May 20th-31st: springs peters out

After a packed birding break in Norfolk, the rest of May petered out as the spring migration came to a close. I always know that spring is over when BBC’s Springwatch starts! They should really call it Summerwatch as it’s mostly about breeding birds.

I continued my near-daily local walks around Brent Reservoir but without adding any new birds, either recording breeding activity or looking for insects. A few late raptors flew over, so far this year I’ve seen twice as many migrant Red Kites as Buzzards, quite a remarkable upturn for this spectacular bird of prey.

14-spot Ladybird

Yellow-barred Longhorn

These Ermine caterpillars had totally defoliated this bush

I visited Rainham once during this period, on May 25th. It was notable for the four Cuckoos I encountered including three on Rainham West and a solitary Curlew, the only migrant wader. Avocets seemed to be having their best ever breeding year with maybe ten or more pairs around. A tardy Wigeon was still around – perhaps it was boycotting Russia this year?

Curlew

I managed one more day’s birding out of London on May 27th when three of us took the train from Waterloo to Chobham Common. Last year we went at exactly the same time of year and there were many more birds singing than this time so I’ve made a mental note to go earlier next year. Despite the lack of activity we still managed to find our target birds: a couple of Tree Pipits, half a dozen Dartford Warblers but just one distant Woodlark heard. It was a pleasant walk around the common with Red Kites and Buzzards overhead and plenty of insects. Unfortunately the only reptile we saw was a dead Adder that had been run over on the road as we walked back to the station.

Buzzard

Large Red Damselfly

Adder

I finished May on 169 birds in London out of a total of 205 that have so far been recorded. That includes a few untwitchable birds like the Little Swift that was seen in Lee this week. June is never a good month for adding new birds but I hope to catch up with a couple at least.