Birding England, July 2006
Not Just for the Birds
My wife Joann and I didn't travel to England to go birdwatching. Rather, we planned to see
the sights in London and to take advantage of our BritRail passes to see some of the country
outside of London. Shakespeare is always on our agenda, and the only two things that we knew
for sure that we would do was to see Coriolanus at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, and
to visit the bardolatry center of the universe at Statford-upon-Avon. I was determined to make
a visit to Westminster Abbey, and Joann was very keen to see Bath. Beyond that, we had lots of
ideas but too little time -- eight days -- to fit them all in. We did bring two pairs of
binoculars and a 16-page map-sized foldout copy of "The Birds of Great Britain." We figured
that we would be visiting parks and rivers, and that since just about every bird we saw would
be new to us, we'd want to keep our eyes open.
In London we saw Coriolanus at "Shakespeare's Globe Theatre" in Bankside and loved it. We
toured the awe-inspiring Westminister Abbey, and visited the Tower of London. We visited the
drought-dry Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park (just yards from our hotel), popped up out of the
underground to stomp around Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, Baker Street, Regent's Park,
and we crossed the Thames on foot on four different bridges. We enjoyed the lively community
of Bayswater around our hotel and we ate and shopped close to our "home base" there.
We took four day trips out of London. Against the odds, we managed to snag last-minute
tickets to see Antony and Cleopatra in Stratford. We visited the poet's grave in Trinity
Church and posed for a photograph in front of his birth home on Henley Street. As Shakespeare
must have done so many times, we walked along the famous River Avon and crossed it on Clopton's
Bridge. In the company of many Londoners on holiday, we laid on a pebbly English Channel beach
in Brighton to take some sun. On Monday in Bath, we toured the famous nearly 2000-year-old
Roman spa, took a guided walking tour of the town, and a boat ride on another River Avon. We
visited the beautiful university town of Cambridge, walked through the St. John's College
grounds and over the River Cam on the Bridge of Sighs. We walked along the river and viewed
the spectacular wooded gardens behind the colleges known as "The Backs."
We had our binoculars with us on a least a few of these occasions. The hour-and-a-half
walk we took on Thursday morning in the vicinity of The Long Water in Hyde Park really was a
bird walk, where we set out deliberately to see birds. Our time in Regent's Park wasn't
a birding expedition, but we saw a dizzying array of waterfowl (most of which turned out
to be non-native species that don't count as "sightings" but were interesting in any case). The
other bird sightings that we made were incidental to whatever we were doing at the time. The
Peregrine Falcons that we saw on the boat ride in Bath were a lucky bonus. The walk along the
college backs in Cambridge was another time when we couldn't help but see some birds,
though we didn't set out to do so. We saw a Great Cormorant sunning itself on the river Thames
as we walked across the Millennium Bridge in London.
Other than the hour-and-a-half at Hyde Park, the only time we set out to "go birding" was
when we joined members of the Marylebone Birdwatching Society (MBS) for their regular Tuesday
morning walk on Hampstead Heath. This turned out to be a wonderful experience, and definitely
the highlight of our birdwatching activities in England.
Birding Hampstead Heath with the Marylebone Bidwatching Society
About a week before we flew to London, while searching online for checklists of birds that we
might expect to see during our stay, I came across a link to the MBS's website. On it I read
that the public was invited to join them for their weekly walks. So I sent an email and asked
if it would be OK for couple of novice birders from America to "tag along" with them. Within
two hours I received an enthusiastic reply from Marion Hill. She not only assured us that we
would be welcomed, but sent us helpful directions for taking the tube and buses from central
London to Hampstead Heath, and she even included a map. With this encouragement, we made plans
to be there.
So on Tuesday morning, July 25 (my birthday), we took the tube from the Queensway station in
Bayswater to the Kentish Town station and caught the number 214 bus north from there to the
Parliament Hill entrance to Hampstead Heath. But we missed our stop. So we got off at the
next one and walked the quarter of mile or so back to the cafe that we found next to the
entrance to the Heath. Unfortunately, we didn't read the map carefully, and while this was a
cafe, it was not the Parliament Hill Cafe where the group was set to meet. So we were unaware
that the group was gathering in another location as we waited for them. Just when it appeared
that no one would show, we saw a single lady wearing binoculars enter at the gate. We asked
her if she was with the MBS and to our relief she answered "yes." We introduced ourselves, and
she told us that her name was Beryl and that because of an earlier appointment, she was unable
to meet the group as she usually did at the Parliament Hill Cafe. She planned to wait on a
bench just inside the gate where we were standing and join the party as it passed the spot. She
expected them to arrive at any moment. We felt so very fortunate to have met up with her.
