Birds in East Dulwich

[Sram1223]

Hello

I am developing an interest in birds, and am enjoying listening to their singing especially in the morning and when I'm out and about. 

I have bought a book about British birds, very detailed with info on each species. 

I have managed to identify a couple of birds I've seen or heard around this area, but my starting knowledge of what birds exist here is very limited. 

Is anyone knowledgeable able to cite some birds that exist around East Dulwich that I may be able to look up in my book and thereafter try to spot / listen out for? 

Thanks! 

[cookie]

I put a couple of feeders in my garden and regularly get sparrows, blue tits, great tits, robins and the odd goldfinch, coal tit and wren. Wood pigeons clean up the mess under the feeders.  We also get noisy magpies and parakeets.

On rare occasions I've had a woodpecker, nuthatch and jay visit.  I also see a sparrowhawk perched in a neighbour's silver birch from time to time.  We used to get blackbirds, but unfortunately I think neighbourhood cats were the death of them 

 

Hope this helps.

[BrandNewGuy]

In spring and early summer, try a walk through Green Dale, and you should be able to see/hear chiffchaffs, whitethroats and green woodpeckers, as well as the more regular garden birds

[first mate]

I know little but just to get the ball rolling:

In the garden - pigeons, crows, magpies, jays, ring necked parakeets, blackbirds, swifts, wrens, robins, starlings, sparrows, great tits, gold finches and the odd bird of prey, never sure which.

On the Rye have heard Song Thrush.

I am sure others will add to this.

[Penguin68]

There are good phone apps (such as Merlin) which will help identify bird song

[Sue]

There used to be a flock of long tailed tits in the area up East Dulwich Grove past the health centre (going from ED) .

No idea if they are still around there.

Herons in Peckham Rye Park near the pond (and various ducks and geese) .

I agree Merlin is a great app, better than other bird identification apps I have tried .

You could join the RSPB? They have a good and informative quarterly magazine. 

If you have a garden or a balcony, deffo put out feeders if you can. Different kinds of  feeders and food suit different birds.

Vine House Farm is a great source of bird food (and feeders),  particularly if you have space to store it (guarded from mice!) in bulk.

Good quality,  and speedy free delivery with no minimum order requirement.

I don't have any connection with them, in case I sound like an ad!

https://www.vinehousefarm.co.uk/

 

Edited yesterday at 14:16 by Sue
Adding info

[Sram1223]

Thank you for the very interesting and useful replies! 

[sjsl]

Agree, the merlin app is really useful, especially if you are bird spotting somewhere like Greendale where it's much easier to hear birds than see them! Once you've learnt a call you can look out for the bird... Sue – I saw a pair of long tailed tits in East Dulwich Grove yesterday : )

[Nigello]

Most of the above but, as mentioned, blackbirds are much rarer. Cats without bells on collars are a scourge and menace, maim and kill so many birds (and mammals, amphibians)…

[Sue]

2 hours ago, sjsl said:

.Sue – I saw a pair of long tailed tits in East Dulwich Grove yesterday : )

❤️❤️❤️

They are my favourite birds!

I had never seen any round here before, then I suddenly spotted some in a tree across the  road when I was walking down East Dulwich Grove.

I got talking to a passer by as I was gawking at them, and she said they were often around  there.

I think she said that a man in a nearby flat fed them, but I may have misremembered that.

2 hours ago, Nigello said:

Most of the above but, as mentioned, blackbirds are much rarer. Cats without bells on collars are a scourge and menace, maim and kill so many birds (and mammals, amphibians)…

A cat with a bell comes and sits very still next to  my bird feeders. Once he is there, you can't hear the bell.

I don't know whether the birds can still sense that he is there, as I chase him away whenever I see him. I get loads of other cats without bells, who also sit very still waiting for birds 😢

I do like cats, but there is definitely an issue with them and birds. But it's nature, I suppose.

The only bird I've definitely seen killed in my garden was a starling, carried off howling piteously  by a bird of prey.

I've never seen a starling in the garden since. I used to get loads, years ago.

Edited 5 hours ago by Sue
Adding info

[malumbu]

It's a bit simplistic blaming cats for the decline in bird populations, it's human activity as a whole in particular land management and farming practices.  Climate change no doubt is beginning to damage numbers, the changes in the season are already creating issues with the food not being around at the right time in the nesting season.  That said our domestic cats are an introduced species, so bird predation on birds is not natural; the number of indigenous wild cats in the days gone past would have been pretty small and tiny now down to a few 100 in Scotland.

Many urban birds are semi domesticated as they rely so much on people to feed them, and some such as goldfinches are doing very well.  And I have never seen an urban cat with a dead bird, mice - yes.

An article from the Natural History Museum on bird decline

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2023/may/britain-has-lost-73-million-birds-over-the-last-50-years.html

 

Edited 3 hours ago by malumbu

[ydrmdy]

Try this, it's free and fun.

https://merlinbirds.org/species/eurmag1?share=botd

[Dulwichway]

4 hours ago, Nigello said:

Most of the above but, as mentioned, blackbirds are much rarer. Cats without bells on collars are a scourge and menace, maim and kill so many birds (and mammals, amphibians)…

[Lamusica]

I get magpies and blackbirds on the roof, I'm pretty sure I saw birds of prey flying over burgess park way. I did an rspb walk in Burgess park and saw a cormorant and if I remember correctly, some Egyptian geese

[Sue]

1 hour ago, Lamusica said:

I get magpies and blackbirds on the roof, I'm pretty sure I saw birds of prey flying over burgess park way. I did an rspb walk in Burgess park and saw a cormorant and if I remember correctly, some Egyptian geese

Crikey! I've occasionally seen cormorants on the Thames, but never in a park.

Lucky you!