Business as usual

It's not been a classic January, too warm for that, but hopefully the forecast of cold weather for the next week or so will still be able to redeem this dreary winter. High tide today was just after 5 pm, which made for an atmospheric last hour of daylight as wildfowl pushed off the mud by the rising water flighted into the basin at dusk to roost. Today's totals included 14 each of Canada Goose and Shelduck, the wintering female Pintail, 215 Common Teal and 34 Tufted Duck. Back on Bow Creek 18 Redshank and three Common Sandpiper were in the roost with the only passerine of note was a singing Song Thrush in the Ecology Park.

A brief high tide visit

High tide at Bow Creek today was just before noon, at 6.5 metres it was just about high enough to put some much needed water into the basin; most of the tides for the remainder of the month are above this so the basin should hold onto some water but the first week of February should see the basin completely drained until the tides pick up during the second week of the month. Tufted Duck numbers have dropped off with just 27 on the basin this morning and one at Bow Creek; Shelduck numbers are also down with eight on the basin and none elsewhere, Common Teal were well scattered with 234 counted throughout  the site but there was no sign of the female Pintail. The high tide roost held 16 Redshank and a single Common Sandpiper with two others roosting at two other sites further downstream. It was very quiet on the passerine front but a singing Grey Wagtail was of note and a pair of Linnets were in the ecology park. 

A trip downriver

Apart from a Great Spotted Woodpecker seen by Gary, today was pretty much a rerun of yesterday, when I arrived Gary had just finished a 90 minute vigil watching the Thames for six Brent Geese seen flying downstream at Battersea power station by Dave Morrison, they didn't pass the basin and as not much else was happening we decided to head downriver to Gallions Reach. Compared to what we usually get at the basin it was a bit of a waderfest; a single Curlew and at least 35 Black-tailed Godwits were the highlights, the latter feeding close in affording us excellent views of a species that has yet to make it onto the lower Lea list; around 120 Lapwings were loafing on the foreshore just upstream of the Albert Basin and 45 Redshank were also present. Shelduck and Common Teal were both present in good numbers but no counts were made; a Sparrowhawk and a pair of Kestrels were also noted along with a nice flock of about 20 Stock Doves. Apart from the obvious attraction of the river there is plenty of good and varied habitat here and on quiet days at the basin I can foresee many more defections downriver to this underwatched locale that has the potential to deliver something really special.      

Cold at last

The mild weather has meant that the yearlist is building slowly, the only addition this weekend was a flyover Meadow Pipit that was heard only, The good news is that it was very cold this morning, the patch carpeted with frost that promised much but delivered little. On the basin a flock of 11 Canada Geese was the largest gathering for a very long time, they were accompanied by four Greylags, the first multiple count of the year, the whole lot departed east in one flock mid morning, Mute Swans were also on the move, two separate flocks of three moved downriver early on. Shelduck numbers have dropped slightly, 18 were on the basin and two were at Bow Creek, Tufted Duck numbers continue to increase with 44 present today and Common Teal numbers were well up with circa 340 present at high tide, the majority on the basin while the female Pintail continues to add variety at Bow Creek. High tide was at dusk this evening and I just managed to count 18 Redshank and three Common Sandpipers before the light went. Apart from the aforementioned Meadow Pipit passerines were thin on the groung, a Song Thrush was singing in the ecology park at dusk and at least four Reed Buntings were feedibg in the pylon reedbed late morning.  

Site record Linnet count

My personal best count of circa 40 Linnets mentioned in a previous post has grown to double that number and now constitutes a new site record for the lower Lea, 80 Linnets in flight is a wonderful sight and would be a good count anywhere in London. The only addition to the yearlist was Canada Goose, a pair flew in to the basin around mid morning but did not hang around too long, Mute Swans, which tolerate Greylag Geese, do not like these American interlopers.Shelduck numbers continue to rise, 23 were present on the basin this morning but unlike yesterday they remained in situ until dusk, Tufted Duck numbers were up to 22, the Greylag Goose (which stayed at the basin until just after 08:30 before departing west) flew in to roost late afternoon and the female Pintail was still at Bow Creek. A call from John Archer informing us that a few Kittiwakes were heading up the Thames had us watching the river for around 90 minutes, no Kittiwakes appeared but we did have a 3rd-winter Yellow-legged Gull drifting upstream and a good count of 65 Comnmon Gulls heading in the same direction. The wader roost held 16 Redshank and two Common Sandpipers but with Kittiwakes still on our minds Gary and I took the DLR to Gallions Reach, a few miles downstream, and, importantly beyond the Thames Barrier, which as well as stopping London from flooding also seems to prevent any seabirds moving further upstream, our tactics were spot on, within ten minutes Gary picked up a tight flock of four adult Kittiwakes moving west, a London tick for me which puts me on 269. We also had 180 Redshank moving downstream towards Crossness, 60 Lapwing roosting on jetties on the Kent shore, a Common Sandpiper, around 80 Common Teal and a Green Woodpecker calling from riverside scrub.  

