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.

Scrubs, Walthamstow & Dartford

I started the week with a visit to two more reasonably close sites. That meant another trip on the 302 bus, albeit going in the opposite direction to last Monday. I changed onto the 52 and got off a stop early as the temporary traffic lights had halted the traffic. I walked along the Harrow Road and went in at the East Entrance. The cemetery gates open at 9am.

Site 40: Kensal Green Cemetery,  March 6th

This extensive cemetery dates back to 1833 and it almost felt that long since I last visited it. In my visits during the mid-1980s I recorded Bullfinch here and I suspect that might be the last time one  was seen here as there's so few of them left in London now. There's a lot of trees and scrub in the cemetery and it runs along the Grand Union Canal so there's a fair bit of birdlife in it. 

For those who like exploring graves, Kensal Green is the resting place of the engineers Sir Marc Isambard Brunel and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the mathematician Charles Babbage, and the novelists Wilkie Collins, Anthony Trollope and William Makepeace Thackeray; Lord Byron's wife, Oscar Wilde's mother, Charles Dickens' in-laws and Winston Churchill's daughter; and the surgeon who attended Nelson at Trafalgar.

Southern path next to the canal

View from Scrubs Lane

I walked along the southern path then up through the middle and eventually out at the main entrance opposite Hazel Road. I then had a mile walk along Harrow Road and down Scrubs Lane to the next site.

Site 41: Wormwood Scrubs, March 6th

There's a small pedestrian entrance just south of Mitre Bridge at the northeast corner of the Scrubs. There are various paths across the site but I mostly kept to the northern side as that's where most of the better habitat is - the scrub beside the railway. I've only been to this site a couple of times before, the first time was in 2007 when I saw a Richard's Pipit here.

View looking south

The notorious Wormwood Scrubs prison on the southern boundary

Scrub alongside the railway

In the scrub were typical residents such as Long-tailed Tits and other common birds. The site is much better in migration and if I have time, I'll aim for a repeat visit.

Goldfinches

I left at the west end onto Old Oak Common Lane where there is a bus stop. I took a bus into Harlesden town centre and then two more buses to get home.

With poor weather forecast for the rest of the week I decided not to explore any more new sites but instead went back to Walthamstow Wetlands for a quick visit with John & Janet. On our last visit we weren't able to see the Scaup as the path to Number 4 reservoir was closed but it reopened on March 1st.

There was a bit of sleet in the air and it was feeling very wintry as we walked around the reservoir. We'd been told the Scaup was close into the bank this  morning and as walked around the last corner, there it was, only a few metres out.

Scaup

We watched it for a while before the weather got worse and we decided that rather than carry on around the paths, it was time to retire to the cafe.

After a couple more days of bad weather I decided I needed to venture out a little further so on Saturday I decided to explore Dartford Marsh. Being just outside of Greater London, it doesn't count towards my 100 site target but it's a place I'd been meaning to revisit. I used to come here most winters as there was a regular roost of Long-eared Owls but these are sadly long gone.

I took an early train from London Bridge to Dartford and then I aimed for the Darent River Path. This didn't exist when I used to come here so took a bit of finding. I turned left out of the station, over a footbridge across the river and onto Overy Street. Then it was across Millpond Road and up Central Road. The start of the footpath isn't marked and you have to cut through the warehouses to find it. It then follows the east bank of the river all the way to to the Thames.

It opens up a little further north after crossing under University Way and there's views right across Dartford Marsh. It's a really good but under-watched area. There's a lake that has a good selection of wildfowl and a huge mass of loafing gulls, in which I managed to pick out a Caspian.

Lake with loafing gulls

A bit further along I saw two Corn Buntings perched in a hawthorn tree on the bank and another two flew over, calling . These are now really scarce birds in the London Area so it was great to find that they're still here. The river itself held a few ducks, grebes and a single Common Sandpiper.

Little Grebe

Wigeon

Eventually I reached the Thames, roughly opposite the Rainham RSPB Visitor Centre. With the tide being low, a Harbour Seal was resting on the mud. I scanned the bay and then carried on along the Thames path heading east towards the QE2 Bridge.

The Thames path looking East

The path eventually reaches a sewage works and there's some steps over the concrete wall that lead to a footpath that runs back to Dartford. There's a couple of places where you can head west to join Joyce Green Lane and I chose one. Rather than follow it all the way south I walked back along University Way and rejoined the Darent River Path back to the railway station.

Mill Hill & Central London

I decided to start the week at Totteridge so took a local bus (302) to Mill Hill and then changed onto the 240 to the Ridgeway where a public footpath starts by the RC primary school.

