Spring '22: Whimbrel, Turtle Dove, and a Merlin too

Introduction

Spring 2022 (for the purpose of this summary, March, April, and May) saw 109 bird species recorded locally with March (77), April (a month record of 95), and May (88).

Highlights

One of the best birds of the Spring was only seen by a single lucky birder, Tim Harris: our third Turtle Dove in 12 years perched briefly near Alex before disappearing south on 1 May. Tim was also alerted by a call while inspecting his moth trap in his garden and watched a Whimbrel (our sixth sighting) fly over on 5 May.

A slightly wider audience were enthralled by a Merlin (our fifth record) on 23 April which flew low up over the Brooms, around Long Wood and then picked up pace and took out a small passerine over Centre Copse. A few more saw it again the following day.

Some other notable records:

• Jono found a Pheasant on 2 April; a long staying bird in the Brooms, last reported on on 26 April (only seventh on record).
  
• Nick had a Goosander west over Long Wood on 9 April.
  
• We got our hopes up when a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker appeared at a location which will remain undisclosed on 13 April and stayed for several days.
  
• Jono found a singing Nightingale in Long Wood on 15 April.
  
• A poor start of the year for gulls meant that our first Caspian Gull for the year was seen on 7 May and our first Caspian Gull on 31 May; both second calendar year birds and both found by Tony B.
  
• Bob’s NocMig recording device picked up Oystercatcher (15 April) and then Dunlin and Little Ringed Plover (both on 1 May).

Spring passage migrants

The Spring migrant passage was kicked off, as it is so often, by the arrival of the first Wheatear; this year on 13 March. This was our second earliest on record (after 2017; 11 March) and six days earlier than our mean average first arrival. It was also the second Wheatear of the year for the London recording area. Richard found the male in the Brooms and Louis & Gosia won this year’s prestigious Wheatear sweepstake trophy; with Louis wearing black tie to collect the trophy a few days later.

The table on passage migrants should hopefully speak for itself and with a comparison in grey of spring last year to give some context. In terms of calendar days when a species is recorded, the most notable call-outs are: Sand Martin (down six); Yellow Wagtail and Willow Warbler (up four); and Wheatear (down four).

A single record of Tree Pipit this Spring was a notable improvement on the blank last year, but this year we got through Spring without a single record of Common Redstart (compared with four last year). 

Breeding birds: some selected comments

This was the second year we had the benefit of the Skylark fencing. An organised Skylark count in March revealed 11 birds on Wanstead Flats with 4-5 males regularly singing. There was evidence of successful breeding with at least one pair feeding young, although there was also sadly evidence of possible predation of one nest.

Meadow Pipit was last recorded on 29 April and whilst we still have healthy numbers through the winter, this is the second year in a row that this species has not stayed around to breed locally - I didn’t hear a single Meadow Pipit song this Spring.

Reed Warbler have popped up all over the place during the Spring, but the most reliable singing territory has been by Shoulder of Mutton pond again - although only one male this year. There have also been at least one regular singing Cetti’s Warbler on the Roding in the Old Sewage Works.

We had one or two wintering Chiffchaff but then numbers started to increase from around 9 March up to a peak count of 22 singing males in mid April. This followed a very similar pattern to the previous year. A similar story can be told about Blackcap - with one or two being reported in gardens through the winter and then numbers starting to build in March up to a peak count of 27 singing males on 14 April.

Our first Common Whitethroat arrived on 12 April this year (last year 14 April). I am not sure we have conducted a thorough survey of singing males this year but it will be at least approaching 20 territories. The first Lesser Whitethroat arrived on 15 April (26 April in 2021) this year and we had a peak count of 6 singing males with closer to 2-3 holding territory across the Spring.

Our Spring high count for Song Thrush was 17 birds across the Patch but this may have been swelled by local or wider movement and the number of regular birds holding territory is closer to half that number.

October 2020 - a review through eBird

In October 2020 we started keeping a group eBird account. We focus in on the unusual (in terms of the species, the high counts, and the late and early dates), but also try and keep a brief account of all the bird species we have recorded on the Patch. 

One of the benefits of eBird is the ease with which data can be pulled. I have no intention of doing something like this monthly, but have quickly created a few charts and stats from the data we have collected in this first month just to show what can be done, and, more importantly, what could be done with more relative comparison. The data would be much more interesting if compared on an annual basis, but this feels like the beginning of a journey. 

We recorded 95 species in October and two of those were solely through nocturnal recordings (Golden Plover and Tawny Owl).

The best birds of the month included the ‘Eastern’ (presumed blythi) Lesser Whitethroat which has been the subject of its own post on the 25 October; a briefly seen and photographed Corn Bunting on 24 October; Yellowhammer on 7 October; flyover Great White Egrets on 12th (a pair) and 27 October; a couple of flyover Crossbill (on 18 and 24 October); Lapwing on 14 October; Bullfinch on 8 October; a late Common Redstart on 7 October; Rook on 3 October; and Short-eared Owl on 5th and 14 October. Here are some stats and charts on some of our October migrants: 

Skylark 

As resident breeders (albeit now in very low numbers), it should be no surprise that Skylark were recorded on all but one day of the month. What is slightly more interesting from a migratory/phenological perspective is that 75% of the bird records for this species passed through between 12-18 October. In the chart below, I have removed all days where we recorded fewer than 5 Skylark to try and emphasise the passage period. We had a high of 56 birds on the 14th. 