A pair of Kestrels

Cormorant at East India Dock Basin, 7/1/2012

No Kestrels were recorded at the lower Lea during the last quarter of 2011, in fact there were only four records of five birds for the entire year, the last being two on September 18th, so when Gary picked up a male moving east over Orchard Wharf being mobbed by two Carrion Crows it was added to the year list with some relief, then almost immediately I found a female hunting over the ecology park, we'll probably have to wait until the autumn for the next sighting. Other additions to the year list today were Mute Swan, a pair on the basin and Greylag Goose, one flew in to roost late afternoon. Shelduck numbers are well up with 14 on the basin, two at Bow Creek and three flying south; Common Teal numbers have also risen with 217 recorded throughout the site, the female Pintail continues to grace Bow Creek and 19 Tufted Duck were on the basin with a single male on the creek. High tide was just after midday and the roost contained 15 Redshank and three Common Sandpiper with a fourth just upstream roosting on a bankside ladder. Passerines included a Grey Wagtail, a singing Song Thrush in the ecology park and a Reed Bunting at the basin.  

Personal best Linnet count

Orchard Wharf, a disused gravel processing works lies immediately east of the basin; it was decommissioned in late 1997 and the following spring a pair of Little Ringed Plovers took up territory on a small patch of gravel and made three breeding attempts, all of which failed; the site continued to hold at least one pair for the next five years until weed growth made the habitat unsuitable. Black Redstarts also found this place to their liking and a pair are suspected of breeding most years although 2011 is the worst year I can remember for this species at the lower Lea. As it stands at the moment, partially overgrown with seeding weeds, it has become attractive to a roving Linnet flock numbering some 40 individuals, easily my best count here. These seemingly eco unfriendly pockets of habitat add variety to the mosaic of the patch and can produce some of the best birds to be found here and are not to be ignored. Six more species were added to the fledgling yearlist today: a Kingfisher at the basin, and what was almost certainly a different bird at Bow Creek, heralding an encouraging return to form for a species that was unaccountably AWOL for most of last year; a few Goldfinches in with the aforementioned Linnet flock; two Shelduck at Bow Creek and a third on the basin; a singing Song Thrush in the ecology park; three Reed Buntings feeding on phragmites at the basin and the female Pintail dabbling with Common Teal and Mallard at Bow Creek, the latter requiring a second visit late in the day after refusing to play ball early on. Common Sandpipers continue a strong winter presence, four were counted today, an excellent showing for January, at least 11 Redshank were also counted, all the waders were feeding on an ebbing tide at Bow Creek. There was a small movement of Woodpigeon mid morning, a flock of 29 moving high north-west; the Tufted Duck flock flock was up to 15 birds but it looks like both of December's Little Grebes have cleared out, this could be a tricky one to pull back unless something is done about the silt in the basin and that seems unlikely in the present economic climate. 

New Years Day

The unseasonably mild weather has continued into the new year making for a fairly uneventful visit to the lower Lea. The most obvious species affected by the balmy conditions was Common Teal, usually at this time numbers regularly exceed 300. today I counted just 132 throughout the site. Tufted Duck numbers have also fallen off slightly with 11 present at the basin this morning. The high tides for the next week or so are going to be during the hours of darkness so getting an accurate count of waders is not possible, I had three Redshank and a Common Sandpiper but it's hard to know what the real numbers are due to the mild weather. An adult Yellow-legged Gull was on the Millennium Dome flats with several Great Black-backed Gulls also there and a Herring Gull of the race argentatus was at Bow Creek along with around 160 Black-headed Gulls. A pair of Linnets in the ecology park was the pick of the passerines with just singles of Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail and Jay the only others of note. All told I recorded 34 species today, one less than last new years day.