If she hadn't entered where and when she did, we may have missed the group entirely.
We had a short and very pleasant conversation with Beryl while we waited for the group. She
seemed pleased to meet us and we were thrilled to meet her. We learned that she had been
walking on Hampstead Heath with the MBS for 30 or 40 years! She asked where in the states we
lived and when we told her Minnesota, she seemed to be only vaguely familar with the name.
Soon, just as Beryl expected, the rest of the group could be seen walking up the path towards
where we sat.
Seven or eight birders arrived. Among them were Alix, Barbara, Charles, Nicole, Teresa, and
Sheila. (I'm afraid I didn't write down everyone's name and have missed some. I apologize
to anyone I've left out.) Philip joined the group at almost the same time we did. He had
walked in from another direction and reported to us that he'd seen a Kingfisher with a fish
in its mouth. Soon Sylvia joined the group, and later Valerie rode in on a bicycle.
For the next two-and-a-half hours we walked through the Heath. Right away we saw lots of
Carrion Crows, a few Eurasian Magpies and, of course, some Rock Pigeons. One of the first new
birds was saw was a Kestrel. And not just one Kestrel, but we saw several early in our walk,
perched high in trees and soaring over our heads. We saw a Rose-ringed Parakeet early.
Meanwhile, we were enjoying the company of our hosts. Like Beryl, most of the members knew
very little about Minnesota. One person asked, "Wasn't it the home of Motor City?" I told him
that he was thinking of Michigan, which is close to the same part of the country. Sheila knew
that Bob Dylan and the Coen brothers were from Minnesota. Another lady told us of her son who
lives in Seattle where he designs and cultivates "English Gardens."
Philip showed us a newspaper clipping about an American Robin that was spotted recently in
Britain. The article told of "twitchers" (a derisive English term for birdwatchers) who
traveled from all around the country to catch a glimpse of this trans-Atlantic visitor.
While the birdwatchers looked on, a Sparrowhawk (a large raptor similar to our Cooper's Hawk)
swooped down and killed the wayward bird.
All this time, Teresa was walking ahead of or away from the group and seeing small birds.
Charles would follow when she homed in on one, and soon Joann and I learned to do the same.
Often Teresa would be the first to spot a bird, and Charles would identify it. She found
several small birds in a large tree, and we were all able to see Blue Tits and Long-tailed Tits
in it. Teresa was the first to spot a Eurasian Jay, and we were able to get a pretty good
look at the underside of it. It's a shame we didn't get a better look at the bird's head and
back.
We soon arrived at the pond where Philip has seen the Kingfisher earlier. Unfortunately, we
did not see it. We did see some ducks on this pond, including several Tufted Ducks and their
young. Philip and Charles brought our attention to the singing of a Reed Warbler near this pond.
After leaving the pond we walked through a densely-wooded area where we were lucky to get a good
look at a Eurasian Robin. Nicole remarked that the American Robin and birds in other parts of
the world were named after it because of their orange breasts and not because of any close
relationship to it. It's true that, other than the breast, the Eurasian Robin looks nothing
like the American Robin that is so familiar to us. While in these woods we heard a Hobby.
Everyone in the group was very excited and very hopeful of getting a look at it. It flew over
us, and several members of the party saw its shadow. I believe that Alix caught a glimpse of
the bird, and she remarked that this bird has been teasing her for quite awhile now, and that
she is determined to see it.
One of the last birds we saw before we left the wooded area was a Blackcap. Joann and I had
a very good look at one of these in Hyde Park on the previous Thursday. It's a bird that
reminded us a lot of an American bird, the Gray Catbird. The bird we saw in Hyde Park sang
almost continuously for us for about five minutes, but this one in Hampstead Health only
chipped.
