Stoke Newington Reservoirs
From Londonbirders
Website: HACKNEY WILDLIFE GROUP (Hackney Wildlife Group) regular, reliable bird reports from Stoke Newington Reservoirs (and other Hackney sites). Hackney Wildlife have studied the site for many years, lead educational and community activities here, and conduct various surveys (e.g. for the BTO, Butterfly Conservation, Bat Conservation Trust and other conservation organisations). Daily news appears on the 'latest sightings' page from a team of dedicated observers, with photographs and results of surveys also published. Monthly and annual summaries provide full overviews of the site's avifauna. See lower section of page for a comprehensive overview.
For a comparatively small, central London site set against such an urban backdrop, SNR's have produced some surprisingly good records for local patchworkers, and a strong upsurge in regular coverage in recent years has greatly improved the local ornithological picture. However, regular effort is strongly advised, and the area can be quiet for the visiting birder, especially outside migration periods.
Access is currently limited, but good views of the West Reservoir are possible from both the West Reservoir Centre and the New River path, which runs along the northern perimeter. The East Reservoir - managed as a nature reserve - can be viewed best (and in its entirety) from the recently constructed viewing platform in the London Wildlife Trust Community Garden.
Hackney Wildlife's contributors have recorded many highlights while studying the site intensively over the last few years, including Golden Oriole, Black-tailed Godwit, Osprey, Black-necked Grebe, Goldeneye, Garganey, Tree Sparrow, Yellow-legged & Mediterranean Gulls, Whimbrel and Whinchat, as well as regular Red Kites and Common Buzzards (especially in spring), frequent Hobbys over during the spring and summer, and local scarcities including Ring Ouzels, Rock Pipits and Rooks in autumn. Regular waders at the site include Green & Common Sandpipers, Common Snipe and Lapwing; breeding birds include Common Pochard, Grey Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Sedge Warbler, and a healthy population of Reed Warblers; guaranteed wintering species include Water Rails, Kingfishers and good numbers of wildfowl. Over 140 species have been recorded at the site.
2008 was another memorable year for Hackney Wildlife Group's observers at the site, with Iceland Gull, Honey-buzzard, Stonechat, Pied Flycatchers, Goldeneye and Arctic Terns all good rewards for our contributors.
2009, with coverage of the site at an all-time high, has proved that even the most modest of urban patches can pay out fantastically for many hundreds of hour's study. Siberian Chiffchaff, Great Northern Diver, Black Kite, Red-rumped Swallow, Little Gull, Short-eared Owl, Common Scoters, Greenshank, Jack Snipe, Arctic Terns, Redshank, Little Ringed Plover, Water Pipit, Bittern, Merlin, Common Crossbill and even a Red-legged Partridge (!) have all visited the reservoirs so far this year.
The site is also recommended for visible migration, having a raised panorama, with committed observation throughout the spring and (especially) autumn producing quality and quantity. Watching from first light invariably produces most of the activity.
Other local sites worth watching include Abney Park Cemetery (an excellent mixed woodland off Stoke Newington High Street) and Clissold Park (an over-manicured but large park off Green Lanes/Stoke Newington Church St).
Getting there: Manor House, on the Piccadilly Line, is five minutes walk via Green Lanes (or 106, 141, 341 buses).
