Big Birdwatch Report

The rain stopped just in time for our Hilly Fields Big Birdwatch event on 25th January, but the weather conditions weren't great. Nevertheless a lot of enthusiastic people turned up for the guided walk (19 adults, 5 children, 1 Jack Russell terrier) and we had a fun time going round the park. Birds recorded were 1 blackbird, 20 black-headed gulls, 3 blue tits, 3 crows, 19 common gulls, 8 feral pigeons, 2 goldfinchs, 1 great spotted woodpecker, 3 great tits, 6 house sparrows, 4 magpies, 4 redwings, 2 ring-necked parakeets, 8 robins, 40 starlings, 6 woodpigeons and 1 wren. These stats have been sent to the RSPB as part of their nationwide Big Garden Birdwatch.

Meanwhile, outside the cafe, Rachel gave out leaflets, sold a few copies of our Birds of Hilly Fields booklet and tutored some of the children in the art of making fat balls to feed the birds. She also managed to take a few photographs despite having 'lardy hands'. A messy time was had by all. 

Hilly Fields Big Birdwatch 2024 Report

 We were lucky to have sunny windless weather for the 2024 Big Birdwatch on 28 January. Around 50 people visited the Friends stall where we handed out bird ID leaflets and sold some 'merch' including postcards and our Birds of Hilly Fields booklet. Approx 20 people came on the bird walk and 20 bird species were recorded including great spotted woodpeckers, redwings, a mistle thrush and Britain's smallest bird, the goldcrest. The stats will be forwarded to the RSPB as part of their Big Garden Birdwatch.

A steady flow of children got stuck in (literally) to making fatballs for the birds, several of which ended up hanging from nearby trees. And someone created a new species of leaf bird.                                         

Thanks to Rachel from the Friends for organising the event and managing the stall, to Emily from Glendale for support, to the birders who helped identify the birds (you know who you are), to Sadie, Oliver and Daniel who volunteered at the stall as part of their Duke of Edinburgh course, to anyone I've forgotten and everyone who came along!                                                                                                                

What's next? Why, the annual wassail which happens in the Hilly Fields orchard (down the slope from the stone circle) at 3.30 pm this Sunday 4th February – so plenty of time for you to scrap all your other plans and come along. Please bring a mug if you can to sample the alcoholic or non-alcoholic hot drinks.

Five Nuthatch Fledglings

Migrant Blackcaps arrived on Hilly Fields in early April this year, perhaps slightly delayed by uncooperative weather. Three males were seen in the park that month, but there was no sight or sound of that other common spring migrant, the Chiffchaff. The highest count during our monthly survey was  60 Starlings. A Greenfinch was heard of which more later. The Black-headed and Common Gulls that had been living off the Hilly Fields worm population all winter were gone. The complete count was 3 Blackbird, 3 Blackcap, 2 Blue Tit, 3 Crow, 1 Collared Dove, 4 Goldfinch, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Great Tit, 1 Greenfinch, 2 House Sparrow, 2 Magpie, 1 Nuthatch, 1 Pied Wagtail, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet, 7 Robin, 60 Starling, 1 Stock Dove, 4 Woodpigeon, 8 Wren.

Starlings gang up on lone Gull.

The highlight of our May survey was seeing five Nuthatch fledglings. This is the second, possibly the third year in a row that Nuthatches have nested in the park. Perched on a maple branch close to where the path separates the north and east fields, they waited while their parents scouted for food. A pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers was also seen and five Swifts soaring overhead at one point. The complete count was 3 Blackbird, 2 Blackcap, 4 Blue Tit, 2 Crow, 10 Goldfinch, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Great Tit, 1 Herring Gull, 10 House Sparrow, 2 Magpie, 7 Nuthatch, 2 Pied Wagtail, 2 Ring-necked Parakeet, 10 Robin, 30 Starling, 5 Swift, 3 Woodpigeon, 4 Wren.

Nuthatch fledglings...

...anticipating food.

During our June survey, we were surprised to hear two Chiffchaffs singing. As we haven't heard or seen them in April and May, it's unlikely they've nested in the park, but more likely to be visiting from another local site. We also saw a female Greenfinch on the Lane which is not a common sight. Greenfinches are not fazed by humans staring through binoculars at them or pointing cameras and will stay in the same position for as long as it suits them. You can just about see the 'heavy-looking conical bill' (RSPB).

