Early April morning
Cormorant
Birds were watched busily traversing the skies every day on their way to and from God knows where. The biggest number noted was around 20 birds on the 30th that included the impressive sight of 13 flying over low in V-formation.
Grey Heron
These large birds were only seen a couple of times during the course of the month.
Mute Swan
Our only reported swans flew through on the 28th.
Canada Goose
Daily counts rarely exceeded 6 birds. The biggest count was of 8 birds flying in V-formation with a couple of Greylags in their midst on the 12th.
Greylag
These feral geese are becoming more regular with 2 honking high over the grassland on the 6th being our first for the year. These birds were followed by 1 circuiting the grassland on the 11th, at least a couple with a flock of Canada Geese on the 12th and 4 to the north on the 20th.
Mallard
There were no repeat of the 'massive' flocks of 10 birds witnessed last April. This year we had to be content with maximums of 6 on both the 6th and 30th.
Sparrowhawk
A male was escorted out of the area by attendant pigeons and Starlings on the 20th. A female with a prey item in her talons was watched flying along Lester's Embankment towards the cemetery on the 23rd. This pair probably breed in nearby Kensal Green Cemetery.
Kestrel
With the possible discovery of a local nesting site the increased visitations from what seems to be a pair adds weight to breeding in the area. Fortunately, the crows seemed to have eased off with their obligatory harassing which have allowed these birds to spend more time actively hunting.
Hobby
This beautiful summer visiting falcon has become a regular fixture in our spring calendar. We eagerly await our first sightings with baited breath as they flash through on their powerful slender wings.
Our first was one seen briefly over Braybrook Street Woods on the 27th in the same place where an individual spent 3 days last year treating us to the finest aerobatics display you could wish for. A second bird flew through Central Copse on its way north on the 29th.
Interestingly, these birds were earlier than last year when our first was recorded on the 2nd May.
Peregrine
One of these mighty hunters swooped in low over the grassland on the 30th spooking everything in its path before gaining height and heading off west.
Lapwing
This is scarce bird these days despite the small breeding colony at The Wetland Centre, so the singletons flying over on the 6th, 15th and on the 29th were most welcome.
Grey Plover
Unbelievably, a lone individual flew from the north on the 27th, a chilly, cloudy morning and headed south over Chats Paddock. This was our very first record. It should really be at its breeding grounds in the high arctic, or at very least, probing the mud on an estuary somewhere.
Black-headed Gull
Waifs and strays were noted on a couple of occasions during April. At least 8 drifted over on the 3rd and around 12 on the 29th.
Herring Gull
Several parties were encountered most days seemingly drifting aimlessly through the Scrubs skies. The average number counted was around 20 that mainly consisted of sub-adults. This rose to about 30 birds on the 12th. The incidence of these birds is quite normal for this time of year as they are probably all non-breeders.
Lesser Black-back
Smaller numbers of this gruff-voiced gull graced our airspace than their close relative the Herring Gull. On the 23rd 6 were observed feeding on the discarded rubbish left on the football pitches by ignorant people the day before. Around 15 birds were noted on the 1st.
Common Tern
Our first bird this spring flew south over Chats Paddock with a fish in its mouth on the 25th. It's amazing to think that this bird probably spent the winter fishing along the coast of southern Africa.
Woodpigeon
No major counts of this familiar pigeon were made this month. However, there were at least 150 present on the 15th.
Stock Dove
Despite the breeding pairs that live down the road at Kensal Green Cemetery, this cute pigeon continues to be hardly picked up flying over. A few were noticed during the month with 3 on the 5th being the most seen.
Collared Dove
Records were sparing as usual with no indication of the possibility of a breeding pair nearby, as considered last April. There were just a handful of records this month.
Cuckoo
For the 2nd year running this scarce parasitic migrant was seen flying through The Scrubs. The bird watched flying parallel with Scrubs Lane Wood before heading off low to north on the 20th was our 5th record ever plus our earliest ever.
Swift
This amazing harbinger of summer first graced our skies on the 25th, a week later than last year and later than in many other parts of London this year. Numbers passing through were extremely low to non-existent for the remainder of the month.
