Urban cities have a lot to offer the bird watcher and London is no exception. It has a number of excellent sites within easy reach of the major South East airports. To see just how productive cities can be vist the urban
birder
If you have only a few hours between flights,
half a day or a full day there is something to interest everyone. We are happy
to arrange an airport pick up and to arrange to return you to the airport
to catch your onward flight. The london list currently stands at 361 species.
These species have all been recorded within a 20 mile circumference of St.
Paul's Cathedral. A full list can be found at london
birding
The London reservoirs are an excellent place to start, as they normally
hold good numbers of Tufted Duck, Shoveler, Teal, Ruddy Duck and Pochard.
Other species regularly seen are Great Crested Grebe, Black-Necked
Grebe and Gadwall. In the winter Smew, Goldeneye and Goosander
can be found. Occasionally some of the rarer grebes and divers can
also be found at some of the larger reservoirs - such as Staines Reservoirs
(15 minutes from Heathrow). The Wildfowl Wetland Trust site at Barnes is proving
to be a wonderful area and although in its infancy, can boast breeding species
such as Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, Lapwing and Great Crested
Grebe. There is also a growing colony of Sand Martins.
Jack Snipe and Spotted Crake can be seen in Winter and Garganey
in late Summer.
London's parks have some excellent birding particularly in the Spring. Two
of the better parks are Richmond Park and Bushy Park. Many species of warblers,
finches and hirundines can be found. These include Chiffchaff, Willow
Warbler, Wood Warbler, Redstart, Swallow, House Martin and Swift
(early Summer). Occasionally, Tawny owl can also be found
roosting in these parks. Richmond Park is also a good site for Tree
Sparrow. This sparrow is becoming increasingly difficult to find.
The new RSPB reserve at Rainham Marshes is an excellent addition to the RSPB portfolio and has produced a number of wonderful birds in the past year. This has included Penduline Tit and Sociable Plover.
South East Bird Tours
