54 species of bird were recorded on or from my patch this year. The patch list rose by 4 to 64 species although all of these were birds seen flying over rather than new visitors to the patch itself. These new species were Little Egret, Mute Swan, Common Buzzard and Lesser Black-backed Gull.
Highlights of the year included the appearance of a pair of Blackcaps during the Spring and then more surprisingly again at the beginning of December suggesting that they are wintering in the area. The appearance of Little Grebe in April raised hopes that it might find a mate and breed, but after a few weeks he/she moved on.
The highlight of May was the appearance of a common Buzzard over the patch, not unsurprising as they are becoming more regular even in central London. Breeding was successful for most resident species although the Coot and Moorhens had quite a high mortality amongst their broods, so it is difficult to say how successful they ultimately were. The 2 species of Geese on the other hand both raised large broods and most young seem to have survived.
The highlight of September was undoubtedly the visit of the Sparrowhawk to the garden for a lunch break of Pigeon. This was the first time I had seen it ‘on’ the patch as opposed to over it and was a wonderful sight to behold (Apologies to any pigeon lovers, but it was only 1 Common Pigeon and we do have plenty of them).
In October the highlight was the all too brief visit of a party of Barn Swallows who stopped by on their migration.
My final highlight has been the Redwing in December. We had them in the garden for the first time in 2012 although they only were present for a couple of days. Their usual winter haunt locally has been King Johns Walk where there have been up to 50 in past years. However this year we have had up to 12 around the garden and interestingly so far this year I have failed to see one on KJW , but the weather is still mild and so if it gets colder then that may change.
This was the first year that I have also recorded Butterflies, Dragonflies and Mammals on the patch. There were 9 species of Butterfly recorded and 5 species of Dragonfly, which was a good start. Only 2 species of non-domestic mammals were seen – Red Fox and Grey Squirrel
Patch list for 2013
Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Little Grebe [sp] (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)
Little Egret [sp] (Egretta garzetta)
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk [sp] (Accipiter nisus)
Common Buzzard [sp] (Buteo buteo)
Common Kestrel [sp] (Falco tinnunculus)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Lesser Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Eurasian Collared Dove [sp] (Streptopelia decaocto)
Rose-ringed Parakeet [sp] (Psittacula krameri)
Tawny Owl [sp] (Strix aluco)
Common Swift [sp] (Apus apus)
Common Kingfisher [sp] (Alcedo atthis)
Great Spotted Woodpecker [sp] (Dendrocopos major)
European Green Woodpecker [sp] (Picus viridis)
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)
Barn Swallow [sp] (Hirundo rustica)
Common House Martin [sp] (Delichon urbicum)
Long-tailed Tit [sp] (Aegithalos caudatus)
Common Chiffchaff [sp] (Phylloscopus collybita)
Eurasian Blackcap [sp] (Sylvia atricapilla)
Goldcrest [sp] (Regulus regulus)
Eurasian Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Eurasian Nuthatch [sp] (Sitta europaea)
Eurasian Treecreeper [sp] (Certhia familiaris)
Common Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
Redwing [sp] (Turdus iliacus)
Song Thrush [sp] (Turdus philomelos)
Mistle Thrush [sp] (Turdus viscivorus)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
Dunnock [sp] (Prunella modularis)
Grey Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla cinerea)
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii)
Common Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
European Greenfinch [sp] (Carduelis chloris)
European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)
Large White (Pieris brassicae)
Small White (Artogeia rapae)
Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)
Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
Small Tortoiseshell [sp] (Aglais urticae)
Comma Butterfly (Polygonia c-album)
Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)
Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
Speckled Wood [sp] (Pararge aegeria)
Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta)
Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea)
Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)
Pete's Favourite Things 