vocal cord and will not be singing again until next year. Likewise, Thrushes and Dunnocks. The Robin is also silent while it undergoes its moulting period, but it will sing again during the autumn. The breeding season is almost over.
Wren in my garden
It wasn't quite so quiet when Sue, Terry and I did our monthly survey of Hilly Fields on a hot and windless 22nd July, but it was getting there. We heard a Blackcap sing for a short spell in the wood by Eastern Rd and a Chaffinch holding forth again from a tree near the school (see last month's post). But the only bird really belting it out was the Wren - several of them, in fact, repeatedly. Could this have been an avian lonely hearts club band? At a mere 10 cm in length (max), the Wren is almost Britain's smallest bird (beaten to that title by the Goldcrest and Firecrest) and is certainly our most common bird (click for link) with an estimated population of over 17 million. For such a small bird (weighing as little as a £1 coin), the Wren with its famous cocked tail is quite stocky and emits a loud and powerful five second song. Here's a You Tube clip...
The other striking feature of Hilly Fields bird life at the moment is the number of juvenile birds which is of course to be expected. The most significant was a young Chiffchaff which Terry spotted in the Eastern Rd hawthorns. We also saw one of the adults. This is good news for it means that the birds have bred in the park which is a "first" as far as we are aware in the six year duration of the bird champion scheme. In the past, Chiffchaffs have been heard only at the beginning or end of their migratory period. This year, two of them stayed around to mate and raise at least one little one. There were plenty of juvenile Tits as well, their colouring not yet as rich as their parents, and I spent some time tracking a young Robin which had not yet acquired its red breast, but it was hard to get decent photos of any of these small birds through all the foliage. The best image I could manage is the juvenile Wood Pigeon below which hasn't yet gained the white collar or the plumpness of its elders. It reminds me of that old chestnut of a question: why do you never see baby pigeons? The answer is because you don't look in their nests! Baby pigeons are fed such a rich diet by their parents and grow so fast as nestlings that by the time they fledge, they're as big as their mum and dad, or almost.
Juvenile 'Woodie'
We saw 17 species in total during our two hour walkabout. We also saw butterflies galore - in fact, thanks to the prolonged sunshine, urban green spaces are alive with them at present which makes it a great time to do the Big Butterfly Count (click for link). On Hilly Fields, the wildflower meadow is full of Meadow Browns while you might also see the Burnet 6 Spot, an attractive day flying moth, and you will certainly see a lot of very busy bees. In the wood and Eastern Rd area, the lovely Speckled Wood butterfly can be found.
Meadow Brown on Tansy in the wildflower meadow
Speckled Wood in the wood
STOP PRESS - Sue did another Hilly Fields walkabout on 30 July - 17 species seen including four Mistle Thrushes. Normally, we see two so it's safe to assume that they have successfully bred. She also heard a Nuthatch - an occasional visitor - and saw House Martins flying overhead with Swifts. A good result.
It is almost six years now since the Hilly Fields Bird Champion Project was launched by Lewisham Council. To provide some feedback, I submitted a report to the Lewisham Biodiversity Partnership in April which included a list of all bird species seen in the park since the project began. The report was discussed at the May meeting of the Partnership and was welcomed. A further initiative may derive from it which I will report on at a later date.
I will not rehash details of the report here as it can be read on the Lewisham Nature Conservation blog. However, I have reproduced the bird list below with the addition of a Lesser Black-backed Gull seen since the report was submitted. The birds are classified under Everyday which means you should see or hear them every time you visit the park; Regular which means they should be seen or heard often (in their season), perhaps at least once a week; Occasional which I think is self-explanatory; Rare which means rare to the area and to Inner London as a whole. Indeed, if a Cuckoo or Short-eared Owl were to stay on Hilly Fields for a while, it would almost certainly attract a few twitchers!
Although I suggest in the report that bird population levels in the park have been stable since 2007, Keith has pointed out that local House Sparrow numbers have declined during this period. As the original bird champion, he recorded as many as 50 during 2007-8, whilst 10 is the highest number seen nowadays. The sparrows are usually in and around the Cliffview hedge (see the site map) and the answer may lie in the fact that roof repair work carried out in some adjoining Cliffview Road houses not long ago may have disturbed their nests. It is likely therefore that some of the sparrows have simply relocated elsewhere in the neighbourhood which is not short of this once ubiquitous bird. I've noticed a thriving population recently, for example, along the Ravensbourne at Cornmill Gardens.
