SS15 wildlife watching: Visit to Gloucester Park

Tuesday, 21 April 2020

Visit to Gloucester Park – 21st April 2020

Date: 21st April 2020

Time: from 6:45 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, moderate wind, 9°C to 12°C

My visit early this morning was prompted by the post yesterday by Jane Hale on the Facebook group for Friends of Gloucester Park. Jane had seen Common Terns, a Kingfisher and a Grey Heron on her evening walk.

Unfortunately, I did not see any of these birds so they all remain absent from my site list and Kingfisher and Common Tern also remain absent from my UK 2020 list.

What do they say about wildlife watching? …. right time, right place and heaps of luck!

However, I did see a Grey Wagtail again, this time foraging on the opposite side of the lake to where I saw it on my previous visit.

In addition, I also added a singing Song Thrush to my site list.

With regard to other birds, I saw a singing male Blackcap and heard but did not see 2 others. I also saw both a Green Woodpecker and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

There was a single Cormorant today, initially fishing in the lake but later perched up in the trees on the island, and a pair of Greylag Geese now have 7 goslings.

I additionally saw 2 Grey Squirrels.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Blackcap
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Wren
Dunnock
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Goldfinch
Grey Wagtail
Pied Wagtail
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Carrion Crow
Magpie
Canada Goose
Greylag Goose
Mallard
Coot
Moorhen
Cormorant
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull

Grey Squirrel

Here are some photos from my visit: