7 March 2009

I had forgotten that there were boat races today on the river, plus the tide had already fairly risen when I got to Hammersmith Bridge, so there were few birds there. In particular, probably my lowest duck count ever with 4 mallards, and even they were right at the Bridge so very close to be outside my patch. There were a few black headed gulls, a good half of them now with black heads, I counted 58 by the bridge and 62 on the pontoon, with a few in between. Gull-wise I also spotted 2 adult lesser black backed on the roof of the Riverside Studio and 3 common gulls on the pontoon. A few cormorants were flying over, probably trying to find quieter waters to fish and one was trying to have a nap near the pontoon until a few black-headed gulls decided that its spot was highly desirable and nagged it until it left. Surprisingly there were 3 coots again, one of them going full speed against the tide, as well as the 2 moorhens, and a great crested grebe which was starting to fish as I left.

On the way there, as I was getting near Frank Banfield Park when I noticed a wren singing on a chimney, quickly being chased away by a pair of blue tits, quickly chased themselves by a starling... A pair of sparrows were exploring a possible new nest at the beginning of the street, a starling also being interested in it. Near the usual nests, a female sparrow was interested in a piece of insulation caught in a tree, and a male was in the wood chip picking up twigs, so nest building was very much under way. I was observing this when suddenly a flock of 12 goldfinches and a few starlings flew off from behind the fence of Hammersmith Embankment building site, but I could not find what had spooked them. A little later, on the other side of the Park, I was trying to see the sparrows I could hear in a hedge, when a great tit above me started alarm calling, It was most insistent, I initially thought there was a cat about but could not see one, and finally I spotted this sparrowhawk on a roof on the other side of the street:. Probably what had spooked the birds earlier.

After a minute or so, it spotted something over the building site and went after it. Yet again, goldfinch and starlings flew off, but I don't think it caught any.

Once the commotion was over and I resumed my walk, I heard a chiffchaff on the building site and saw it briefly as it went on a tree for a few seconds. I wonder if it's the one I'd heard and not managed to see on the other side of the street a few weeks ago.
And to get back to sparrowhawk, I was at home a while later when I saw (another) one circling above Margravine Cemetery.