                     

On the opposite side of the Lane, a female Great Spotted Woodpecker preened for at least five minutes which means I should really have got a better photo. But there you are.

The complete count for June was 3 Blackbird, 2 Blackcap, 2 Blue Tit, 4 Crow, 2 Feral Pigeon, 6 Goldfinch, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Great Tit, 1 Greenfinch, 3 House Sparrow, 1 Long-tailed Tit, 2 Magpie, 2 Nuthatch, 3 Ring-necked Parakeet, 7 Robin, 3 Starling, 1 Swift, 2 Woodpigeon, 6 Wren.

Incidentally, if you're wondering where 'the Lane' is or any other locations mentioned, take a look at our new site map on the home page and right click on it to get a readable version.

Reminder: our new booklet Birds of Hilly Fields, produced by the Friends of Hilly Fields, has been selling well, despite lockdown. The feedback has been good, but we still have plenty of copies in stock. At present, it's available online (see link below) and can be purchased either by itself at £3.50 or with a tote cotton bag and postcards for £10. The link is https://supportmylocal.org/store/rachel-mooney/ We deliver to your door within a radius of 2 miles and all profits go to the Friends of Hilly Fields. 

                                        

Of Doves and Dunnocks

 Our January 2021 survey was covered in the previous post as it doubled for the RSPB Big Birdwatch count. The highlights were 150 gulls and 60 redwings in the north field. In our next survey on 22nd Feb, the redwings were still there but the number had dropped to 30. The gull count was down to only 10 black-headed gulls and 2 common gulls. Also of note were 24 starlings, 20 house sparrows, 11 robins and 5 dunnocks which is a record count for that species. Also recorded: 3 blackbirds, 3 blue tits, 6 carrion crows, 1 collared dove, 7 goldfinches, 4 great tits, 5 magpies, 5 ring-necked parakeets, 1 song thrush, 1 stock dove, 5 woodpigeons and 7 wrens. I think this is the first time we've seen collared dove and stock dove on the same survey. There's a photo of collared doves in our wonderful new Birds of Hilly Fields booklet (see below). The stock dove has a green patch on its neck and a buff breast.

Stock Dove (stock photo)

On the 22nd March survey, it was nice to see a chaffinch near the stone circle, a female great spotted woodpecker drumming on the Lane, a pair of long-tailed tits in the Shade Garden, a pair of very active nuthatches which looked as if scouting for a nest site again and a pied wagtail on the bowling green. Redwings were down to 5 and they've probably flown back to Scandinavia by now. Also recorded: 3 blackbirds, 1 blackcap, 3 blue tits, 4 crows, 1 collared dove (heard only), 2 dunnock, 2 goldfinches, 2 great tits, 4 house sparrows, 2 magpies, 2 ring-necked parakeets, 10 robins, 8 starlings, 1 stock dove (again!), 8 woodpigeons and 8 wrens. 

Dunnock on HF (doesn't always look this pretty)

Can't finish without mentioning our new booklet, Birds of Hilly Fields, produced by the Friends of Hilly Fields. It's been selling well, despite lockdown, and the feedback has been good, but we still have plenty of copies in stock. At present, it's available online (see link below) and can be purchased either by itself at £3.50 or with a tote cotton bag and postcards for £10. The link is https://supportmylocal.org/store/rachel-mooney/ We deliver to your door within a radius of 2 miles and all profits go to the Friends of Hilly Fields. 

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!

Big Birdwatch 2018: the Results

Thanks to everyone who came along to this year's Big Birdwatch event on 28 January. The weather was reasonably kind to us - mild, no rain and not much wind either. As usual we ran a stall outside the cafe where children made fat balls for the birds and we took two groups around the park on bird spotting forays. By the end of the event, we had recorded a very healthy 23 species on the Big Blackboard.