Rose-ringed Parakeet
At least 50 birds were watched around the site on the 15th. We also think that there may be a couple of pairs breeding.
Green Woodpecker
This ground loving woodpecker was frequently heard calling distantly around The Scrubs during April.
Great Spotted Woodpecker
We think that there is at least one pair nesting in Scrubs Lane Wood - their traditional site. These birds were seen and heard regularly. Interestingly, 3 were seen together along the Embankment on the 13th.
Skylark
The poor run of records this year continued with an individual watched heading north over Scrubs Lane Wood on the 3rd and possibly 3 on the 6th. Interestingly, one of the latter birds was seen fluttering low over the grassland as if it had just descended from singing aloft. As far as we know, nobody has ever heard a Skylark sing at The Scrubs.
Sand Martin
Our first and only bird of the month headed over Central Copse on the 13th a full 2 weeks earlier than last year. This bird may have been one of the members of the Wetland Centre colony as it was circling around before heading south.
House Martin
This black and white swallow is a truly scarce spring migrant here. This April, an improvement on last April, we managed to scrape two records of flyover birds on the 23rd and the 27th.
Swallow
Our first Swallow finally rolled in on the 11th much to our delight. This bird was only a few days later than its counterpart in 2006, but way later than in 2005 when birds began to turn up from the 19th March!
The main passage started on the 15th with a few birds noticed classically flying just above the mown grass before sweeping up north over Lester's Embankment. The biggest number was 20 that passed through on the 27th. This movement of birds will probably carry on into early June.
Meadow Pipit
Our breeding birds have begun to settle down in the grassland with perhaps 4 pairs present. The installation of signs asking members of the public control their dogs in their nesting grassland area will help no end. At least 20 were seen on the 6th that included migrants passing overhead.
Tree Pipit
The 2 birds seen and heard flying over Chats Paddock on the 15th were the only records of these migrants this month. Since last year, these little brown jobs - lovers of heathland and woodland clearings - have become a recent new addition to our spring migrant scene, as they are normally associated with autumn movements.
Pied Wagtail
It looked like a pair had taken up the traditional breeding site near the stadium.
Yellow Wagtail
A bright male landed on the short grass by Braybrook Street Woods on the 15th, 2 days earlier than last year - the first time this attractive and nationally declining summer visiting wagtail was recorded here in the spring.
Grey Wagtail
The only report was of a pair that flew over calling on the 16th.
Wren
At least 6 birds were encountered on the 15th.
Dunnock
Around 10 birds were counted on the 15th.
Robin
At least 10 territories were counted on the 15th though there are probably more.
Black Redstart
At last! After our first and only 'Black Red' was discovered by a sole observer in the mid-nineties we spent years speculating, hoping and wishing to find another one. Our prayers were answered when a female was discovered in the very spot were the famous Rudolph was first seen.
Rudolph, of course, was Britain's first ever wintering Common Redstart (nationally, a scarce summer visitor and exceptionally rare breeder in London). He was found in December 2004 in the small plantation west of the pony centre and Martin Bell's Wood.
This Black Redstart, a female, was watched hunting insects in this plantation for around 10 minutes until a rather pugnacious Robin chased her off into Martin Bell's Wood. She was never to be seen again.
Whinchat
A magnificent male accompanied by his duller partner were found on the grassland on the 27th. This species, the unofficial emblem of The Scrubs, is far more frequent in the autumn.
April 2007 Sightings at Wormwood Scrubs
Imagine the scene - you are on a long journey. You have been driving on the motorway for the past 4 hours and are on the last leg of your journey. You know of a nice service station that knocks out a decent cup of tea, but the going's good, the weather's fine and you are not too thirsty. So you travel on. You pass on that lovely cup of tea.
This very thought process must have crossed the minds of the many thousands of migrants as they passed over southern England during their nocturnal flights, after having spent the previous day stocking up at some south coast headland. The weather was fine for a lot of April, so they just sailed onwards to their northern breeding grounds.
