Trip reports

Bushy Park

Sunday, 4 January 2009

Our Bushy Park expedition is always a welcome start to the New Year's bird watching. This year we were treated to sub zero temperatures with -5.5oc showing on the car display as we left Epsom. The ornamental lakes were frozen solid with the birds slipping and sliding while they attempt to keep upright. Careful examination of the black headed gull flock here picked out a couple of common gulls. We headed towards the ornamental gardens and woods where we spent most of the morning. On the way there were a pair of mistle thrushes and we saw several ring-necked parakeets and jackdaws were on the ground drinking from the edge of the water were a small area remained unfrozen. A large flock of approx 20 goldfinches provided a splash of colour at the entrance gate. Inside a confiding song thrush provided a good photo opportunity and a goldcrest was located in the trees. There were a few ducks present in the gardens, mallards, tufted and maderins. In addition there were moorhen, egyptian geese and mute swans. As we made progress deeper into the woods we noticed green and great spotted woodpecker and a nuthatch showed briefly in the canopy. It was not until we reached the second gardens that the birds became more interesting. A party of 5 siskins was located in an alder tree. At the avenue we stopped to view a smartly plumaged redwing feeding in the leaf litter. Before we could move on several other birds were spotted. At first there was a long-tailed tit flock. This was followed by a treecreeper and the final call was a brief sighting of a lesser spotted woodpecker that was seen by a lucky few in the party before it departed from view. There were other common species around. We saw great and blue tits, magpie, dunnock , carrion crow, blackbirds, woodpigeons and wrens. On the return journey to the car park the party stopped to admire an ice formation that had formed where the splashes from the outflow from a pond had built up ice on an overhanging branch to create a spectacular icicle formation. Back at the frozen lake by the car park the canada geese were standing on the ice with a solitary greylag goose. There was a cormorant using the fountain statue as a perch and a grey heron was noted flying over.