London Wetland Centre - 28th May

Today I visited the London Wetland Centre for the first time, a nature reserve managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands trust. It is a beautiful spot, a real oasis in the city, there were a lot of families out enjoying the sunshine. I arrived and walked the 'West route' over to the 'Wildside' hide.

Just below the hide was a Lapwing which I watched for a good hour, it was feeding in a shallow pool and chasing away starlings from a nearby group that came near. At one point a Grey Heron landed close and the scrappy little Lapwing chased that away as well! It wasn't until I watched it for 15 minutes that I realised that there were 3 chicks feeding nearby, it was a very protective parent. I got a snap of it but without a decent camera I am afraid none of my photos are very good. The current UK population is 140'000 pairs. Unfortunately they are on the RSPB redlist with a 50% reduction in their population since 1985 mainly due to habitat loss through changing farming practices. I know from Dad that some have nested in the fens near Thorney in recent years, the move to planting Winter cereals has meant that often the cover is too dense for them to nest in the Spring.

Lapwing feeding, the chicks were too hidden to get a clear photo

Nearby there were also a pair of Great Crested Grebe (5'300 adults) and a Common Tern (12'00 pairs) surrounded by Tufted Ducks. 

A pair of Great Crested Grebe (they were quite far away...)

Below is a summary of all the species and numbers I was able to spot.

Trees for Life, rewilding and hope for the future

I have previously blogged about 'rewilding'. 'Rewilding' is the large scale restoration of ecosystems and natural processes driven in part by the reintroduction of missing species. It takes a holistic view of ecosystem management and an appreciation that for ecosystems to thrive natural processes such as predation and grazing must be allowed to occur without interference. Think of it as re-establishing what was lost and then leaving nature to get on with things, essentially hitting the reset button on habitats that have been degraded and fragmented by human processes. Rewilding as a paradigm has been gaining support in Europe for the past 7 years or so (http://www.rewildingeurope.com/).

The largest rewilding effort in the UK is fronted by the Trees for Life charity, co-ordinated by Alan Watson Featherstone (it is well worth following his blog). Following the last glacial maximum at the beginning of the Holocene and the cooler climate that followed Scots Pine was the most dominant species to recolonise the land left by the retreating glaciers, well adapted to the cool, dry conditions of the time.

This formed the foundation of the Caledonian forest, a complex, multi layered habitat of Pine, Rowan, Juniper, Aspen and Oak. Growing on and beneath these majestic species are a multitude of lichens and mosses. The Caledonian forest supported boar, wolves, lynx, pine marten, red squirrels, deer, wildcats and a multitude of bird and insect species. It is sometimes referred to as Britain's rain forest. Through the Holocene the climate continued to warm and Oak woodland became the climax habitat of much of the UK. The Caledonian forest retreated north occupying the glens of the Scottish Highlands. 2000 years BP the Caledonian forest of the Highlands was the Western most bastion of the mighty Boreal forest. Since then continued warming, deforestation and overgrazing has reduced the Caledonian forest to a shadow of its former self.

The Scottish Crossbill - Just one of the amazing species supported by Caledonian Forest

In 2008 Trees for Life purchased the Dundreggan estate, a 10'000 acre site of wilderness. However since the early 90s volunteers have worked towards their mission statement of restoring the Caledonian forest to the Scottish Highlands.

The core area of Trees for Life's work

The principle is that by creating a corridor of suitable habitat between the fragmented remnants of Caledonian forest and reintroducing lost species the ecosystem's natural processes will then begin to dominate and self regulate. This presentation contains good information on some of the methods involved and also the very real impacts. I will continue to blog about the ecology and progress of Trees for life. To finish I will leave you with a vision for the future of the Highlands.

A productive day...

I was pretty happy when I saw the Goldcrest this morning but I can add two more species to my productive day; while walking to invigilate an exam in the gym I saw a Green Woodpecker on the lawn surrounding the duck pond. I think it was a male as its 'moustache' had a red centre.

Then on the walk home I took the top path through the trees as you enter Crystal Palace Park. I'd seen a great tit feeding some juveniles here last week and it is often a good spot to hear a Song Thrush. I was stopped by a melodic warble and took a few steps off the path. Peering into the foliage I saw something new to me, a quick look on my RSPB app confirmed it was a Blackcap. Again this was a male, with a black, rather than terracotta cap. The Blackcap is a Summer visitor although more and more are wintering in the UK as well. I find it hard to differentiate the songs of warblers so I was pleased to actually sight him and get a confirmed identification.

Having listened to both the Robin and Blackcap at home I'd say that the Blackcap is deeper in its song, somewhere between a Robin and a Blackbird but with less trilling than the latter.

What a day then! Britain's smallest bird, our largest (and I think prettiest) woodpecker and a new warbler.

Britain's smallest bird

I had a notable sighting on my walk in to work this morning. Whilst coming up Crystal Palace Park Road a tiny shape flew in front of me and stopped on a branch perhaps 3 feet away. I tried to get a photo but it flew off before I could focus on it. It was not a bird I had seen in the flesh before but one that I instantly recognised.