This meant that we missed out on the volume big time! Simply speaking, due to the cold, squally weather that we experienced last April we recorded exceptional numbers of a greater amount of species than ever before. Quite literally, the weather system forced migrants down to refuel at spots like Wormwood Scrubs.
However, there were still good birds to be seen this April with perhaps the star being a female Black Redstart - only our 2nd record since the 1st over 10 years ago. Plus, we recorded our first ever Grey Plover. It's becoming clear that some of our scarcer migrants are in fact annual visitors. Species like Cuckoo, Ring Ouzel and Pied Flycatcher all made appearances. Notable absentees were Common Redstart with at least 7 found last April and Nightingale with 2 recorded last year.
We still dream of finding a major rarity. Will May be the month?
Contributors: David Jefferies, David Lindo, Roy Nuttall et al.
If you have details of any sightings or observations of unusual behaviour please sent them on no matter how trivial they may seem to: david@theurbanbirder.com
Northern Wheatear
We were beginning to get very worried about the lack of Wheatears especially given last spring's brilliant turn out. Our first bird, a female, eventually turned up on the 9th much later than in 2006 when our first arrived on March 26th.
Thereafter we entertained 3 on the pitches on the 11th, a gorgeous male on the 21st, a pair the following day, a total of 6 on the 25th and 2 females on the 27th.
A grand total of around 15 birds (give or take duplication) were logged, a far cry from the 42 found last spring!
Song Thrush
This excellent songster is currently one of the most common birds at The Scrubs with maybe 13 pairs nesting in suitably thickly vegetated areas.
Redwing
Late birds were noted on the 5th when 6 headed north, on the 12th when 2 flew over Chats Paddock and finally on the 15th when a bird landed on a tree at the north western edge of Lester's Embankment. These were the latest birds since 2004.
Fieldfare
Unlike last April when we had a no show, this year there were a couple of records that helped to brighten up otherwise dull mornings. Singletons were found on the 3rd, on the 7th and a loner found hopping in the long grass by Braybrook Street Woods on the 11th.
Blackbird
At least 25 birds were counted on the 15th. This was probably a massive underestimate. A pair was watched feeding a couple fledglings at nearby Kensal Green Cemetery on the 16th.
Ring Ouzel
On the 16th, for the fourth year in a row, we recorded a spring passage bird. It was a female that flew fairly low over the northern edge of Central Copse over the head of the observer whilst making its distinctive 'chacking' call. True to form (being truly wary and generally unapproachable) it landed miles away on top of a tree in Scrubs Lane Wood. It looked majestic and wild as it surveyed the area before flying off behind Central Copse.
Although superficially similar to Blackbirds, in flight 'Rouzels' (as they are known by birders) have a much slimmer carriage and swifter flight than their far more abundant, lumbering, pot bellied cousins. This thrush is a truly beautiful and memorable bird to behold.
Blackcap
Since their early reappearance on the 31st March almost every wooded area was filled with their thrush-like warble by the end of April. At least 15 were on site by the 15th onwards.
Garden Warbler
This unobtrusive summer migrant is always initially difficult to decipher in song from the more widespread but agonisingly similar Blackcap. Once heard a few times during spring the differences usually begin to shine through - usually! We have to beware of mimicking Blackcaps.
Their song although Blackcap-like seems scratchier and more hurried. This identification feature was put in practice to help identify a hidden bird in Chats Paddock on the 15th singing along with a couple Blackcaps. The odd bird was heard singing from various locations during the month seemingly indicating migrants as opposed to birds staking territories.
Garden Warblers are regular visitors to our area with a couple in song for a while most years during April/May. They then disappear until the autumn migrants pass through. Breeding has never been proved.
Common Whitethroat
A bird heard singing quietly from the bramble patch adjacent Lester's Embankment on the 20th was our first returning bird - full 4 days later than last year. Unlike the previous year, there wasn't an explosion of birds thereafter. The build up was rather slow with maybe 12 birds present by the month's end.
Lesser Whitethroat
Our first record this spring concerned a briefly singing bird in Chats Paddock on the 13th, beating last year's earliest bird by 5 days. By the 22nd up to 4 or maybe 5 males were busily holding territory. This is a particularly good population that drew a few birders from other parts of London to The Scrubs to check them out.
