Rainham and Richmond

I managed to squeeze a visit in to Rainham Marshes on April 3rd. I met up with my friends on the train and we did the long walk from Rainham station through Rainham West, along the river past the old barges and into the reserve.

For a change, it was a nice sunny day which encouraged all the Chiffchaffs and Cetti's Warblers to sing from almost every bush. Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of migration, despite the light easterly wind. We did see a Common Tern on the Thames near Coldharbour Point but the expected Med Gulls were absent.

We took the path over the tip and viewed Wennington Marsh where I found a distant Barnacle Goose. We walked along the riverwall and John found a white blob which turned into a Spoonbill. We saw it again outside of the Butts hide where it was still slumbering.

Spoonbill

We also heard a Yellow Wagtail flying over near Butts hide and a couple of Sedge Warblers were the only other summer visitors. It was still a good day though with 67 species recorded.

A couple of days later, I decided it was time to venture south of the river again. I took the North London line (as this stretch of London Overground used to be called and will be again) all the way to Richmond station. It's about a 15 minute walk via Church Road and Park Lane to Cambrian Gate, my usual egress point.

Site 59, Richmond Park, April 5th

This is the largest Royal Park in London and it's not feasible to try and cover it all in a day. My route today was down past Holly Lodge, along Saw Pit Plantation and around Pen Ponds. I then went through Isabella Plantation which is probably the nicest of the plantations then headed back northwards.

Looking south to Pen Ponds

Herd of Fallow Deer

Pen Ponds

Red Deer

Isabella Plantation

A couple of Red Kite were soaring over Saw Pit Plantation, the first ones I've seen in the park; I ended up seeing five in total. I spent some time listening out for woodpeckers but there weren't any drumming today and they may well have finished already this year. However, I did hear a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker call by the Pen Ponds.

The ubiquitous Egyptian Goose

Mrs Yaffle

Jackdaws collecting nesting material

Mandarin

The commonest birds in the park were Jackdaws and Ring-necked Parakeets. As both are hole-nesters it may explain why Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers have almost disappeared, both here and throughout SE England. Several Mandarins were giving great views on one of the ponds in Isabella Plantation. As I walked back up the park, a pair of Buzzards soared over one of the woods. I completed my loop in just under three hours, recording 45 species.