Tarn Park
32 species were seen on the patch this month with four new year birds bringing this years total to 47 species. The four new species seen this month were Song Thrush; Common Swift; Common Buzzard and Herring Gull.
The Swifts, one of our later arriving migrants, finally made it to the patch on 20 May when a pair were seen. The following day, the count had risen to 8. For many years Common Swifts had nested in the area, but in recent years we have only seen them as passage migrants. The likely cause for this change is the destruction of the nesting site probably due to re-development. As I write this in early June, we are still seeing daily counts of 2 to 3 and we hope that at least one pair has found a new nesting site in the area.
The other highlight of the month was a brief appearance by Common Buzzard which flew south over the patch in the early evening of 28 May. This was my first ever record for the patch. Common Buzzards, once extremely rare in south-east England, are now becoming commonly seen in the outer suburban areas of the city and occasionally in central London itself. With the increasing sightings of this species in neighboring areas I guess it was only a matter of time before one actually passed by.
A Little Grebe was again present at the end of the month. I would imagine that this was the same bird that had been present at the end of April. In early May one had been reported on the pond at Greenwich Park (a first record I believe for that site) and it may be that this is the same bird which has returned from there.
Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Moorhens and Mallard have successfully bred on the Tarn this year.
The only butterflies so far recorded this year were Small White and a single Holly Blue seen on the seventh of May
Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Little Grebe [sp] (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Common Buzzard [sp] (Buteo buteo)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Rose-ringed Parakeet [sp] (Psittacula krameri)
Common Swift [sp] (Apus apus)
Great Spotted Woodpecker [sp] (Dendrocopos major)
Eurasian Jay [sp] (Garrulus glandarius)
Eurasian Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
Western Jackdaw [sp] (Coloeus monedula)
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)
Eurasian Nuthatch [sp] (Sitta europaea)
Common Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
Song Thrush [sp] (Turdus philomelos)
Mistle Thrush [sp] (Turdus viscivorus)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)
Small White (Artogeia rapae)
Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
Pete's Favourite Things 