The stars of the survey were undoubtedly the two Great Spotted Woodpeckers who drummed on tree trunks by the lower Vicars Hill entrance for most of the morning. Lots of people saw them and 'Have you seen the woodpeckers?' was a regular refrain as we walked around. This is the time of year when the drumming can be heard and it is almost exclusively made by the Great Spotted variety of the woodpecker clan. The Green Woodpecker rarely drums and sadly the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is now quite rare. The main purpose is to establish their territory before the mating season begins in earnest. Interestingly, we couldn't see a red patch on the back of either bird's head which means that they were females possibly trying to attract a male. Let's hope they were in luck!

Pic: Rebecca Simmons

The final tally was as follows: 40 Starlings, 24 Black-headed Gulls, 11 Woodpigeons, 8 Robins, 7 Feral Pigeons, 5 Blackbirds, 4 each of Blue Tits, Common Gulls, Goldfinches, Great Tits and Ring-necked Parakeets, 3 each of Crows, Long-tailed Tits and Magpies, 2 each of Chaffinch and Great Spotted Woodpecker and 1 each of Collared Dove, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Stock Dove and Wren. The results will be forwarded to the RSPB.

Pic: Rebecca Simmons

Many thanks to Rachel as always for running the stall, to Judith from Glendale for the bird seed, to Sue for leading one walk and Lawrence for helping with the other, to Rebecca for her photos of the 'pecker' and to ranger Lee and the cafe for their support. Next Big Event is the Dawn Chorus walk on Thursday 29 March at 6 am. See you all there!

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.

Big Birdwatch 2017

Another Sunday in January (29th), another Big Birdwatch on Hilly Fields. Last year, it rained depressingly throughout the event and our final count was low. This year did not look promising. It was dry when Sue and I started leading the walks, but the gentle rain from heaven was soon pitter-pattering on our heads. After a while though, it stopped and after another while, the sun came out. Best of all, the birds came out all the way through and by the end of the event, we'd chalked up 25 species - almost a record - on our famous blackboard.

Joint leaders were the Common Gull and Starling - both with counts of 30. In second place, a flock of approx 13 Goldfinches and in joint third place - the Black-headed Gull and the humble Woodpigeon with counts of 10 each. Highlights included sightings of four different species of thrush - a Mistle Thrush camouflaged almost to invisibility against a backdrop of dead leaves, brief glimpses of a Song Thrush and Redwing (winter migrant from Scandinavia) and 9 Blackbirds which are also fully paid-up members of the Thrush family. Other highlights included clear views of a female Great Spotted Woodpecker chipping at tree trunks in two different locations, a lively little flock of 5 Long-tailed Tits, two Dunnocks, a Greenfinch and a Herring Gull on the south field grassland. 

Spot the Mistle Thrush (Pic: Rebecca Simmons)

The remaining birds seen were 9 Great Tits, 7 each of Blue Tit, Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow, Ring-necked Parakeet and Robin, 3 each of Crow and Magpie, 2 Wrens and 1 each of Chaffinch and Collared Dove. Meanwhile, outside the cafe, Rachel and her helpers were handing out information and showing a total of 18 children how to make seed balls and bird feeders, hopefully sowing the seeds of bird awareness amongst the young.

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker (Pic: Rebecca Simmons)

Thanks to everyone who came along and helped, particularly Conrad Ellam whose bird knowledge and keen eyesight were particularly useful. Thanks also to Lawrence for his support, to Sue and Judith, to Rachel, Phil, Sally and the Friends of Hilly Fields, to Lee the parkie and to our community-minded cafe. Dawn chorus walk next at the end of March!

Something 'Black', Something Pied, Something Pink

Things were quiet again during the first part of our bird walk on 19 October. The dull, cloudy weather didn't help and it seemed  as if we were in for an uneventful time. Robins were singing here and there, safeguarding their territory until the mating season in January. A flock of five Goldfinches tweeted each other as they flew overhead. A Jay screeched in the little wood. Not much to write home about or fill a blog post. But thankfully things got better when we walked over the ridge to the north field where the cricket pitch is - normally an area frequented only by pigeons and wintering gulls. And sure enough there was our first Black-headed Gull of the winter, treading the grass all on its ownsome apart from a friendly Woodpigeon. Other gulls will arrive as they do every year when the weather gets colder. Incidentally, the BHG only has a 'black head' during the breeding season but it's stuck with the name all year round, poor thing.

