Talk:Osterley Park
From Londonbirders
Tom Smith's PatchList 2008
The list (41 species so far):
Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Egyptian Goose, Mandarin, Mallard, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Kestrel, Moorhen, Coot, Black Headed Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Ring-necked Parakeet, Green Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Robin, Stonechat, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Song Thrush, Redwing, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Starling, Chaffinch, 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 main 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...