A word about the Chiffchaff which is number 26 on the list. This is a warbler which usually arrives on our shores in late March and April. It is not by any means rare or even 'occasional' at other local sites. It can be heard regularly at Ladywell Fields and Brookmill Park, for example. At Hilly Fields, however, I've heard it only three times this spring and have suggested that it simply rests here before moving on elsewhere. On 2 June, however, I heard it singing from the top of an Eastern Rd tree for about 15-20 minutes as if it were seeking out a partner.
Could it be breeding in the park? The photo above was taken at full zoom against the sky and is not very clear, but this earlier post includes a clip of the Chiffchaff's short simple song which begins nine seconds into the video. It is perhaps the easiest of the warblers to identify. Please let us know if you hear it.
So here is the bird list - 41 different species identified since 2007. Onwards to the half century!
Hilly Fields Bird List: 2007-2013 Everyday
1.Blackbird (resident) 2. Black-headed Gull (resident - winter months) 3. Blue Tit (resident) 4. Carrion Crow (numbers vary but thought to be 4 residents) 5. Common Gull (resident - winter months) 6. Goldfinch (daily visitors in a flock of up to 20 birds on occasion) 7. Great Tit (resident) 8. House Sparrow (resident) 9. Magpie (numbers vary but thought to be 2/3 residents) 10. Ring-necked Parakeet (daily visitors in small numbers) 11. Robin (resident) 12.Wood Pigeon (resident) 13.Wren (resident) Regular
14.Blackcap (summer and winter migrants) 15.Chaffinch (probably resident) 16.Common Swift (seen overhead in summer months 17.Dunnock (probably resident 18.Feral Pigeon (small no, easily outnumbered by wood pigeons) 19.Great Spotted Woodpecker (resident pair) 20.Greenfinch (probably resident) 21.Jay (regular pair - possibly resident) 22.Long-tailed Tit (unsure whether residents) 23.Mistle Thrush (regular pair - probably residents) 24.Pied Wagtail (seen on bowling green and on stone pathways) 25.Starling (as many as 80 seen in winter months; disappeared during 2012 summer months) Occasional
26.Chiffchaff (heard since 2011 at spring and autumn migration times only) 27.Coal Tit(very occasional) 28.Collared Dove (very occasional) 29.Fieldfare (occasional in winter 30.Goldcrest (possibly visitors from nearby Brockley/Ladywell cemeteries) 31.Green Woodpecker (also possibly visitors from above) 32.House Martin (not recorded since 2008) 33.Kestrel (very occasional) 34. Lesser Black-backed Gull (very occasional) 35.Nuthatch (very occasional) 36.Redwing (seen more in winter/early spring 2013 37.Sparrowhawk (possibly the birds that are knownto have bred in Brockley Cemetery) 38.Stock Dove (very occasional) 39.Tawny Owl (heard by Cliffview Road residents in autumn/winter 2012/13, not seen) 40. Willow Warbler. Seen and heard for the first time September 2013
Rare
41. Bullfinch (male, seen by Peter on 19/12/10 on SE edge of the park) 42. Cuckoo (heard once in May 2011) 43. Mallard (two seen by Rachel 10/3/08 approx 7am 'waddling up the park end of Eastern Rd') 44.Short-eared Owl (seen overhead 13/10/12 being mobbed by crows. Probably same bird recorded over London Wetland Centre earlier that day Updated Jan 2014
I had seen it twice in the third week of May. Up in the hawthorns on Eastern Road - a very small bird looking from below like a ball of pale fluff, always in the company of a Long-tailed Tit and moving rapidly between branches and trees. It kept making a high "tseeping" sound and I had thought: Goldcrest? Very recent fledgling of some sort? At times, it hovered between branches fluttering its wings as if to keep airborne, but usually it had no problem flying fast or in a reasonably straight line.Then, on 22 May while doing the monthly bird survey with Sue, we both saw it and reached the conclusion that what we were looking at - from the visible head markings and general behaviour - could only be a Long-tailed Tit without a tail.
