Birdlog: Wednesday 10th April

At lunchtime found myself near Sutcliffe Park LNR so decided to drop in for a while to see if there were any migrants.

The council seem to have done a lot of scrub clearance since I was last here and the marsh is much more open to view. Had my first sighting here of Common Snipe as one flew away across the marsh. There have been up to 5 reported here at anyone time over the last few months, but until now I’ve never managed to see one. As with other sites this week the resident populations of Blue Tits, Great Tits, Blackbirds and Robins are very active. The number of waterfowl on the pond has decreased since my last visit, as have the number of Black-headed Gulls. Other notable sightings were Wren and Grey Heron.

On the way up Eltham Hill, saw 2 House Sparrows in a garden tree.

In the evening went to RSPB meeting in Bromley to hear talk about Iceland’s Birds. On the way saw 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on roof in Sundridge Park area. John Wyatt talk’s was beautifully illustrated with scenes of the rugged Icelandic countryside and its iconic birds including the Harlequin Duck and the white gulls – Iceland and Glaucous.

Photo by Niklas Sjöblom (http://www.flickr.com/photos/taivasalla/)

Harlequin Duck by Rick Leche (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rick_leche/)

Iceland Gull by Ed Gaillard (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ed_gaillard/)

Day list -24 species

Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Common Snipe [sp] (Gallinago gallinago)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Lesser Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)
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 Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
House Sparrow [sp] (Passer domesticus)
Common Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)