Naturelog: Thursday 23rd October

The day had begun well as walking to the station I sighted our local Grey wagtail on the roof of a building opposite the Tarn. As I passed it flew back towards the park.

An afternoon meeting at the British Museum gave the opportunity for a morning of birdwatching in central London. The available options came down to either the London Wetland Centre and the possibility of a Jack Snipe (for me a second ever record and a first for London) or the Yellow-browed warbler in Regents park (also a second ever record and a first for London). Given the elusive nature of Jack Snipe, I plumped for the warbler and was delighted to see that it had been seen this morning (although I was later to hear from the locals that this report may have been a misidentification as it was far from the birds regular haunts). It has been in the same area for 7 days now but this was my first opportunity to see it.

Arriving at Regents Park and knowing the location where it had been seen I made my way straight there to find that it had been seen only 10 minutes previously in a bush on the edge of the island. A small group waited to see if it would return. An hour passed and then one of the local experts reported he had just heard its distinctive call from another location, but it proved elusive again and we went back to watching it’s favourite bush. 45 minutes later it was relocated again in a pine tree and although some of those present did see it I wasn’t so lucky. My first sighting was a flight view as it moved between trees but it wasn’t very good and if it hadn’t been seen previously I would have been reluctant to identify it. 10 restless minutes later it was relocated in some bushes and I was fortunate to get some excellent views of this attractive warbler as it moved through the bushes. It was very active and so I was unable to get any photos.

Yellow-browed Warbler
Photo by Dave Curtis (https://www.flickr.com/photos/davethebird/)

Whilst looking for the Yellow-browed Warbler also found a Blackcap and a Chiffchaff as well as the resident woodland birds. On the way out of the park I was fortunate to find a Greater Spotted Woodpecker by the side of the main lake and a very obliging Grey Heron in a tree.Also more Egyptian geese than I recall seeing here before.

Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina)
Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Ruddy Duck [sp] (Oxyura jamaicensis)
Little Grebe [sp] (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Mew Gull [sp] (Larus canus)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Lesser Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Stock Dove [sp] (Columba oenas)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Rose-ringed Parakeet [sp] (Psittacula krameri)
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)
Common Chiffchaff [sp] (Phylloscopus collybita)
Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus)
Eurasian Blackcap [sp] (Sylvia atricapilla)
Goldcrest [sp] (Regulus regulus)
Eurasian Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Common Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
Dunnock [sp] (Prunella modularis)
Grey Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla cinerea)
Common Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)