Stoke Newington Reservoirs

From Londonbirders

Revision as of 22:25, 18 May 2009

Map: [1]

Website: The Reservoirs Nature Society (TeRNS) for daily news, events and information.

Website: HACKNEY WILDLIFE GROUP (Hackney Wildlife Group) daily news, site guide and profiles, monthly summaries, photographs, breeding & wintering bird surveys, etc.

Access is currently limited.

However there are good views of most of the two reservoirs from the New River public path, which runs for approximately one kilometre along the north side of the site, bisected by Lordship Road. Good views of the East Reservoir can be had from the raised deck below the northern tower block, on Bethune Road (telescope advised). Greater access granted to The Reservoirs Nature Society (TeRNS) by Thames Water in 2005 has been welcomed by local birders and naturalists.

Completed in 1833 there are 17 hectares of open water - Hackney's largest, most diverse wetland area. They are designated a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Conservation, and were given legal protection in 1986.

One of the biggest areas of water in London, it has rewarded observers with some fine sightings.

Recent highlights include Golden Oriole, Black-necked Grebe, Garganey, Whimbrel and Pied Flycatcher. More than 110 species have been recorded.

Good records for 2008 included a Red Kite (over), Little Gull, an immature Iceland Gull, Whinchat, a drake Goldeneye, and Green Sandpiper.

The Reservoirs Nature Society (TeRNS)

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.

Highlights from the last few years include Golden Oriole, Black-tailed Godwit, Osprey, Black-necked Grebe, Goldeneye, Garganey, Tree Sparrow, Yellow-legged & Mediterranean Gulls, Whimbrel and Whinchat, as well as Red Kites, regular Common Buzzards and (especially) Hobbys over during the spring and summer, and local scarcities including Ring Ouzels, Rock Pipits and Rooks in autumn.

2008 was another memorable year for Hackney Wildlife Group's observers at the site, with Iceland Gull, Honey-buzzard, Stonechat, two Pied Flycatchers, Goldeneye and Arctic Terns. So far, 2009 has proved that even the most modest of urban patches can provide great rewards for many hundreds of hour's study - Siberian Chiffchaff, Great Northern Diver, Black Kite, Red-rumped Swallow, Little Gull, Short-eared Owl, Greenshank, Jack Snipe, Arctic Terns, Redshank, Little Ringed Plover, Water Pipit and even 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).

'Hackney Wildlife Group'

Getting there: Manor House, on the Piccadilly Line, is five minutes walk via Green Lanes (or 106, 141, 341 buses).