Site 35, Totteridge Valley, February 27th

There's quite a lot of access points for this area and most people start on the Finchley side but it's easier for me to approach from Mill Hill. It also gives better view over the farms. I followed the footpath all the way up to the northern boundary, then along the road to a large pond (Long Pond) where another footpath begins which heads back south. Towards the top end I saw a Red Kite flying around and there were three Mandarins on the pond.

Mandarins

Footpath runs through Belmont Farm

Long Pond alongside Totteridge Common road

Second footpath looking south

View towards central London

As I was walking down I came across a large mixed flock of Redwings and Fieldfares. I also heard the hefty 'cronk' of a Raven and quickly found it flying away from me up the valley. In the fields were a couple of Lapwing.

Lapwing

About halfway down the hill there's a path that runs eastwards so I followed that all the way to Darlands Lake. From there you can carry on and explore the east side and end up at Totteridge or Woodside Park but as I wanted to finish up at Mill Hill, I retraced my steps back to the footpath then followed it south.

Darlands Lake

The path goes past Folly Farm and a nursery and then you can walk back to the Ridgeway and catch the 240 back to Mill Hill. Instead I walked along the road and turned into Milespit Hill. I eventually found a footpath which leads into the next site.

Site 36, Arrandene Open Space, February 27th

This was a new site for me and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It was more wooded than I anticipated with several paths running through it. I more or less followed paths that would cut across the middle and take me to the west side. I found a nice flock of Siskins that started singing after a short rain shower.

Arrandene Open Space

Siskin

I exited the area on the west side and crossed over Wise Lane to my third site of the day.

Site 37: Mill Hill Park, February 27th

I hadn't thought about visiting this area until I could see it but a quick check on the map also revealed it was the quickest way to walk back to Mill Hill. It's much more of a town park than Arrandene and is mostly open grass with trees along the edge so there's limited birdlife here.

Jackdaws

Mill Hill Park

I walked along by the tennis courts where a flock of Jackdaws were feeding on the grass and over to the northwest corner where I climbed the fence to exit the park where the subway was. This leads to the top of the Broadway where I popped into Costa before getting the bus back home.

For a change I didn't see Egyptian Geese at any of these sites and also didn't see a House Sparrow all day.

Two days later I headed into Central London to visit some more sites. I took the 332 bus for a change down to Cricklewood, then changed onto the 16 and alighted at Marble Arch.

Site 38: Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, March 1st

I entered Hyde Park at the northeast corner and randomly followed paths heading south until I reached The Serpentine. 

Hyde Park

View from Speakers Corner looking south

The Serpentine

I then went around the edge and up the other side to the bridge and crossed over into Kensington Gardens. Here, the lake is called The Long Water and I walked up towards the Peter Pan statue then cut westwards. I explored the copses in vain for Little Owl, then went down to the Round Pond and exited the park at the southwest corner into Kensington.

Black-headed Gull

Common Gull

Immature Herring Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Stock Dove

Round Pond

I walked along the busy Kensington High Street until I found Holland Walk, from which there's an entrance into the next site.

Site 39: Holland Park, March 1st

This was actually my first visit here. It's considerably smaller than Hyde Park but also has a lot fewer people in it so was nicer to walk around. I walked up the steps to Holland House and followed the trails around various gardens. These are typically free of dogs and cycles so are pleasant to walk around.

Formal gardens around Holland House

Holland Park

Holland House

Kyoto Garden

At this point my camera battery died so I had to use my phone to finish off. The park is quite wooded in the northern section with a few ornamental ponds. In Kyoto Garden there was a Peacock displaying to a bunch of feral Pigeons and a Grey Heron walked across the path in front of me.

Peacock and Pigeons

Peacock in full display

Grey Heron

I followed the trails around and exited at the School Entrance back onto Holland Walk and followed it north where it terminates at Notting Hill. It was then just a five minute walk to the bus stop where I boarded the number 52.

After a visit to Rainham Marshes on Thursday where I finally managed to see the Barn Owl this year, I went up the Lea Valley on Friday. I met my friends at Liverpool Street station and took the train to Rye House where it's then a ten minute walk to Rye Meads RSPB. Although it's my first visit there this year, it doesn't count as one of my 100 sites as it's outside of Greater London.

It was a cold, grey day but we still managed to record 54 species. I was hoping to have another day without an Egyptian Goose but one put in an appearance by the old manor house on the way back to the station. Probably the best bird of the day was a Peregrine atop a pylon on the reserve.

The inevitable Egyptian Goose

Magpie with pet Muntjac

Peregrine