August already and to hammer home the point of time flying, the swifts that have been screaming, ducking and diving over my home... have gone. Hopefully they'll be back from their African wintering grounds next year.
I've cleaned out the swift box I had fixed to my wall. It was used by a family of tits, who left behind a soft mossy mass with a base of twigs and plenty of animal hair. There was one un-hatched egg left in the bottom of the nest box and the remains of a dead chick. Despite this apparent loss, they successfully raised at least three chicks. Having cleaned the box, I'll try to move it higher up the wall, to make it more attractive to next year's returning swifts.
The adult category winner of our Mind the Bird photo competition was Russell Spencer. His image of a green woodpecker was one of my personal favourites. I saw one close-up in Camden's Waterlow Park the other day. It was having a whale of a time chomping on ants on the grassy hill. These birds are doing well in London. Russell's was spotted and photographed on Hampstead Heath.
There's a great opportunity over the next three weeks to see kingfisher's. A pair with a rocky relationship has finally got round to hatching some eggs in a man-made bank at our Rye Meads nature reserve in the Lee Valley. They're clearly visible and will remain so while they're feeding their young. The adults paired up at the beginning of the year but separated, leaving reserve staff feeling a little sad. But, they've paired up again and the result is an unknown number of chicks. This late brood is a bit unusual but great timing for family visits over the school holidays. Who can resist a quick visit to see such a beautiful bird?
I had a close encounter with a more common but equally striking bird the other day. I was pimping our garden when a mistle thrush came to say hello. It seemed quite tame and didn't dash off when I, my partner and one of my daughters came close. We could almost touch it. With its straw coloured chest and striking lines of chestnut spots it was lovely to see. It appeared to be sneezing and completely ignored the piles of freshly uncovered snails we'd exposed whilst weeding. I guess it was after a more fruity, berry-based meal because it soon flew-off.
We launched our new House Sparrow Date with Nature event at the Tower of London on Friday. As if to emphasise our point that these once common birds are now scarce, none of the sparrows that live there put in an appearance. We'll try to entice them out of the bushes when we return this coming Friday. We were treated to some fantastic glimpses of a small colony of starlings that live there. You often see them swirling around the south tower of Tower Bridge but they were having great fun around the tables of the coffee stall near the Tower of London entrance. It's a great place for people-watching and for soaking-up old and new London's culture with a city skyline to be proud of. Maybe you'll get lucky and see a sparrow too?