The Urban Birder

Sightings

Cormorant

Something really strange has happened to our Cormorant population. The term ‘population’ is being used very loosely here because at best it can be described as transient. Over the years there has been a discernible drop in the number of birds sighted flying over The Scrubs. If you go back to August 2006 we were getting regular counts of up to 10 birds. Nowadays we're lucky to see 3 birds and more likely to see singletons. Has there been a genuine decrease or are they simply not heading our way anymore?

Grey Heron

A single bird was seen on several visits invariably travelling over the grassland heading north towards the Grand Union Canal. It's tempting to think that it is the same bird involved. On the 2nd another was watched soaring on the thermals above Lester's Embankment and yet another was seen being viciously mobbed by parakeets on the 23rd.

Canada Goose

The occasional distant honking was heard several times during the month though around 50 were physically seen in two flocks over Martin Bell's Wood on the 14th.

Sparrowhawk

This impressive raptor was a near daily sight with up to 2 birds present. It is thought that they may be the Kensal Green Cemetery offspring stretching their wings over The Scrubs, indeed a bird on the path near the community centre on the 2nd was aged as a juvenile.

Kestrel

Up to 4 birds were still frequenting the grassland and environs for the first few days of the month. Perhaps two birds persisted for the remainder of the month increasing to 3 on the 23rd.

Hobby

Up to two birds were watched hunting over Wormwood Scrubs on a near daily basis in the early days of August. On the 6th, an adult swooped low along Lester's Embankment to surprise some Goldfinches and Starlings. It was unsuccessful and carried on over Chats Paddock.

It's often worth scanning the skyline for distant raptors soaring either over the city to the east or over Acton to the west. This tactic proved successful on the 17th when a distant Hobby was watched in full hunting mode over the rooftops of Ladbroke Grove. The last record for August was of a hunting bird over Scrubs Lane Wood on the 18th.

Their regularity hints that they must have nested somewhere nearby.

Black-headed Gull

Low numbers were still heading over during the month although at least 130 were watched hawking flying ants over the eastern and western edges of The Scrubs on the 5th.

Common Gull

A couple of early returning birds headed west on the 2nd. This gull does not usually show up here until at least mid-September.

Herring Gull

Numbers were drifting over most mornings with the vast majority being brown 1st summer birds. Up to 30 were seen overhead on the 13th and over 70 headed over from the east on the 23rd.

Lesser Black-back

Despite being recognisable by their slightly deeper, gruffer voices and from beneath, their darker underwings, over flying LB-b's are not always easy to pick out. On the 6th they outnumbered the usually more numerous Herring Gull when at least 22 were counted. The peak count was around 25 birds on the 23rd.

Common Tern

On the drizzly morning on the 26th, a singleton flew in from the north over Chats Paddock. This South Africa-bound migrant was the latest ever recorded here as they are normally noticed occasionally between April and July.

Stock Dove

The usual occasional sighting was had during the month.

Wood Pigeon

The usual 40-50 was noticed during August including a fair amount of young birds.

Collared Dove

This handsome colonist has a very sketchy history here at The Scrubs. We have long suspected that breeding occurs in the depths of nearby Acton which probably explains their irregular appearances.

The odd bird dashed across our airspace during the month although 3 including a pair flew through on the 5th.

Cuckoo

The surprise of the month was an adult on the 6th watched flying south fairly high over the football pitches before dipping dramatically to land on a tree within Martin Bell's Wood.

Bearing in mind that Cuckoos normally occur here in the spring, this bird was our 2nd autumn record ever following a juvenile seen in Martin Bell's Wood in September 1992. It was also our first autumn adult ever.

Swift

At least 15 were noticed distantly drifting over Acton on the 2nd and a pair was noticed heading towards Acton the following day. Around 30 dropped in on the 5th and 8th. The last birds of the month were the two that quietly passed overhead from the north on the 19th — our latest since 2006 when 20 birds headed over on the 27th August.

Kingfisher

After the surprising rapidly fleeting sighting of this gaudily plumaged riparian denizen streaking past Central Copse on the 13th April this year, imagine our surprise when another was seen zooming north over the grassland and Lester's Embankment on the 8th. Interestingly, a dog walker had described what sounded like a plausible Kingfisher sighting the week before.

Anything can really turn up anywhere at anytime!

Rose-ringed Parakeet

Small numbers of this largely annoying parrot were present daily as per usual. At least 300 birds left their Braybrook Street roost on the 6th; that flock however was dwarfed by the 900 or so that left the roost on the 13th.

Green Woodpecker

A bird was regularly heard calling from the southern end of Scrubs Lane Wood from the 14th.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

We think that 4 birds were at large during the month, although a couple were noted flying overhead at fairly high altitude for a woodpecker.

Sand Martin

At least 5 birds headed north west along Lester's Embankment on the 2nd and two groups of 3 birds briefly lingered on their southward journey over the grassland the following day. Sand Martins tend to fly over The Scrubs at a higher altitude than the far more common Swallows and thus are more liable to pass over undetected.

Swallow

Three birds headed south on the 23rd. They were the only Swallows reported for the month.

House Martin

At least 2 birds were in with the Swallows on the 23rd.

Meadow Pipit

Over the years we have come to realise that our tiny breeding population are indeed summer visitors. From a peak of around 8 birds on the 2nd, they seem to suddenly melt away by the end of August when hardly any are found. In September when we start to walk through the grassland again we begin to flush the first of our autumn visitors that are passing through. Our winter population seem highly transient with numbers fluctuating on a daily basis.

What we have also noticed is the drop in the number of birds found during August. In 2006 there were regularly up to 20 birds present throughout the month, but the Augusts since then have resulted in very low numbers being found. This could be to do with a general decline in the national population or that perhaps our grassland is not quite right for them.

Tree Pipit

The first bird of the autumn called and lingered over Central Copse on the 3rd before heading over the grassland. It was our first August record since 2006 as these birds are usually detected during September.

Two more birds were flushed from the grassland on the 26th calling as they headed south over Braybrook Street and another was flushed from the grassland the following day.

Walking through the grassland after the breeding season is over can be pretty productive. We have flushed all manner of things ranging from a blow-up doll (once), domestic cats, foxes and moths to Snipe, Richard's Pipit (twice) and a Short-eared Owl (once).

Pied Wagtail

Although breeding has not been proven this year, 2 juveniles flew over Lester's Embankment on the 3rd and intriguingly, a couple of youngsters were seen feeding on the stadium grass on the 23rd. Single birds were also either seen or heard flying over during the month.