The gull was only the start of things. As we walked down the slope to get a better look, a Pied Wagtail landed on the cricket pitch and was soon followed by a second one, a juvenile with brown upperparts rather than black. Nice to know they're continuing the family line. We see Pied Wagtails from time to time in the park, usually on short grass including the bowling green, but sometimes on the paths. They're not too fussed by human presence and, unlike the BHG, live up to their name by wagging their tails almost continuously. After that, Sue and Judith saw a Mistle Thrush, then all three of us saw a female Great Spotted Woodpecker in trees opposite the bothy, pecking at the bark for insects. It had been worth getting out of bed after all.

Adult Pied Wagtail on the cricket pitch

In total, we saw and/or heard 16 species during our survey. The final tally was 23 Woodpigeons, 17 Feral Pigeons, 5 each of Crow, Goldfinch, Great Tit and Robin, 3 each of Blackbird, Blue Tit and Ring-necked Parakeet, 2 each of Magpie, Pied Wagtail and Wren and 1 each of Black-headed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay and Mistle Thrush. And finally, Sue spotted a Spindle plant near the bothy which has beautiful pink fruits at this time of year and orange seedcases within. Spindle is a classic hedgerow plant, fed upon by small birds such as sparrows and tits and by the larvae of several moths. Great to see it in the park whether planted by humans or Mother Nature.                
  

Feeding Frenzy

Cow parsley at chest height greeted us by the Lower Vicar's Hill entrance on 25 May when Sue and I carried out the monthly bird survey. We were also greeted by the song of the Chaffinch, the Wren and the Great Tit - the latter for once actually sounding like 'teacher, teacher' as Bill Oddie has described it. It is unusual to hear a Chaffinch in that location, but in fact we heard it singing almost everywhere we  went in the park. Either it followed us around or the bird has multiplied. Usually we see only one or two - if that.

Female Chaffinch in the Shade Garden

What became evident as our survey progressed is that the breeding season has become the feeding season. Great Tits, Blue Tits and House Sparrows in particular have chicks to feed and there was much frantic foraging activity by the parent birds. Every year, we have seen how bedraggled Tits become by the end of June, exhausted by the constant to and fro-ing from nest to food source and back again. In fact, there is evidence that Tits time their breeding to coincide with the maximum availability of caterpillars as these are the best and most popular foodstuff for the young. I watched a Blue Tit nest elsewhere last week and estimated that the parents were bringing food 40 times per hour over a 16 hour day. (See here for a charming children's story which describes the cycle). Normally they have only brood per year which is not surprising.

Blue Tit with caterpillar (Credit:Steve Larkins)

Of course, one big risk at this time of year is that the chicks may become food themselves. We saw a graphic example of this in the upper part of Eastern Road when Sue observed a Jay with a fledgling Great Tit in its beak. Before it could get very far, a Magpie descended and, as the bigger bird, snatched the fledgling from the Jay and began to peck at it in the road before flying off with it. In the background, the parent birds were making an almighty noise though rather helplessly. Alas, most Corvids will eat eggs and snatch birds at the nestling or fledging stage, as will Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Sometimes, it's a bird eat bird world.

In the shade garden next to the bowling green, a pair of House Sparrows were repeatedly diving into the cow parsley, then flying off presumably with seeds for their young. And a fledgling Great Tit perched on the branch of a tree was shaking its wings in a begging display while the parents brought it morsels of food. Fledglings will often leave the nest a day or two before they're ready to fly.

Great Tit wing-shake begging display (Credit|: Rémi Bigonneau)

In all, we saw or heard a respectable 18 species during this survey (see below). It  will be interesting to see if the Starlings are still there in June as they and their young tend to disappear in the summer months. The number of Wrens is an estimate as they are difficult to see, particularly when foliage is in full bloom. But they were singing loudly and as they stay in their territories, a reasonably accurate count can be made. Surprisingly, we neither saw nor heard our two resident warblers - the Blackcap and Chiffchaff - but I suspect they're still lurking.

