July peak count of Common Sandpipers

A lengthy visit today on a rising tide in sometimes appalling weather produced a peak July count of five Common Sandpipers, all along the western shore of the Pura Foods peninsula along with three Little Ringed Plovers and two Oystercatchers, the latter very unusual on the creek with most records coming from the Thames. Mallards have had a very good breeding season and I counted 168 throughout the site, a record Lower Lea count of this often under-recorded species; a single female Common Teal was on the basin along with the escaped male Chestnut Teal; this gaudy Australasian anas looking somewhat incongruous in the salubrious surroundings of industrial east London; the only other wildfowl were three Mute Swans on Bow Creek and nine Tufted Duck on the basin. Cormorants were very much in evidence this morning with over 60 counted throughout the site including exactly 50 together on the Millennium Dome flats; the only raptor of the day was also across the Thames, an adult Peregrine on the Millennium Dome. Around 450 Black-headed Gulls were roosting on the Pura Foods peninsula, a good July count but I could only find three juveniles amongst them; Common Tern numbers are very low for the time of year with just two on the basin and three flying strongly west along the Thames the only ones I could find. Two Sand Martins were still flying around the basin, but no longer visiting the nest hole, I expect them to be gone by next weekend. Warbler numbers are also down with just three Reed Warblers, two Blackcaps and a skulking Common Whitethroat still hanging on. The only other passerine of note was a singing Song Thrush in the ecology park.

Autumn passage begins

I made two visits to the patch this weekend, the first since June 19th, late summer can have a feeling of anticlimax about it but always with the knowledge that the first migrants of the autumn are not too far away. On the basin the female Pintail has returned along with an eclipse drake Teal on Saturday and a pair on Sunday. A herd of five adult Mute Swans were on Bow Creek on Saturday at least two new broods of Mallard were evident; Tufted Duck appears not to have bred this year but I made a high July count of 21 on the basin on Sunday. An adult Little Ringed Plover was at the basin and a juvenile was feeding at Bow Creek on Saturday, hard to say if it was locally bred or a migrant, and on Sunday a pair were display flighting over the Pura Foods peninsula. On Sunday I found the first proper migrant of the autumn, a Common Sandpiper in the high tide roost at Bow Creek, the only other wader species was an Oystercatcher, heard only, moving down the Thames on Sunday. Both pairs of Common Terns seem to have aborted their breeding attempts at the basin, I had one bird on Saturday and Sunday but no sign of any juveniles which should have been very evident by now. A pair of Sand Martins were still feeding young at the original nest site in the dock wall and four species of warbler were still singing; Reed Warbler, at least four throughout the site with several juveniles giving their harsh Jay-like begging calls as they crashed through the reedbeds, making an awful lot of racket for such a small bird; Blackcap, at least two, one each at the basin and Ecology Park; Lesser Whitethroat, one still singing from the last meander of Bow Creek; Common Whitethroat, one singing in the Ecology Park and a separate family party there containing at least two juveniles, lots of scolding from their irate parents. In the ecology park the embankments either side of the Docklands Light Railway are awash with seeding flowers and weeds, at least two family parties of Goldfinches and three Linnets were taking advantage of this abundance and if Lea Valley Regional Park don't employ their usual tactic of blanket mowing everything in sight it looks good for an August Whinchat.