Battersea Power Station - 100 up!

Hi, I had been wondering which species it would be to reach the magic site list figure, often imagining something fairly rare in London, like an overhead Osprey or Cattle/Great White Egret but I then located it in one of the Gardens!

A site 1st in the shape of a Coal Tit, was located with a Blue/Great Tit flock moving through, I managed a couple of very poor photos but enough to capture and identify it, initially hearing it call.
Possibly a bird from Battersea Park, they breed there, so good to see that the Power Stations ever maturing habitat of Trees and Bushes, is attracting different species.

Along with this, not 1 but 3 Common Sandpipers made an unscheduled stop over at the Power Station, after flying low upriver, I spotted them from Switch House East Gardens but unfortunately for them, the male peregrine, ringed ABB also spotted them.
He dived on them and then a 2 minute chase over the Thames then ensued as the male repeatedly tried to grab one, the little Sandpipers, at times ditching into the river to evade him, in the end all 3 flew towards the sanctuary of the Coaling Jetty.

I immediately went down to the Northern Park and found all 3 sitting adjacent to the Jetty on a concrete beam, ABB had alighted back on the Power Station, I could see then that he was watching them intently, no doubt waiting for them to fly again.

Eventually after 75 minutes ABB gave up and flew off south, shortly after this the 3 amigos flew again and resumed their journey upriver!

Despite their name, they are not common in Central London, not even annual, this marks the highest count I have had at the Power Station.



Also very pleased to say that I connected with not 1, but 3 Grey Wagtails, if you recall these have been amiss on the previous visits.
They fed on the tideline and also on the now exposed grass, although patchy, still a food source. We now need to get them back breeding again, I have a few ideas.

A single fleeting view was of a Black Redstart, a female/juvenile type, it was a quick view and unusually the first time I have connected with one in the west side gardens.

Our female Peregrine is still going strong, she does seem to sleep a bit, she laid down after feeding on the Thames Water Tower, before then returning, straight into the nest box no doubt for another kip! She has earned it since arriving many years ago.
At her age, if she makes 2027, she will be around 16-17, she arrived in adult plumage in 2011 so it's entirely possible that she could even be older.

If I am ever able to read her metal BTO leg ring numbers, I would know her exact age and where she was ringed and came from.

Good to see also, a Common Darter Dragonfly, quite a rarity on the Estate.

27 species recorded on the day, slightly down, I usually aim for 30 on every monthly visit, however I made it to 100 species, 26 years in the making!

                                                                 Common Darter

                                                                Common Sandpiper

                                                 Heading up river before being intercepted

                                                            Male chasing Sandpipers

                                                        Coal Tit in there somewhere

 

Spain - Day 2

Wednesday - September 16th

Punta y Observatorio de Calaburras - Sea Watch 7.50 - 11.15a.m


Lots of sunshine from the off with a very light westerly wind, unfortunately the shelter was closed as they are installing a new boardwalk/platform.
From dawn good numbers of Cory's Shearwaters were moving through with lesser numbers of Balearics ,only a single Gannet was seen the whole morning.

I ended up with 269 Cory’s and 19 Balearics, 3 Audouins and 2 Med Gulls + 1 Common and 9 Sandwich Tern.

Waders amounted to a single Whimbrel, 9 Turnstone, 2 Ringed Plover and 5 Sanderling.
2's and 3's of Grey Heron moved steadily west, the group of 3 we're way out. I would presume they were heading for Gibraltar and the narrower crossing but who knows, they were so far out they could have been going straight to Africa.

Rancho Miraflores - Sis and Dave's

3.45 - 7.00pm


Birding and chilling out really doesn’t get any easier, one of my favourite places in the world, incredible views, a massive sky, the Med, beer, cheese and olives, you couldn’t ask for anymore.

A really good afternoon sitting on the balcony, a fairly strong easterly produced multiple Bee Eater flocks heading west to Gibraltar, totalling 186 birds made up of around 5 flocks.

A Marsh Harrier also came through, a male relatively low over the complex. Other Raptors included Sparrowhawk and 2 Kestrels
Also good numbers of Barn Swallows, around 80 in several flocks with a couple of Red Rumps mixed in, also a few House Martins and Common Swifts with a few Pallid’s amongst these also.

Spain - Day 1

Tuesday - September 15th

Parque Fluvial 7.30a.m - 9.30a.m – Fuengirola



The legs these days are a shadow of what they once were as I fast approach 70, so I had decided previously to work local sites from dawn, before then visiting the local mountain raptor watchpoint Mirador de las Aguilas. The idea being more time spent birding and less driving.

In regard to the watchpoint, I have to say a big thanks to Paco - Francisco Rios Bosquet, along with Blaz, they man the watchpoint, Paco got me on and identified a good few distant Raptors.


