Decided to go out for a walk by the River Cray. Starting at Footscray High street I followed the course of the river as it wound through Footscray meadows all the way to 5 Arch bridge.
The weather was pretty awful and it rained for much of the way, but by the time I reached the bridge and the main pool the sun had come out.
Unfortunately it was very quiet and apart from a single Little Grebe and a single Great Crested Grebe there were only Mallard, Tufted Duck and Coot to be seen along with a family party of Mute Swans.
I then went onto another stretch of the Cray a few miles away at Hall Place but here the story was the same and it was very quiet. It was very noticeable how much water was flowing down the river, no doubt as a result of the recent rainfall.
So only 22 species for a three hour walk but lovely countryside and the soup and bread at Hall Place was a fine antidote to the cold, wet weather
Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Little Grebe [sp] (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Great Crested Grebe [sp] (Podiceps cristatus)
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 Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Rose-ringed Parakeet [sp] (Psittacula krameri)
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)
Common Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
Common Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
Pete's Favourite Things 