Sedge Warbler
The first record of the year was heard quietly singing within Central Copse on the 4th. This bird represented our earliest record ever and our first April record since 2005!
We had to wait until the 12th to record our next bird heard quietly singing from the depths of the bushes in Chats Paddock followed by another also hidden near Scrubs Lane Wood on the 23rd.
Willow Warbler
After the initial one was seen last month several birds passed through from the 11th. After that date we had passage migrants singing on a near daily basis. Perhaps 4 birds were in song on the 23rd. Meagre numbers when you consider that during last April up to 30 birds were present mid-month.
This endearing warbler does not appear to breed here despite the regular occurrence of a singing male during the summer. They seem to stop for a few days, sing then move on.
Chiffchaff
Rather more 'Chiffy's' were 'chiff-chaffing' this month than April 2006. The month opened with up to 7 birds singing - a total that already had beaten last April's maximum of 5 singers. By the 13th at least 10 birds were at large including a male displaying to a female at the western end of Lester's Embankment.
Goldcrest
Highly unusual was the discovery of a singing male in trees by the cottage along Old Oak Common Lane on the 12th. This tiny bird is historically a very scarce winter visitor to our area.
Pied Flycatcher
For the 2nd year running a stunning black and white male was discovered. This bird was found on the 22nd on the top of the dead tree at the eastern end of Central Copse before disappearing. It was probably a Scandinavian bird. Last year one stayed for a day after being found on the 18th.
Great Tit
At least 10 birds were at large on the 15th.
Blue Tit
A minimum of 20 birds were seen on the 15th, though as usual, nobody really knows how many of these birds hang out at The Scrubs.
Long-tailed Tit
At least 3 nests were located during the month. There are probably several more.
Jay
There may be a couple of pairs breeding in the park - an improvement on recent years. Birds were most commonly noted from Chats Paddock and Martin Bell's Wood where 3 were seen on the 7th. There were no obvious local movement of birds this spring, unlike last year when parties of up to 8 birds were watched variously displaying and chasing each other.
Magpie
At least 15 birds were around, though there were probably double that figure present. Towards the end of the month a bird was watched trying to eek out a Song Thrush nest on the Embankment much to the alarm of the parents.
Jackdaw
Small numbers continued to be seen throughout the period, particularly during the early part of the month.
Rook
Our unprecedented run of spring records continued with 2 more birds seen. The unusual occurrence of so many of these rural crows was echoed at several sites across London, including at our neighbours The Wetland Centre and Regents Park. Our birds included 1 heading south on the 5th and a bird that was present most of the morning on the 15th.
Carrion Crow
The usual marauding flocks existed including a report of a brown crow with a whitish tail. Very possibly the early signs of The Scrubs subspecies evolving!
Starling
At least 50 foraging birds were around The Scrubs searching for food to feed their growing chicks.
House Sparrow
The annual spread away from their ancestral home on Braybrook Street began in earnest this month with birds seen as far away as Central Copse and Scrubs Lane Wood where it meets Chats Paddock.
These were adults foraging for insect food for their growing nestlings. At least 40 birds were involved in this local movement, usually knocking about in pairs and foursomes.
Chaffinch
Our first ever confirmed breeding took place this month. We eagerly await the fledglings.
Bullfinch
After last month's calculation of 3 breeding pairs around the Scrubs we had to revaluate. We now think there is definitely one pair and possibly one other. Uncertainty rules with this species. They are notoriously shy and difficult to track down.
Linnet
Perhaps 6 pairs have settled down along Lester's Embankment with perhaps a couple more pairs elsewhere in The Scrubs. At least 16 birds were counted on the 16th.
Greenfinch
There are at least 2 distinct breeding colonies that combined involved at least 30 birds.
Goldfinch
small number are probably breeding in Scrubs Lane Wood.
2007 Year List - thus far
Cormorant, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Mallard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-back, Great Black-back, Woodpigeon, Stock Dove, Collared Dove, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Stonechat, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Fieldfare, Blackbird, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Jay, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Bullfinch
49 species thus far