Gearing Up

Sun with very little wind made ideal conditions for our monthly bird survey on 24 February. And the birds seemed to appreciate it too. There was a great deal of activity going on as they gear up for the breeding season with much calling, singing and flitting about, especially among the small birds - the Tits, Wrens and Robins. Dunnocks were heard singing in several areas and finally seen in the garden next to the bowling green where the photo below was taken. The Dunnock is a sparrow-like bird (it used to be called the Hedge Sparrow) with similar chestnut-brown streaks, but has more grey around the head and a thinner beak. Difficult to spot most of the year as it creeps around in the undergrowth, but in late winter/early spring. it will often sing from a tree branch with a sweet rhythmic warble.

Dunnock

A small group of Long-tailed Tits were seen on upper Eastern Road, one carrying a feather in its beak - obvious nesting material. We saw a pair of Mistle Thrushes on the grass in the East Field, a Jay which judging by its direction had flown over from the cemetery and a small flock of Starlings which moved around the park from tree to tree. It was good also to see our old friends Mr and Mrs Great Spotted Woodpecker in the little wood by Eastern Road. Both were perched on the tall bare tree by the green gates on Eastern Road, though the male flew out of the picture below just before I pressed the button/ The male has a red patch on the top of the head, the female doesn't. You can see where she's been pecking at the bark searching for insects.

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker

The grand total was 12 Wood Pigeons, 11 Robins, 10 Starlings, 8 House Sparrows, 5 each of Dunnocks and Wrens, 4 each of Crow and Long-tailed Tits, 3 each of Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Parakeet, 2 each of Feral Pigeon, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Magpie and Mistle Thrush and 1 each of Black-headed Gull, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Goldfinch and Jay - 22 species in all.

Puffed-up Woodpigeon basking in the sun

This is a good point to give you advance notice of our annual Dawn Chorus walk. This year it will be on Thursday 31 March, meeting at 6 am outside the cafe. As in previous years, we'll spend an hour walking around Hilly Fields listening to and looking at the birds. Then we'll go down the hill to the Brockley and Ladywell cemeteries to repeat the exercise there. If you only want to attend the cemeteries walk, be outside the double gates on Brockley Grove near the chapel at 7am.

Do They Know It's Christmastime?

Robins were singing here, there, just about everywhere when Sue and I did the monthly bird survey on 16 December. In fact, Robins sing most of the year except for a few weeks in July/August when they skulk in the undergrowth and moult. But in December, the frequency seems to be increasing. Do they know it's Christmastime? Well, of course they don't, despite having their likeness featured on Christmas cards for the last 150 years or more. But they do seem to sense that the year has reached a turning point and that the mating season is not far off. We watched a pair chasing each other around the upper part of Eastern Road and it was hard to tell whether it was territorial defence or early courtship.

A Song Thrush was singing in the little wood as well, repeating each phrase three or four times. This bird returned to Hilly Fields last year after a long absence but we haven't seen or heard it since last April. It's good to know that it's still around. Another welcome returnee is the Great Spotted Woodpecker which we saw for the first time in six months in the little wood and then later on upper Eastern Road. You can't tell from the angle of my photo (below) but the bird we saw is a female. The male has a red cap, the female doesn't. Both have red 'backsides'.

Although numbers are still not high, we saw a much greater range of birds than in recent months - 22 species in all. It was nice to see both a male and female Chaffinch - a bird we haven't come across since summer. And another Goldcrest in the garden next to the bowling green. We seem to be getting better at spotting these tiny birds, though there has been a winter influx of migrants to boost numbers. A Collared Dove was also in the garden - not that common in the park, although I hear one often on the other side of Vicars Hill. If you hear a pigeon cooing three times ('U-ni-ted!), it's a Collared Dove. If you hear a pigeon cooing five times ('How are you to-day?'), it's a Woodpigeon.

Finally, in the mild weather we sat outside at the cafe and had a good view of two Mistle Thrushes in the trees opposite. This is another bird with a Christmas connection in that it gets its name from its fondness for mistletoe berries. I don't think we have any mistletoe on Hilly Fields, but luckily the Mistle Thrush will eat all sorts of other berries (including the red hawthorn berries) and is fond of invertebrates too. In fact, you're most likely to see it on Hilly Fields picking about in the grass for worms.

Merry Christmas to all and don't forget that our Big Birdwatch event (in conjunction with the RSPB) will be held on Sunday 31 January from 10.30-12.30. More details in the New Year.