Havering and Redbridge Parks

There seems to be a never-ending supply of greenspaces in East London that I've not yet visited. I've now adopted a few sites as regular local patches and have managed to combine visiting them along with exploring new sites. I started the week by doing just this: a walk around Dagenham Chase where the highlight was seven Little Ringed Plovers on The Slack. I exited at the eastern side and crossed over Upper Rainham Road

Site 85: Harrow Lodge Park, July 3rd

This park has many entrances and I started on the western side and did an anti-clockwise circuit of the lake. It's quite a long thin park and the NE corner adjoins Hornchurch. The lake dominates the central section with open grassland and some woodland around it.

Only the vast hordes of geese have access to the green by the lake

Canada Geese

Greylag Geese

Mute Swan family

 Site 86: Hainault Country Park, July 11th

To get there I took a local bus, the 173 and changed at Chadwell Heath onto the 362. The stop at Fowler Road is directly opposite an entrance to the park. I used to visit Hainault Forest quite regularly, walking in from Hainault station so I wasn't familiar with this part of the park.

I walked down to the lake, then did a large clockwise loop following one of the trails through the forest and back across the open plain back to the car park where there are two cafes.

View across the plain looking towards Docklands

The birdlife has changed considerably since I used to come here. There used to be breeding Turtle Dove, Marsh Tit, Wood Warbler and Yellowhammer but they've all long gone. I still recorded 33 species which isn't bad for a woodland in July; the only notable breeding bird was two Skylarks singing over the plain.

Site 87: Dagnam Park, July 20th

This was another easy site to get to by bus: the 174 to Harkness Close and the entrance is a minute's walk back to Whitchurch Road. I had been to this park once before when Hawfinches used to winter here but I didn't recognise any of it today. I walked through a thin stretch of woodland up to a pond. It then opens up by a car park and I walked an anti-clockwise route.

Open area just beyond the pond

I saw a lot of Fallow Deer in the park which I don't remember from my earlier visits but they've clearly been here all the time. My route took me close to the M25 which is just the other side of the Weald Brook. I walked through some more woodland, open areas and another pond on the return loop to the car park. 

Fallow Deer

More Fallow Deer feeding on a grassy slope

Weald Brook; the M25 runs behind the far hedge

It covers a large area but surprisingly I saw very few other people on my walk. It's like a small version of Richmond Park but without the hordes of people and dogs. It's a good area for birds with woodpeckers, Nuthatch and Treecreeper in the woods, with Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Red Kite all seen flying around.

Jackdaws

Family of Mallards

Moorhen with chicks

Red Kite