Not surprisingly, having arrived late Monday night to Spain, Parque Fluvial was my first port of call come Tuesday morning, I have been lucky enough to have seen some good birds here in the past like Squacco, Night and Purple Heron.

The usual dawn arrival produced a Night Heron flying around in low light, before heading off up towards the trees where I have seen them before.
I was then treated to at least 70 Yellow Wagtails leaving an overnight reedbed roost, searching the big pool failed to produce any more of the rarer Herons.

I gradually worked my way up the river, heading towards the Sea, 2 Kingfishers were the highlights before arriving at the Med.
A 20 minute sea watch produced 16 Cory's and 2 Balearic Shearwaters, the beach itself held a Little Egret and 2 Mediterranean Gulls.

As I retraced my steps, bird of the morning flew over in the shape of a Hoopoe, a Spain speciality but gone before I could nail it with the camera.

I was keeping an eye out for Waxbill and Penduline Tit, both had come up on previous E Bird reports.

Iberian Chiffchaff was also added on the walk back but nothing to add regarding more specialities – 31 species observed.

Tuesday - September 15th

Mirador de Las Aguilas 10.00a.m - 2.00pm

A good visit to my favourite Raptor Watchpoint, no less than 30 minutes from La Cala, Raptors can be a bit distant but better than a 75 minute drive to the Tarifa Watchpoints.

Although a good number of Raptors passed through, the undoubted highlight was witnessing a pair of Bonelli's Eagles target and chase, and then catch a Honey Buzzard. I saw this at the same time last year, very likely the same resident pair, chase and try and take a Booted Eagle which they failed on.

Nature in the raw and obviously very unfortunate for the Honey Buzzard, time and time again it evaded them, one high one low, before it was eventually snatched at low level.

From what I understand, it is common knowledge here, that resident pairs of Bonelli's Eagles, take advantage of the Autumn Raptor migration heading for Tarifa, by regularly targeting Honey Buzzard, Black Kite and Booted Eagle.
These are going through in numbers, but just as likely to be other Raptors of a similar size like Marsh Harrier, though these I suspect would be a harder catch being more agile.
Before the Honey Buzzard was taken, we had seen the pair previously diving on another Raptor just behind a hill, the outcome on this was unknown, presumably failing as an hour later they targeted the Honey Buzzard.

In regard to what else was seen, nothing really close but several flocks of Honey Buzzards totalling 111 birds, 4 Short Toed Eagles, 19 Booted Eagles, 5 Sparrowhawks, Marsh Harrier and 30 Bee Eaters.

                                                                     Short Toed Eagle

                                                             Honey Buzzards etc way up

                                                                     Booted Eagles

Battersea August 2026

At last some easier cooler weather greeted me on Sunday morning August 23rd, great weather from the off as I headed immediately to the Coaling Jetty on a low but rising tide.

Virtually the first bird seen, other than the ever present Gulls, was a Common Sandpiper calling and heading down river. A bit of a rarity in Central London, I am lucky if I see one over the year at all.
Add to this shortly after, a Little Egret flying up river, before then undertaking a u turn and going back down river, this was the best of the species.

Moving on from the Jetty, I searched the Northern Park and other than the usual Blue/ Great Tits there was little bird activity. Obviously with the recent heat, birds have been struggling quite a bit.

Only 2 Pied Wagtails were seen and I again failed to see Grey Wagtail, usually nailed on, hopefully they will return in the Autumn. With no insects in the now brown dusty grass, the same everywhere, ground foraging is not providing a food source with insects.

Watching from Switch House East gardens, also provided little bird activity with no sign of any Black Redstarts, it's possible that these may also have moved on to a better food source.

The Peregrines were active, especially the male from Parliament, colour ringed ABB, who was hunting basically since dawn, no successful hunts but a couple of near misses including a Feral Pigeon losing much of its tail.
It took me a good while to find the ringed female, yes she is still with us and with 2027 fast approaching, she is heading for her 17th year at the Power Station!

I eventually located her on a very distant Crane towards Vauxhall, she actually spent a good few hours in the same position, no doubt keeping an eye on the male hunting from the chimneys.

Just a pity that they cannot breed now paired, he is a young male 2 years old, so 14 years between them, I seem to say this every year, it will change with a new female but so far she continues to prove me wrong.
On other peregrine nest sites, older females are often ousted/replaced over the course of a few days, for her to stay this long is quite a feat so hats off to her.
Her last successful breeding was 2021, since then no laying, as befitting her age, she spends a lot of time in the nest box sleeping.


E Bird list below, 25 species recorded.


https://ebird.org/checklist/S386015456

                                                                         Male - ABB

                                                                           Female

                                                                        Little Egret

                                                              Female on distant Crane