Back home, a quick surf through Google proved that tail-less tits, though not common, are seen from time to time. The lack of a tail is usually the result of an accident or a predator attack. It doesn't seem to affect their ability to forage and frolic (like a "manic pom-pom" is how one tail-less tit is described) and the tail normally grows back after about four weeks. I haven't been able to photograph the Eastern Rd pom-pom, but here's a pic from the web::
From Asigaru's Nature Diary
Long-tailed Tits are nesting in the densest bramble scrub you could find on Eastern Rd where their chicks should be safe until fledged. This is good news as they are one of five key species among Hilly Fields regulars which re-assure me that the park is still providing a good diverse habitat. The other four are: Blackcap, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay and Mistle Thrush. Yes, I know you could add the "at risk" House Sparrow, the Dunnock, the Greenfinch (not seen often and in decline nationally), but I'll stick with my "big five" for now.
Sue and I saw four of those five key species during our May survey, the only absentee being the Mistle Thrush. There were plenty of birds singing, but the foliage is back on the trees and seeing the smaller birds is getting harder again. Our list for that day (of birds seen or heard) is as follows: Blackbird (6), Blackcap (1), Blue Tit (4), Crow (3), Chaffinch (1), Chiffchaff (1), Collared Dove (2 - an unusual sighting on Hilly Fields), Dunnock (1 - singing in the Vicars Hill border), Feral Pigeon, Goldfinch (3+), Great Spotted Woodpecker (1), Great Tit (4), House Sparrow (2), Jay (1), Long-tailed Tit (3), Magpie (2), Ring-necked Parakeet (1), Robin (5), Starling (6), Swift (2 - soaring overhead), Woodpigeon (3) and Wren (5+). 22 species - one of our best results. The Chiffchaff is only the second we've heard on Hilly Fields since their arrival in the UK in late March/April. And it occurred to me that the Jay would be able to hide itself better in thick woodland or scrub without that bright blue wing patch which gave it away this time. Here's a photo of one I took a few days earlier on the open edge of Hilly Fields wood:
Around the park in general, spring has sprung with a vengeance after the extended midwinter cold. All of the trees are in leaf, the horse chestnuts have their creamy-white flowers, the May blossom has appeared on the hawthorns, there are daisies and bulbous buttercups and even the occasional bee or butterfly. And one particular plant - as you can't fail to have noticed if you've been there recently - is romping away:
Yes, you can hardly see the trees for the cow parsley.
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:
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/
Our latest bird survey of Hilly Fields took place on Friday 30 March. It was a lovely warm sunny morning but in general bird numbers were down. The Black-headed and Common Gulls which were very much in evidence in February have all departed, although this is a seasonal change to be expected. The Common Gulls will have gone up north to breed while the Black-headed Gulls are likely to have headed out towards coastal areas. The reduced number of other birds is probably linked to the onset of the breeding season.
We saw or heard Great Tits, Blue Tits, Robins, Carrion Crows, House Sparrows, Wrens, Starlings, Wood Pigeons, Jays (2) and one each of Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Magpie, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Ring-necked Parakeet and Chiffchaff. It was great to hear the Chiffchaff singing in the little wood. A number of these do over-winter in the UK, but this bird - like the two which Sue heard last autumn - was probably a resting migrant as they've been arriving back in the UK since early March The song of the Chiffchaff is easy to identify once heard - a succession of between 8-14 staccato notes. If you're unfamiliar with it, try listening to this recording and then let us know if you hear the song in the park.
It wasn't surprising to hear only one Parakeet as their breeding season starts earlier than most. The count which took place at the Hither Green Cemetery roost on 1 April was well down on previous quarterly counts - a sign that the females are staying on their nests to incubate the eggs. We heard only one solitary Goldfinch (no sign of the usual flock of 16 or so which frequents upper Eastern Road and the trees around the school building), while the highest number of Starlings seen was 5 compared to 80 counted during the RSPB Big Birdwatch event on 29 January. However, if you have binoculars or can get close enough, the Starling has a fine iridescent plumage at this time of year.
The Mistle Thrush was absent altogether, surprisingly. I paid several visits to Hilly Fields in the first half of the month and saw it on each occasion, singing its beautiful dreamy song from the top of a tall tree. I also heard the Great Spotted Woodpecker drilling (and several other people have mentioned hearing it) and on one occasion tracked it to the wood where it was sitting high in a tree preening itself. Lets hope that both these birds have found suitable companions and are in the process of multiplying!
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.
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