More NW London parks

After a couple of days seeing little at Brent Reservoir I decided to visit a few more local sites despite the poor weather. I took the 297 bus to Perivale Library where it was just a couple of minutes walk along Horsenden Lane north over the canal.

Site 42: Horsenden Hill, March 16th

This is a site I usually go to look for butterflies in summer so I wasn't sure what it would be like in winter. As I expected the paths were fairly muddy but doable in walking boots.

View from the hill looking south

There's a good series of paths around this local nature reserve which is mostly woodland, scrub and grassland. I climbed up the hill to the summit and thought it would be a good spot for visible migration except it happened to be drizzling at the time. However, I heard a Skylark calling and shortly, a trio of them flew north, not what I was expecting in this weather.

It stayed overcast and damp throughout my visit so it didn't make photography easy.

Mallards on a pond

Northern Red-breasted European Robin-Flycatcher-Chat

I did a loop around the western section back to the start then took the path that heads NE along the golf course as that's where I wanted to finish. I ended up seeing 21 species, all reasonably common apart from the migrating Skylarks which were a bonus.

I emerged onto Ashness Gardens in Sudbury and from there it was a ten minute walk up to the Harrow Road to the next site.

Site 43: Barham Park, March 14th

I've been passed this park on the bus several times and thought I ought to visit it. It's only a small park with scattered trees but has a good hedgerow along the embankment of the Chiltern Line.

The railway embankment runs along the northern boundary

I managed a respectable total of 18 species including a flock of 50 Redwing which were feeding on the grass near the east exit onto Harrow Road. It was just a short walk to the bus stop where I picked up the 182 home.

Goldfinch on London Plane

Redwing

Woodpigeon. I've never noticed the Spock-like eyebrow before.

With a tube strike limiting my options today, I decided to head up to a couple of sites straddling the A1. I took the 142 bus from near Brent Res up to Edgware and then the 292 past Apex Corner to Scratchwood.

Site 44: Scratchwood Open Space, March 15th

I had only been here once before, in June last year so a return visit was in order. There had been no other visits recorded on eBird since mine which is a shame as it's a nice place to pop in to see a good selection of woodland birds. 

The main rail line runs under the site; in the background is the M1

Pond

A convenient bench along the London Loop path

Gorse among the woodland

I walked the northern loop heading towards the M1, past the railway tunnel and back up to the car park. As I started walking through the first wooded section I inadvertently put up a Woodcock that was roosting under a bush by the path. Given the time of year I suspect it's a migrant on its way back to Northern Europe. There was a lot of woodpecker activity and I heard both Nuthatch and Treecreeper. 

I then took another path south which went down to a pond and then east, following the London Loop path over to an exit along the A1.As I left a Buzzard rose up and started circling overhead.

Buzzard

As I didn't want to cross six lanes of traffic I walked down to the subway which was further than I originally thought then back up the other side to the next site.

The A1 separates the two sites.

Site 45: Moat Mount Open Space, March 15th

I didn't visit this site last time so it was another new one for me. It has the same habitat as Scratchwood and I followed a circular path through Nut Wood (I didn't encounter Rupert Bear and friends) and around a small lake.

the lake held a total of six waterbirds

Moat Mount is a small section of a longer walk

There was a similar selection of woodlands birds to Scratchwood but I didn't see Nuthatch and Treecreeper. There were more birds on the pond with a Grey Heron, two Mallard, two Coot and a Dabchick.

Coot

Little Grebe (Dabchick)

It only took half an hour to walk around and I saw 16 species. My map indicated there was a longer footpath from just off the Stirling Corner roundabout down to Highwood Hill but I didn't see any connection to it on my route. There's a bus stop right by the entrance and I took the 292 to Burnt Oak and 302 home.