Talk:Osterley Park
From Londonbirders
Tom Smith's PatchList 2008
The list (53 species so far):
Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Mandarin, Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Moorhen, Coot, Black Headed Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Stock Dove, Collared Dove, Little Owl, Kingfisher, Ring-necked Parakeet, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Stonechat, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Redwing, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Starling, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch.
The trips:
2/1/08 - 32
A quick morning stomp round the Middle Lake yielded a reasonable 32 species, none of which were terribly exciting. For the first 15 minutes I had nothing but magpies and woodpigeons, so I guess I should be grateful to have seen anything at all. The highlight was probably the nuthatch, only the second one I've seen in the park. Also notable were the little grebe I found skulking round the island, and a rather high number of shoveler. The other birds were mute swan, canada goose, egyptian goose (only 2 of the usual 4), mallard, tufted duck, great crested grebe, cormorant, grey heron, coot, moorhen, black headed gull, feral pigeon, ring-necked parakeet, wren, robin, blackbird, fieldfare, redwing, long-tailed tit, coal tit, blue tit, great tit, jay, jackdaw, carrion crow, starling, chaffinch.
Unfortunately a 9.30 appointment with the dentist meant I didn't have time to explore the hinterlands of the park, nor to hunt down a few park regulars (pied wag, green woodpecker, goldcrest). I should have time for at least one more trip before university calls, though - hopefully I'll get something decent then.
7/1/08 - 38
30 species across two hours in the evening. Highlights were a very close-up kestrel; two rather exhibitionist goldcrests in a tit flock; and a stonechat in the horse paddocks to the east, which was both a patch tick and a total surprise to me. More mundane patch year ticks were greenfinch (also, weirdly, a patch life tick), pied wagtail, and the greylag goose that was with the Canada geese all last year. The weather was unpleasantly wet and windy to begin with but cleared into a beautiful golden sunset.
Perhaps one more trip before I leave for university!
10/1/08 - 40
Two more species added in fairly unpleasant weather this morning: green woodpecker and song thrush. Still no dunnock, though, despite a fair bit of effort!
That really is it from me for the time being - I'll be out of London until March or so. Good luck to everyone else meanwhile...!
24/3/08 - 41
An Easter Monday walk with my family: not really birding, but impossible to miss the three mandarins (two drakes, one duck) on the Garden Lake. Last year they first appeared on the 25th [edit: more likely, they appeared before but I was away]. My young cousin's enthusiasm for the birds resulted in some excellent flight views...
25/3/08 - 47
A more serious birding trip, with good results. I got several of my obvious missing species almost at once: three goldfinches were just inside the park gate, with a mistle thrush and a collared dove in trees a little way up the drive. No sign of the stonechat in the western paddocks, but careful examination of the hedges (hoping for lesser spotted woodpecker) revealed a long-sought-after dunnock.
After that it was mostly business as usual until the Middle Lake, where a single male gadwall was morosely dabbling by the eastern edge - a bird I've never seen in the park before. And when I went round the island to get a closer look at him, I found a lone chiffchaff perched in the scrub by the water's edge.
I spent a lot of time today religiously counting birds to try and get more accurate Birdtrack records. I must say, counting corvids is one of the most boring & frustrating things I've ever done. The BTO will just have to take my word for it from now on that there's plenty of carrion crows in the Park...
27/3/08 - 49
A lovely morning for a walk in the park. Not a spectacular morning's birding, with only 33 species. But I got good views of goldcrests and picked up a couple of stock doves and a sparrowhawk overhead for the list. I thought I could hear skylarks, but no definite sightings; met another birder who told me he'd seen them, though, as well as a female whinchat the other day.
30/3/08 - 49
39 species in 2 hours, but nothing new for the list. Two great crested grebes were courting on the Middle Lake. 5 parakeets mobbed a sparrowhawk overhead. The kestrels were hunting in front of the House (they've been over my back garden several times lately!). I also saw a green woodpecker for the first time in a while, having not been past the stables recently; and saw the 3 Egyptian goslings - cute!
2/4/08 - 53
A quick evening walk, with some excellent birds. Three green woodpeckers were misbehaving in the horse paddocks, and 14 stock doves were grazing by the rifle range. A female pochard was by the fishing stage - not easy to identify without a male! I saw the 2 kingfishers for the first time, flying away down the Middle Lake. On the way back met a jogger who pointed me in the direction of a little owl (if you're reading this, thanks very much!); a great spotted woodpecker was on the tree he'd sent me to, and the little owl itself was perched on a low branch nearby. A really good outing.
