2018
| Tue 30th October | Our AGM at the Blue Beetle, Hendon Lane 8-10pm. |
Bird Walk, March 24th 2018 10.00 – 11.45am led by Jeremy Galton
Eight of us met at the Holders Hill Gardens bridge at 10.00am on an overcast morning. We were surrounded by song from a number of Robins and a Great tit. Very slowly walking northwards we came across a Redwing rummaging amongst vegetation and giving some good views of its rufous flanks and the pale stripe over its eye. The Redwings will be leaving for Scandinavia any day now. A Green woodpecker called many times throughout the morning and once gave a brief view as it flew over the Open Space to settle in a large ash. Meanwhile a Great-spotted woodpecker drummed loudly from a resonant dead branch high in a tree near the bridge. The Ring-necked parakeets were exceptionally noisy today and swooped overhead and up into the trees. Perched on bare dead branches of a large tree were a number of Black-headed gulls, some descending to rest on the grassy open space. These will also be leaving us very soon, probably to head for the Baltic States. Also on the grass was a group of feeding Starlings, a magpie and more Redwings
Eventually we reached the more wooded section parallel to Village Road when we stopped to listen to the songs of Great tit, Wren, Song thrush and Chaffinch. A loud high-pitched ascending whistle repeating over and over again alerted us to a nuthatch calling from a group of tall trees, but even with all of us searching we never managed to actually see it. Further on a Coal tit sang loudly from the very top of a conifer allowing us to compare its song with that of the rather similar Great tit. Reaching the end of the path we saw from the bridge the usual pair of Moorhens.
On our way back a Grey heron was now standing beside the ‘scrape’ pool, a jay flew over, and we had good views of a pair of Mistle thrushes close to the Holders Hill bridge. Every year a pair holds a territory here. At 12.00, just after leaving our group, I saw our resident pair of Herring gulls fly to join the Black-headed gulls on the tree with the bare dead branches.
In all we totaled 27 species: Mallard, Grey heron, Moorhen, Black-headed gull, Herring gull, Feral pigeon, Stock dove, Woodpigeon, Ring-necked parakeet, Green woodpecker, Great-spotted woodpecker, Robin, Song thrush, Mistle thrush, Redwing, Blackbird, Wren, Great tit, Blue tit, Coal tit, Nuthatch, Magpie, Jay, Carrion crow, Starling, Chaffinch, Goldfinch.
Bird Walk, April 1st 2017 10.00 – 11.45am led by Jeremy Galton
Five members met at the Holders Hill Gardens bridge just after a heavy rain shower had passed. Here we listened to the rich fluty song of two blackcaps. We heard two or three more later, newly arrived today from their wintering grounds in Spain, north-west Africa or beyond (although I had heard a single bird the day before). The other summer visitor was a chiffchaff in full song opposite the little path to Village Green. After a lot of searching in the bare treetops Kurt eventually spotted it. This individual (or another?) had been present since 18th March. Otherwise the main songs were from wren, robin, great tit, chaffinch and woodpigeon, all typical of mid-morning at this time of year. We listened to the upward-slurring whistle of a nuthatch and just once heard the yaffling call of a green woodpecker. We all had good views of two pairs of long-tailed tits and Ruth and Liz spotted a tiny bird which turned out to be a goldcrest. A pied wagtail strutted about on the far playing field together with two magpies. We turned back at the Dollis Road bridge and retraced our steps in lovely spring sunshine. Altogether we totalled 23 species.
Jeremy Galton
2017
| Sat 1st April | A Bird Walk led by Jeremy Galton. Meet at the Holders Hill Bridge at 10am. |
| Sun 23rd April | Food for Free, Foraging in WOS with Mo Aurora. Meet at the Holders Hill Bridge at 10.45 am. |
| Sat 24th June | Our Mid-Summer Gathering. Meet at 8pm at the bottom of Windsor Road. Donald Lyven will also lead a Bat Walk with his bat detector. |
| Wed 1st November | Our AGM at the Blue Beetle, Hendon Lane 8-10pm. |
Friends of Windsor Open Space 