Things are warming up

Black-headed Gull (David Fettes)

It was a seemingly grim and foreboding morning that greeted us last Friday when we climbed through the narrow manhole to gain access to the T42 roof. But there was a feeling in the air. We knew that there was the possibility of good movement. We were not disappointed.

24 Sept 2010

low overcast, temp 55, wind NW

Herring Gull 2 6:55

Wood Pigeon 2 6:57

Meadow Pipit 1 7:03 heading south

Black-headed Gull c20 7:18 (Thames)

Mallard 1 7:18 (Thames)

Misc Gull sp. 16 7:30 Black Friars

Carrion Crow 1 7:30

Meadow Pipit 5 7:31 heading south

Meadow Pipit 2 7:35 heading south

Lesser Black-back 3 7:35

Peregrine 1 7:40 (Tate)

LB-bG juv 1 7:43

Meadow Pipit 5 7:45 heading south

Meadow Pipit c10 7:55 heading south

Black-headed Gull c40

Herring Gull 3

Lesser Black-back 1

Cormorant 5

Great Black-back 2 8:00

Great Black-back 1 8:07

Meadow Pipit 6 8:11 heading south

Meadow Pipit 3 8:20 heading south

Meadow Pipit 4 8:25 heading south

Meadow Pipit 2 8:28 heading south

Sparrowhawk 1 8:31 over Barbican

Common Swift 1 8:49 over PO Tower

Peregrine 2 8:52 Tate

Coot 1 9:00 Thames

Swallow 4 9:00 past Canary Wharf

Meadow Pipit 3 9:27 heading south

Carrion Crow 8 9:33 around helipad

Meadow Pipit 4 9:40 heading south

Meadow Pipit 3 9:44 heading south

Common Tern c15 9:58 together heading up river

Kestrel 1 10:06 right over T42, then down to south

Common Tern 3 10:08 heading up river

Common Tern 2 10:20 up and down south of London Bridge

Species Totals

5 Cormorant

1 Mallard

1 Sparrowhawk

1 Kestrel (possibly 2)

2 Peregrine (possibly 3)

c60 Black-headed Gull

4 Lesser Black-back

5 Herring Gull

3 Great Black-Back

c20 Common Tern

2 Woodpigeon

1 Swift

4 Swallow

c48 Meadow Pipit

9 Carrion Crow

Thames Count

8 Cormorants

370 Black-headed Gulls

7 Lesser Black-backs

12 Herring Gulls

5 Great Black-backs

Cold, bright and a distant Red Kite

This morning's rooftop vigil dawned clear and chilly for the five assembled watchers.

It was clear from the get-go that Meadow Pipits were on the move, literally from dawn, however the winds were less than conducive coming, as they were, from the west / north-west, something that seemed to have supressed any real movement of hirundines. A Peregrine Falcon was found perched on the Tate Modern and the usual liberal scattering of larids moved up and down the Thames, including Great Black-backed Gull.

Cormorant, Woodpigeon and three distant Grey Heron went south and although eyes were peeled for anything resembling Glossy Ibis (19 of which were seen over the Catford area of south-east London yesterday) that wasn't to be and the morning's undoubted highlight was a Red Kite seen way off to the north-west at 08:55.

By the end of the session some 50 Meadow Pipit were counted, many of which were moving below the level of the horizon, goodbyes were said and thoughts turned to the next rooftop watch - and what avian highlights that would bring.

A poor show

Great Black-back (Russell F Spencer)

It is such a hit and miss affair standing on top of a tower once a week for a few hours at a time. You never know what to expect and even when conditions are supposedly good.

Last Friday was murder. 6am on the Tower was grim with a southwesterly and absolutely no birds. In the 2 hours that we spent scanning the skies and cityscape resulted in 2 Peregrines sitting on the Tate Modern, a handful of Black-headed Gulls, a sprinkling of Lesser Black-backs and Herring Gulls, some Feral Pigeons and a Wood Pigeon. The most exciting bird was a Great Black-back.

We shall keep going. Autumn is young. The birds are coming......

The Urban Birder

BBC London website

Check out the BBC London website for a summary of Spring at Tower 42.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8897000/8897172.stm

How to get involved

Our next migration watch session will be this Friday 10th September.

The autumn target species will be any passerines, hirundines, waders, gulls, terns (along the Thames) and of course raptors - although we may be up on the roof too early in the day to get any significant numbers though. During mid-October until early November we will also be collating the numbers of passage winter thrushes and Wood Pigeons using London's airspace.

If you wish to be involved then please email me. There is a limited number of people allowed onto the roof (for security, health and safety purposes) therefore the first people to get back to me before noon on Thursday will be invited to meet outside the Tower 42 building at 25 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1HQ (nearest tube Liverpool Street - Bank is not too far away) at 6am sharp so that we can be escorted up by security en masse. There will be a secondary meeting time of 7am for those having transport issues. Please stipulate which meeting time you would like to make. If you are significantly late you may not be granted access. Please also let me know if you have to leave early to get to work so that a mutually agreed time can be set to suit the group and the Tower 42 security.

Here are a few helpful tips for high-rise birding:

The final ascent to the roof involves climbing two sets of steep ladders and hauling yourself onto the roof. Please take this into consideration.

All participants must arrive outside the Tower 42 at 6am or 7am on time.

You may find that a telescope will be useful for scanning the horizon.

Bring a flask of tea and some food.

Dress warmly as it can get a bit nippy or wet.

Be prepared for long periods of inactivity but keep your eyes peeled.

Wear dark glasses in order to cut the glare from the sky and to pick out birds more easily.

Try to bring a whistle to help alert other observers of distant birds over the din of the extractor fans that are on almost constantly.

Here's to an amazing autumn studying the migrants flying over our heads in London.

Tower 42 Bird Study Group

Keeping our eyes to the skies

Cumulus nimbus floats by

Looking east through the lens of a mobile phone (David Lindo)

We've been having some amazing weather very recently in London and the southeast with the winds swinging around to northeasterly/easterly. Perfect where it not for the fact that many migrants just whisked straight over all of our heads rendering them invisible to our eyes.

Over the past few days a number of raptors have been reported over the capital including several Common Buzzards, a couple of Ospreys, a Marsh Harrier or two and claims of Honey Buzzard and a Black Kite. Our morning yesterday was fairly raptor-less aside from up to 5 local peregrines. Some of us did get a tantalizing glimpse of a low flying broadwinged BOP being heavily pursued by crows as it sailed behind the Gherkin never to appear again.

Also seen were c50 Swallow, a House Martin, c2 Swift and a Great Black-back.

Next week's another week!