Monthly ornithological summary for: March 2009

MERLIN - Abney Park Cemetery, 2nd;

Mealy (Common) Redpoll - at least one, Abney Park Cemetery, 2nd;

Redshank - Stoke Newington Reservoirs, 31st;

Firecrests - Abney; Middlesex Filter Beds, one on 2nd;

Goshawk - escaped male at Stoke Newington Reservoirs, 9th;

Woodcocks - New River east, 11th; Abney, 13th;

Common Buzzards - Clissold Park, 20th; Kingsland Road, 21st; two, Stamford Hill, 29th;

Swallow - first returning bird at SNR, 23rd;

Weather-wise, it was a typical March in many respects, with periods of calm high pressure promising much, punctuated by cold, windy low pressures quickly dispelling excessive hopes. However, once again, the new month paid out handsomely for local watchers, with two more top-ranking scarcities, a handful of early long-distance migrant species, and several other early spring highlights.

The month began in fine style with a sunny, cool red-letter day in Abney Park Cemetery on the 2nd. A flock of (mostly) Lesser Redpolls, present in alders and birches near the Watts memorial on the 1st, contained at least one Mealy-type bird, but views were initially too brief to confirm this potential first for the area.

However, the flock returned, and behaved superbly the following day, allowing at least one, clear-cut individual to be assigned to this recently split species. Now known as Common Redpoll (but being far from it locally), another two birds exhibited characterisitcs of this species, but (as yet) couldn't be fully confirmed.

While watching and photographing the flock, a couple of crows began making a tell-tale harrying call above us, and looking up (expecting to see a local Sparrowhawk or Kestrel), a Merlin circled several times before being driven north - a five-star record for the borough.

Waders were comparatively well-represented, with three species recorded (none of which, oddly, were sandpipers). Two Woodcocks were seredipitously flushed, one from the New River path on the 11th, and one from Abney on the 13th. At the East Reservoir, occasional, random (and welcome) drops in the water levels resulted in exposed mud, which attracted two Common Snipe on the 22nd and 23rd, and a locally very rare species on the 31st - a Redshank, the first for several years.

Wildfowl numbers at the reservoirs (and in Clissold) ebbed predictably during the month, with less common species represented by a pair of Teal on the 22nd and Shelducks on the 13th (two) and 25th (three).

Abney's Firecrests, having provided so much pleasure to many observers over the late autumn, winter and early spring, finally departed after a briefly promising flurry of singing and displaying early in the month. They were last seen on the 8th - exactly five months to the day since their arrival last October. A further bird was seen at Middlesex Filter Beds on the 2nd, very likely the same which has been recorded in the area on several occasions over the winter.

After adults had been observed at traditional roost sites for several weeks, Abney's Tawny Owls took star billing from the 4th onwards, when, as hoped, three young were fresh out of the nest hole and highly entertaining (see Owl Diary); the whole family were often viewable throughout the month.

Despite more sky-watching effort than ever (especially at the reservoirs and Clissold Park), large raptors were relatively hard to come by until a small flurry of Common Buzzards late in the month, with one over Clissold Park on the 20th, one over Dalston on the 21st, and two together over Stamford Hill on the 23rd. In contrast, it was hard to avoid Peregrines, with birds recorded on multiple occasions especially in the north-west of the borough.

Two of our three hirundine species returned from Africa in March, both on their earliest dates ever. The first Sand Martins, usually the first trans-Saharan migrants to usher in the spring, arrived back at the reservoirs on exactly the same date as 2008 (14th) with at least six battling against the cold, blustery north-westerly - but not before a single bird was seen over Regent's Canal on the extremely early date of the 11th.

A single on the 20th and four on the 22nd were followed by double figure counts at the reservoirs for the remainder of the month. The first Swallow of the year was a brief but very welcome visitor to the East Reservoir on the 23rd.

Redwings were recorded on most days, in good numbers, with peaks of 98 on 13th (75 in Clissold Park, 18 at the reservoirs) and 24 (Clissold) on the 12th. An adult Mediterranean Gull was reported from Hackney Marshes on the 16th - possibly the same bird which wintered in the Clapton Common/ Walthamstow Reservoirs area.

An adult male Goshawk was watched hunting over the West Reservoir for some time on the 9th -a dramatic sight tempered only by the observer's attention to detail in detecting very small, barely visible jesses. The same location also hosted a Black Swan - the first for several years of this feral species - on the 18th.

Visible migration was practically non-existent, with occasional Jackdaws, Linnets, Siskins, Lesser Redpolls and Meadow Pipits passing over in very small numbers.

Other more expected species included up to two regular Kingfishers along the New River (and occasionally Clissold), Water Rails at the East Reservoir (with three on the 13th), and omnipresent Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps. The latter two species were recorded quite regularly from several sites (including private gardens) throughout, but migration kicked in mid-month, with a steady trickle of birds through favoured sites.

Mark Pearson