North London Highlights

After a week away in Spain watching Iberian Lynx it was back to the UK for the end of January and start of February. For the new week I decided to concentrate on North London.

Site 21: Bentley Priory, January 30th

This is near the northern terminus of the Jubilee Line at Stanmore although I elected to take a local bus (142) which stops a little close at the Broadway. From there it's a ten minute walk to the Local Nature Reserve of Bentley Priory. I remember my first visit here back in 1985 when I found a pair of Tree Sparrows at Boot Pond which is next to the entrance. Tree Sparrows are not just gone from here but throughout the entire London Area.

I roughly followed the circular route, going past the private deer park then cutting down the hill from the northern part of the path to the lake. The lake only had a small number of ducks but can be reliable for Goosander and sure enough, there was a single drake on the water. It decided to be awkward and perched on the far bank just under the trees so became almost invisible apart from its bright feet. After a while it was joined by a Kingfisher that flew in and landed nearby.

Kingfisher

Redwing

Egyptian Goose

Coot

It's a nice reserve to explore as there's a lot of woodland and open areas of grassland and scrub and I recorded 38 species. Quite a few of these were new ones for me at this site because I haven't been here recently, like Egyptian Goose and even Ring-necked Parakeet.

Rather than complete the loop, I headed back past the lake as I wanted to exit at the western end. Once back at the road I crossed over it to my next site.

Site 22: Harrow Weald Common, January 30th

I've not been year before and didn't even know it existed until I noticed it in the A-Z when looking for somewhere else to visit. It's a narrow patch of woodland that is right of the northern boundary of Greater London. The London Loop footpath goes through this site.

I was quite intrigued by the pub as there used to be one in Willesden with the same name and I always thought it was an odd name for a pub. It appears there are several others in the country, particularly in NW London. I couldn't work out the relevance of the name to the picture of the battle either. The name seems to come from a 17th Century play by Ben Johnson but I can't find out why it became used on pubs. My military history adviser (thanks John!) tells me that the painting depicts a British regiment from the Napoleonic era (early 19th century) although it's unclear what they are actually doing.

Nuthatch

At the western end there are a few ponds and the exit leads to a footpath that heads across a golf course but doesn't got anywhere useful. I walked back past the pub to a car park and a viewpoint looking back down on London. It was a pleasant spot for a picnic and while eating my lunch a Buzzard came out of the common and circled over the hillside.

Sufficiently rested I carried along the road and picked up a bus heading towards Harrow Wealdstone where I knew I could connect to the 182 bus that would take me home.

With yet another series of train strikes this week, I was bit limited on where I could go but decided that I could take the tube to explore a few sites.

Site 23: Grovelands Park, February 1st

This is a ten minute walk from Southgate station on the Piccadilly Line and is somewhere I used to pop into to get my annual fix of Mandarins but I've not been here for a number of years.

The island at the south end of the lake is the best spot for Mandarins

I did an anticlockwise loop of the lake, with a break to explore the woodland and scrub at the northern end. A Water Rail had been found at the NE end of the lake a couple of days earlier but I didn't see it. When I reached the island at the southern end of the lake at the completion of my loop I was in the right place for the Mandarins, although it was looking into the low sunlight.

Mandarins

I walked back up the hill to Southgate station then travelled south a few stops and alighted at Manor House station. Another ten minute walk and I was at my next site.

Site 24: Woodberry Wetlands, February 1st

The only other time I'd been here was to look for a Golden Oriole (which I didn't see) when the site was known by its former name of Stoke Newington Reservoirs. There was no access to either reservoir but you could view the east reservoir from the riverside path. Since then it has been opened up and turned into a local nature reserve. It has a boardwalk running through the reedbed to a popular cafe with outdoor seating overlooking the reservoir. You can then walk around the southern end and return via the old riverside path.

The boardwalk through the reeds

As I walked along the boardwalk a Cetti's Warbler sang from deep in the reeds. I sat down at the cafe and scanned the reservoir. I chatted to a couple of residents about the birds that were here and helped one attach a lanyard to her new pair of bins. A feeder by the cafe attracted Robin, Blue Tit and Dunnock. I then set off to complete a loop of the site which didn't take very long.

Cormorants

Pair of Gadwall

Starling

Once back at the start I cut through the new housing estate although I could have followed a path along the edge of the west reservoir. I crossed over Green Lanes to my third site of the day.

Site 25: Finsbury Park, February 1st

This was my first visit to this park which is a typical Victorian London park. It has a few stands of mature trees and a lake. It's a very popular place but there are quieter areas, particularly at the northern end. 

Looking south towards central London

I had lunch overlooking the lake which had a good number of wildfowl on it including a couple of fully-winged Red-crested Pochards and a very dodgy looking duck.

Canada Goose

Answers on a postcard...

Male Common Pochard

Red-crested Pochard

Male Tufted Duck

I walked down the hill and out of the park to Finsbury Park station which was just a minute away.

On Friday I walked over to Fryent Country Park for a few hours as I fancied a local stroll. There were Song Thrushes singing all over the place and I wonder if some of these are migrants as I've not recorded that many breeding here. I found a trio of Lesser Redpolls feeding in a Silver Birch at the northern end, the first ones I've seen in London this year.

I finished the week off at Rainham Marshes. It was an overcast day and was fairly quiet on the marshes but I did see my first Oystercatcher of the year.