Other birds that we saw during our time on the Heath that I haven't mentioned were Great
crested Grebes, a Great Cormorant, a Mute Swan, Canada Geese, Mallards, a Wood Pigeon,
Swifts, a singing Winter Wren, Common Blackbirds, and Great Tits. We heard a Green Woodpecker
(it was identified by others, of course) and some members of the party saw a Great Spotted
Woodpecker, but Joann and I did not.
At length we passed through the woods and onto a field that opened up to a spectacular view of
Kenwood House atop a hill. This stately home that dates from the 1600s is now a museum, and
includes a couple of cafes with nice outdoor seating. Members of our party told us that they
frequently see celebrities taking tea here, and they mentioned the actress Emma Thompson among
others. Most of the group left before we reached the house to walk home or to nearby bus
stations. We said our goodbyes to them. Alix, Philip, Nicole, and Teresa took us to one of
the cafes. I had a Young's Bitter Ale (in a bottle) and Joann had a Diet Coke. I don't think
anyone had tea.
We said more goodbyes at the cafe, and then walked with Nicole to a nearby bus stop. She
took a northbound bus on one side of the road, and we took a southbound bus on the other. It
was a great experience for us, and we are very grateful to all of the members of the
Marylebone Birdwatching Society who were so kind to us. If we ever are in London again (and
we hope to be!), we will make sure that we show up at the Parliament Hill Cafe at 10:00 on a
Tuesday morning. We'd love to do it again.
Steve Bachman and Joann Pfeiffer
Our List of Bird Sightings, Near Misses, and Etcetera
List location codes:
ba = Bath (River Avon) : 7/24/2006
br = Brighton (English Channel) : 7/21/2006
c = Cambridge ("The Backs" along the River Cam) : 7/23/2006
h = Hyde Park / Kensington Gardens : 7/19/2006 and 7/20/2006
hh = Hampstead Heath : 7/25/2006
r = Regent's Park : 7/25/2006
s = Stratford-upon-Avon (River Avon) : 7/22/2006
th = Thames River in London : 7/25/2006
to = Tower of London : 7/26/2006
1. Sightings, 36 species (* = life bird, 30 species)
Common Name (AOU Name) Scientific Name Where
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus h,hh
* Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo h,ba,hh,th
* Grey Heron Ardea cinerea h,r
* Mute Swan Cygnus olor ba,hh,s
* Greylag Goose Anser anser h,r
Canada Goose Branta canadensis h,s,hh,r
* Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna r
* Eurasian Teal (Green-winged teal) Anas crecca r
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos h,hh,r
* Common Pochard Aythya ferina h,r
* Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula h,hh,r
* Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis r
* Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus hh
* Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus ba
* Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus h,c,hh,r
* Common Coot (Eurasian Coot) Fulica atra h,c,hh,r
* Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus h,hh
* Herring Gull Larus argentatus br,ba
Rock Pigeon Columba livia everywhere
* Common Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus c,hh,to
* Eurasion Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto c
* Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri hh
* Swift (Common Swift) Apus apus hh
* Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes h
* European Robin Erithacus rubecula h,hh
* Common Blackbird (Eurasian Blackbird) Turdus merula h,hh
* Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla h,hh
* Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus hh
* Blue Tit Parus caeruleus hh
* Great Tit Parus major h,hh
* Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius hh
* Black-billed Magpie (Eurasian Magpie) Pica pica h,c,hh
* Carrion Crow Corvus corone h,hh
Common Starling (European Starling) Sturnus vulgaris h
House Sparrow Passer domesticus s,to
2. Birds heard but not seen
Common Name (AOU Name) Scientific Name Where
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo hh
Green Woodpecker Picus viridis hh
Eurasian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus hh
3. Near misses
Common Name (AOU Name) Scientific Name Where
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis hh (Philip saw it)
Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major hh (Others saw it)
Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus hh (Charles saw it)
4. Uncountable, out-of-area/out-of-season birds (captives, espcapees)
Common Name (AOU Name) Scientific Name Where
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina r
Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris r
Wood Duck Aix sponsa r
Goosander (Common Merganser) Mergus merganser r
Black Swan Cygnus atratus r
Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus r
Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus r
Common Raven Corvus corax to
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