Monthly ornithological summary for: March 2008

three Woodcock sightings from Abney Park Cemetery (18th, 20th & 25th)

Red Kite over Abney, 30th

Bramblings at several sites throughout the month

Tawny Owls found breeding in Abney

Sand Martins return on earliest date ever

Most of March was dominated by stormy conditions and blustery winds, often with a wintry feel on account of a prevailing north / north-westerly airflow. However, signs of migration and movements still managed to enliven the early spring, with several locally scarce species standing out.

Bramblings were especially noticeable in the borough, with regular records from several sites, including Clissold Park, Abney Park Cemetery and Stoke Newington Reservoirs during the month. Although regular in small numbers as a passage migrant in early spring and late autumn, birds very rarely remain in the area, and this month has seen easily both the highest counts and most instances of site-faithful individuals for any month in recent times.

Two species of warbler, characteristic of the early spring, were regularly recorded in small numbers. Chiffchaffs - a rare but regular wintering presence in Hackney - became more numerous by the middle of the month as migrants returned, with up to three birds at favoured sites on several occasions; Stoke Newington Reservoirs, traditionally attractive for this species, held peaks of at least five on the 17th and seven on the 19th.

Blackcaps were first noted singing in Abney Park Cemetery on the 11th, with one to two birds present there on most visits (and three on the 27th), and occasional singles were recorded at Stoke Newington Reservoirs.

The first trans-Saharan migrants just scraped into the first half of March, with the welcome return of two Sand Martins at Stoke Newington Reservoirs on the 14th. Thereafter, single figures were recorded on several visits to the same site until the month's end. Traditionally a very difficult species to find in Hackney (and indeed anywhere away from breeding areas), no less than three records of Woodcock came from Abney Park Cemetery, on the 18th, 20th & 25th. Such an unprecedented run of sightings perhaps constituted the ornithological highlight of the month, as this elusive species returns north for the summer.

After adults had been seen and heard with increasing frequency in Abney Park Cemetery in recent weeks, Tawny Owls - strongly suspected of breeding in recent years (as well as historically) - were happily proved to have successfully fledged at least two young this year, found with a parent in close attendance on the 30th. While watching the owl family, another contender for bird of the month serendipitously glided over the cemetery - a Red Kite, the first large raptor flyover this year, the first of its kind since April last year, and still very much a rare bird in the Borough.

Other records included the (somewhat predictable) presence of single Green Sandpipers on and off throughout the month at the West Reservoir, fairly regular sightings of single Kingfishers along the New River, displaying Kestrels and Sparrowhawks at traditional breeding sites, odd Meadow Pipits and Jackdaws overhead, and healthy numbers of Redwings (especially in Abney, where the species was omnipresent, and up to 35 were recorded).

Despite the presence of Shovelers (up to 12 in Clissold Park until late in the month, when five remained), Gadwall (up to 25 at Stoke Newington Reservoirs), and Common Pochard (at both sites), notable wildfowl records were few and far between, with the exception of three Teal on the East Reservoir on the 19th.

Check back for archived summaries of recent months and years, appearing soon on these pages.

Mark Pearson