First stop this morning was the ecology Park on the Greenwich Peninsula. However this was very quiet and the only notable sighting was a party of 5 to 6 goldfinches and a kestrel hunting over the reserve. So I moved onto the opposite side of the Thames to have a look at East India dock basin. The reserve is all that remains of the once extensive docks of the East India company and comprises the entrance basin to dock complex. The actual docks themselves are now under a housing estate.
The tide was well on its way in and most of the dry areas in the basin already underwater. A Little Ringed Plover had been recorded here two days before but after searching the margins of the basin the only wader seen was a single Redshank. The highlights were a flock of approximately 100 Teal and 22 Shelduck, together with a few Mallard and a small group of Tufted Duck.
On my return home I took the opportunity to have a walk from around the Tarn, particularly to see if I could relocate the Blackcap in the area that I have seen them in previous summers at the eastern end of the Tarn. However on this occasion I drew a blank. However one of the delights of birdwatching is that you never quite know what you’re going to find and on my way out I was delighted to find a Wren being very obliging and sitting right out in the open where I could get some photographs
Day list
Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Eurasian Teal [sp] (Anas crecca)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Common Kestrel [sp] (Falco tinnunculus)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Common Redshank [sp] (Tringa totanus)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Common Gull (Larus canus canus)
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Rose-ringed Parakeet [sp] (Psittacula krameri)
Eurasian Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Long-tailed Tit [sp] (Aegithalos caudatus)
Eurasian Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
Common Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
European Greenfinch [sp] (Carduelis chloris)
European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)
Pete's Favourite Things 