12th March, 6:23pm - Day four of the sponsored birdwatch

Day four of the sponsored birdwatchI began the final day of the sponsored birdwatch by following two tip-offs. One was that Black redstarts can often be seen at East India Docks. Sure enough, one showed up - perching on a patch of waste ground nearby. The second tip-off was that Yellow wagtails frequent Three Mills Island. These turned out to be Grey wagtails, but another addition to the total all the same. I spotted another Sand Martin, which had possibly just emerged from a hole in the river bank. A short walk up Bow Creek revealed a flock of Linnets. Further up the Lee Valley, a Chiffchaff was singing in Middlesex Filter Beds.

An unknown warbler was singing from the reed tops in Walthamstow Marsh. Unfortunately I'm hopeless with warblers. Also, it seems that Reed or Sedge warblers shouldn't be back in the UK yet anyway. So this one remains a mystery!

I've had a great few days. I've seen a lot of the birds I expected to find - and more. Then there are some I thought I'd see - such as Song thrushes - which didn't turn up at all.

I know that there are plenty more out there. We have Water rails at the Wetland Centre, and I know that Tawny owls nest in Kensington Gardens and Peregrine falcons in central London. We're very lucky to have this diversity of birds in London. If you know where to look, the city can provide many happy hours of watching birds and other wildlife.

This brings our bird total to 61 and the total raised to £1152. I'd like to thank everyone who sponsored me. I'd also like to thank Paul, who created this website and accompanied me on many of the long walks!

It's not too late to add a donation: if you'd like to help please visit the donations page.

A final round of pictures below...

Dunnock at East India Docks	East India Docks	Grey squirrel	Linnet at Bow Creek	Starlings at Walthamstow Marsh	Mistle thrush at South Tottenham

11th March, 6:14pm - Day three of the sponsored birdwatch

A 7.30am start in Kensington Gardens paid off with good views of Jays. Also, after following the "drumming" noise to its source I found a Great spotted woodpecker. There were plenty of other birds to see at that time too, including a Coal tit and another Redwing. I walked through to Hyde Park, where numerous Blue, Great and Long tailed tits were feeding in the trees.

In Regent's Park, Magpies were engaged in some vicious fighting, and Carrion crows were gathering nesting material. Two more Great spotted woodpeckers, and further Jays! From there I continued via Primrose Hill to Hampstead Heath, which by this time was getting busy. I found some quiet spots and saw both Green and Great spotted woodpeckers, and watched a pair of Nuthatches.

Today's pictures below...

Tufted duck in Hyde Park	Mute swans in Hyde Park	Chaffinch in Regent's Park	Jay at Primrose Hill	Red admiral at Hampstead Heath	Great tit at Hampstead Heath

10th March, 6:13pm - Day two of the sponsored birdwatch

Another day of great weather! The new RSPB reserve at Rainham Marshes had a few surprises in store, including Redwing, Little Egret, and Rock Pipit. A few Skylarks were singing: it took a while to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. Two excited Weasels were darting around in the grass, oblivious to the Kestrel hungrily eyeing them from above.

A hunt for Jays and Woodpeckers in Holland Park was less successful. This was possibly due to the number of people out enjoying the sunshine. However there were plenty of the less shy Woodpigeons, Robins and Grey Squirrels around. The total of birds spotted is now 53. I'm going to aim for 60. Any suggestions on where I can find those next seven species will be gratefully received!

You can see some images from today's adventures below...

Collared dove at Purfleet station	RSPB Rainham Marshes visitor centre	RSPB Rainham Marshes	Little egret at RSPB Rainham Marshes	Robin in Holland Park	Grey heron in Holland Park

9th March, 9:49pm - Day one of the sponsored birdwatch

The first day of the birdwatch is over and I am at home resting my feet! I've been lucky with the weather today - sunny and almost warm. The WWT London Wetland Centre wardens very kindly allowed me onto the reserve early this morning, so I was first into the hides. The light was perfect and I was able to see 46 species - including the first Sand Martin I've seen this year.

I managed to get pictures of some of the birds too (see below - click to enlarge).

Later, I walked along the Thames to the Leg of Mutton Nature Reserve, which looked great but did not yield any additional species. In the afternoon I visited Wormwood Scrubs Park. Again, great potential for bird spotting, but sadly no extra species for my list today. I'll definitely go back sometime though.

Long tailed tit at WWT London Wetland Centre	Geese and Cormorants at WWT London Wetland Centre	Wigeon and Teal at WWT London Wetland Centre	Reed bunting at WWT London Wetland Centre	Leg of Mutton Nature Reserve	Parakeets at Wormwood Scrubs

5th March, 7:07pm - Sponsored Birdwatch in the press

Jamie 2007

Jamie 1988

Both the Richmond and Twickenham Times (left) and Richmond Informer have featured stories on the sponsored birdwatch. I found a similar local newspaper article photo (right) of me taken 19 years ago: also with binoculars!

During a practice session around the Wetland Centre last week, I managed to see 33 species in 45 minutes. Just to confirm... I'm not going to count any captive / tame birds in my total. So the pelicans in St James's Park will be off limits!

I am delighted to have reached £700. There's still time for you to help: visit the donations page.

Now you can play "consequences" online! Please visit another website created by the SponsoredBirdwatch team: www.Blogsequences.co.uk.

26th February, 7:21pm - A little flavour of the WWT London Wetland Centre

With less than two weeks left until my birdwatching extravaganza I decided to record a video blog. Hopefully this will give those of you who haven't visited a little flavour of the WWT London Wetland Centre - and some of the birds that live there. The support I have had from everyone so far has been brilliant - please keep those pledges coming.

19th February, 8:28pm - Meet Sid the bat

Sid the bat - courtesy of the Bat Conservation Trust

This is Sid the Serotine bat. Sid is here because the London Wetland Centre isn't just about birds. In fact, during summer, large numbers of bats swoop around the reserve hunting insects. Nine species feed over the centre, including Common Pipistrelle, Noctule, Daubenton's and Serotine like Sid. Between May and September visitors can join an evening "bat walk" and try to spot some of them. With the aid of bat detector you can learn to tell the different species apart.

The centre is also home to many other creatures. Frogs, toads, newts, fish, water voles and dragonflies are some of the animals you might see when you visit. So, my sponsored birdwatch won't just be helping birds. By sponsoring me you'll be donating to a very important wildlife site for London.

Thanks again to everyone who has pledged so far. And thanks also to those of you who have suggested good locations for London birding. Please keep them coming - and we'll add them to the map.

21st January, 5:48pm - Amazing first week for sponsored birdwatch

Thank you to everyone who has pledged to support the birdwatch. We have had a great response so far! Thanks also to David "the urban birder" for his advice on where to watch birds in London. Where are the best birding spots in central London? If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

We are in for a cold snap in the UK this week. If you have a garden please remember the birds and help them out with some food and water. Fatty and high protein food such as peanuts will really help garden birds get through the winter.
 

13th January, 1:54pm - Sponsored birdwatch launched!

Welcome to my blog. On this part of the site I'll be keeping you up to date with my progress. If you'd like to sponsor me but are wondering how much to pledge per species, it might help to know that I'm hoping to see 40 to 60 different types of wild bird.

On the Birds page I've listed every species which can be seen in the United Kingdom. Many are unlikely to turn up in central London in March, but who knows - maybe some freak weather could result in ptarmigan in Hyde Park or a puffin on Nelson's Column. Or perhaps some surprises will turn up at the WWT London Wetland Centre (right), the nature reserve I'm supporting through my sponsored birdwatch.