The Urban Birder

Sightings

Cormorant

The only report concerned a lone bird heading over on the 26th. This seabird was clearly overlooked this month.

Canada Goose

A few were heard and seen during the month.

Sparrowhawk

Nearly all the records of this common woodland raptor this month seemed to involve females and one such bird was watched creating havoc by pouncing into various bushes outside Chats Paddock trying to flush out prey on the 10th.

Kestrel

The occasional female or immature was seen throughout the month. However, three birds were present over the grassland on the 25th and a female with a juvenile on the 28th. The only male was seen on the 31st.

Hobby

A playful pair was watched performing aerobatics in the same distant airspace as a Peregrine on the 14th.

Peregrine

Now something of a regular here at Wormwood Scrubs, an individual was seen distantly soaring well south of the prison on the 14th. One individual was watched at 10pm on the 17th successfully hunting a parakeet from the flocks coming in to roost. It simply flew over and with no sudden turns or any burst of speed and casually picked off a bird returning to the tower by Hammersmith Hospital to devour it. The nonchalant nature of this kill made it seem as if parakeet was on the menu every evening!

Up to three individuals were recorded on the 26th and finally, a juvenile headed low from the east over the football pitches scattering the crows on the 28th. All the birds mentioned this month could have related to the nesting pair further south at Charing Cross Hospital and their offspring.

Black-headed Gull

As per June larger numbers of this common Larid began to filter through with a peak of around 120 on the 26th.

Mediterranean Gull

An adult in full breeding plumage was fortuitously seen amongst a high-flying flock of Black-headed Gulls on the afternoon of the 11th. Nowadays, Med Gulls are liable to appear at The Scrubs during almost any month of the year, a major indication of their recent general increase across London and the southeast.

Herring Gull

At least 30 were counted on the 26th.

Lesser Black-back

As ever, smaller numbers were noted of this large gull than its more common relative the Herring Gull. Around 12 were noted on the 26th.

Stock Dove

The usual few birds were invariably encountered with either in the grassland or on the football pitches. The peak count was seven on the 26th.

Wood Pigeon

As usual around 50 to 60 birds were reported during the month including juveniles.

Swift

Numbers were seen during the early part of the month with the peak count being nearly 90 birds on the 17th. Towards the end of the month they had become decidedly scarcer apart from the 31st when over 40 were counted.

Rose-ringed Parakeet

At least 600 were witnessed leaving their roost on the 26th.

Green Woodpecker

A single bird was heard calling from Southern Copse on the 17th and an immature flew into Scrubs Lane Wood on the 26th. Another was seen along Braybrook Wood on the 31st.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

The only reports this month were a male on the 30th and two birds the following day.

Meadow Pipit

Up to three males were still displaying up to mid month; a piece of behaviour not normally noted during July. Indeed, the last such record was during July 2008. This species virtually stops singing when rearing young therefore the implication was that they were not tending to young. Not a good sign.

It is our general feeling that certainly one perhaps only two pairs bred this summer out of the four suspected territories. Only one brood of four youngsters was actually seen with any positivity and they were seen being fed on the 11th, 14th and the 30th. This is potentially a poor state of affairs with perhaps the main reason for the sharp decline in success attributable to human and canine disturbance principally caused by people continually ignoring the polite sign and walking through the main pipit breeding areas down the ‘Forbidden Path’.

A new more intrusive, as well as instructive sign needs to be installed prior to the next breeding season if we are to preserve our tiny vulnerable nesting population and protect them from unnecessary disturbance.

Pied Wagtail

A male was seen feeding on the pitches on the 17th and was our first reported since May.