The Goldcrest is Britain's smallest bird species, the one I saw couldn't have been much bigger than 7cm. They have a very distinctive yellow cap on their heads which shows more orange when the male is displaying. Their little beaks are perfect for picking insects, their main food, out of pine needles. Found predominantly in coniferous woodland they also inhabit mature gardens and mixed woods. They are relatively common (650-700 thousand pairs) and numbers have increased. Milder winters help their population a lot.

Since seeing it I have listened to it's song in the hope that I will be able to pick it out on my walk in. It is a thin rising 'tee-lee-dee, tee-lee-dee, tee-lee-dee' which I reckon I could identify if I heard in the wild now. Its call is a very delicate 'seeeee'. A really special moment that has put me in a good mood all day.

The Goldcrest - Britain's smallest bird :-)

Dulwich Wood - 8th May

Ask my family to describe my personality in 5 words and one they might come up with is obsessive. When I get something into my head it is often all I can think about. At the moment that's birdsong! I am hoping for a career in ecology once I have completed my Master's degree and species identification is an important field skill to have, combine that with my obsessive nature and you get the current state of play, annoying Inna with recordings of bird song and stopping to I.D. every call I hear.

I'm lucky enough to have free Friday afternoons on my current timetable and spent some time this afternoon in Dulwich Wood. The woodland is privately owned by the Dulwich estate and is what remains of a once large mixed woodland covering much of what is now South London. It is an amazing place, you can completely forget you are in the city once you step inside.

Dulwich Wood - prettier that the entrance suggests

I found myself a quiet corner and spent 30 minutes listening and looking. This is a breakdown of what I was able to I.D. (click on the links to hear their calls)

Chiffchaff - once you have learned this little fella's call it is instantly recognisable. It is a series of little 'zips' and 'zaps' in almost perfect 1-2-3 time. You could waltz to it! They look VERY similar to Willow Warblers and you can only really differentiate them by their call.

Blue tit - one of my favourites, a loud 'meep' followed by rapid little couplets for about 3 seconds. Today's was a bit shy and was cutting his song short, not sure what that means in terms of behaviour. Their cackling call is also very distinct.

Great tit - imagine a squeeky bicycle pump and you are not far off. They add happy little backing vocals to the noisier Robins and Blackbirds.

Chaffinch - another beauty, rapidly descending trills finishing with a flourish.

Blackbird - a melodic warble, again with a flourish at the end. One of the most common songs you will hear.

Ring necked parakeet - not pretty, in fact a bloody racket. Nice to look at though...

Robin - if the Chiffchaff is a stickler for keeping in time the Robin is more free-form jazz. Melodic and lyrical, once you've got it pegged it is one you'll hear a lot of. Their little 'tic-tic-tic' call is very reptilian.

Song Thrush - masters of improvisation. Individuals have up to '100' different phrases and will repeat them in little groups of 3-5. The song carries a long way. Another favourite.

Wood pigeon - the baritone section!

Jay - you'll hear him more than you see him. A favourite of mine, just not to listen to.

Add to this various other subtle calls and songs which I am not yet talented enough to identify and you have got a diverse little spot. The Greater London National Park is a movement aiming to make one of the most bio diverse Urban environments in the UK a recognised national park, not a bad idea if you ask me.

Dulwich Wood Panorama - one of my favourite spots in London

Coots and Geese in Crystal Palace Park

While my wife and I miss living in Balham, one of the best things about living in Penge (apart from the Pawleyne Arms) is the proximity to Crystal Palace Park. It forms the core of most of my running routes and is a haven of green space and wildlife.

Regular sights that make me smile are:

• Mallards
• Moorhens
• Tufted ducks
• Great Crested Grebe
• Ring necked parakeets (noisy buggers)
• Jays - my favourite
• Sparrows
• Starlings
• Canada geese
• Great Tits and Blue Tits
• Robins
• Grey Squirrels
• Rats (don't make me smile so much but I don't begrudge them their place!)

With the arrival of Spring I have seen a couple of things that I thought worthy of a special mention. First off is Mr and Mrs Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus). When I first saw this pair I incorrectly identified them as Shelducks.

Egyptian Goose (beautiful until he opens his mouth)

According to the RSPB there are approximately 1000 of these in the UK. They are very striking and stand out from the Canada Geese that are more abundant in Crystal Palace. They are native to Africa and are thought to have been introduced as ornamental species in the 1700s. The most established population is in Norfolk but their range is spreading. They are a resident species. I don't know where these two have come from or if there are any more in London. As I have said they are very beautiful birds but have one of the least appealing calls of any goose I have heard!

About a month ago Inna and I were walking through the park and came across a gaggle of people staring at something in the pond. We took a look and saw a pair of Coots (Fulica atra) feeding their chicks. This pair had built their nest in the open water, as coots will do, and the female was sat on the nest with the chicks. They were only very tiny and lacked mobility. Dad was busy patrolling the pond gathering food and returning to feed the chicks, this only happens for the first 4-5 days of their lives. I checked in on them for the next couple of days and Dad was still tirelessly working the pond.

Coots lay 5-7 eggs in a go and incubation takes about 21 days. Pairs can have several clutches in a Summer so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for more. I was running home last night and thought I would see how they are getting on. Both chicks were still alive and had grown considerably. They were both swimming around with the parents and feeding themselves. They hadn't quite got the hang of dipping yet and couldn't stay under for very long at all. London is crammed with wildlife, you just have to keep your eyes peeled and appreciate what is there.

Coot chick with Dad