House Martin 

Following the departure of our small local breeding colony, the beginning of the month saw some peak numbers for the year as passage birds moved through. Some 90% of all October sightings fell between 1-5 October with a peak day of 68 on 2 Oct and the last record on 10 October. 

Swallow 

Swallows were recorded on 17 days through the month with our last record for the year (assuming we don’t get a freak November sighting) on 25 October. As the chart shows, 75% of all the sightings were in the first eight days of the month and a high count of just 30 birds on 5 October. 

Chiffchaff 

As you might expect there has been a gradual decline in Chiffchaff sightings over the month with some noticeable spikes in numbers likely to correspond to passage birds. An average of over five birds seen per day. We normally have one or two birds which will over-winter. 

Redwing 

A smattering seen throughout the month, but the vast majority (over 90%) seen between 11-16 October. 

Fieldfare 

A very similar picture to Redwing. Fieldfare appeared on 11 October with a bang. Almost 80% of the 565 birds seen in the month were flyovers between 11-16 October. 

Whinchat 

We had three bird days through to 7 October. 

Stonechat 

It’s been a fantastic Autumn for Stonechat, we have had good numbers present on a daily basis (an average of six seen per day) and an incredible day record of 16 on 7 October which smashed our previous patch record. 

Wheatear 

We had a few Wheatear at the beginning of the month (on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 9th) but then got a surprise record with our latest ever, despite being decidedly non-Greenland-like, on 24th. 

Chaffinch 

Seen throughout much of the month, but with very big spikes of flyovers and 90% of all birds counted between 9-18 October (the highest of which saw over a 1000 birds fly west on 13 October). 

Brambling 

Nine bird days for this species in October from 9-24 October with a high count of 5 and a few sightings of perching birds. 

Lesser Redpoll 

A good Autumn for this species on the Patch with records on 27 out of the 31 days and an average of 10 birds seen per day with a peak of 62 on 17 October. Beyond that, not many patterns as there has been a steady flow throughout the month and it may be skewed by a regular flock frequenting the birches locally. 

Siskin 

278 birds counted over 24 bird days with a few spikes located mainly between 11-16 October. 

Conclusion: 12-14 October is ‘peak bird’ 

For Skylark, Redwing, Fieldfare, and Chaffinch, between 75-90% of all the counts fell between 9-18 October, and all of them had peak counts on either 12th, 13th, or 14 October, highlighting that the conditions and timing beautifully aligned at the middle of one of our best months.

A big baffling brute

A couple of weeks ago, I made a quick trip to Alexandra Lake (Wanstead Flats) to try and see a frequently reported 3rd calendar year (2nd winter) Caspian Gull. I failed.

I did get an adult Great Black-backed Gull that flew almost as soon as I saw it. I also saw a classic 2cy Yellow-legged Gull. It was big, with a thick bill, pronounced gonys angle, nice pale head and dark eye mask, nice full brown tertials, and advanced scapular moult. It also flew whilst I was watching it and revealed a nice pale rump which contrasted with a thick, dark tail band. It really did have everything you would want to see - a textbook bird. 

So that was two patch year ticks in amongst a huge number of Commons, Black-heads, Herring, and Lesser blacks (in that declining order of number). 

Then I saw a gull which baffled me. My first thought was that it was another 2cy Yellow-legged Gull (just shows how sometimes you should trust your instincts) as it looked bulky and pale headed. But I slowly began to discount my instincts. It wasn’t just bulky, it was huge! It had a strange pale bill, the head was a bit streakier than you would like to see. It bobbed about on the water and floated right up past a 2cy Herring Gull. It was significantly bigger. I felt the size differential meant it was clearly a 2cy GBBG, took a record shot and left.

Here is that record shot:

The brute behind a 2cy Herring Gull

A week later and I returned to Alex and saw this big 2cy bird again. Something wasn’t quite right. It was very big, but it wasn’t quite as big as you would want for GBBG. There was a smudge where I would have preferred a mask for Yellow-legged Gull, but I couldn’t quite reconcile my thoughts between GBBG or YLG. That was until the bird flew. It revealed a nice white rump and a thick, distinct, dark tail band. I really believe this bird must be at the very upper size limit for the L. michahellis species.

Note eye smudge and that big pale bill, but also the moult of a YLG

Just look at this thick tail band

No, really, have a look

Summer bird report: a summary and some stats

Hello! Hello! Is this thing on?... The following is an update of key birds and stats from June-end-of-August on the patch (a very similar update to below also appears in the Wren Wildlife and Conservation Group newsletter) 

Early summer and breeding bird update

A summer bird report would be very lean indeed if it was not for the fact that the traditional ‘summer’ month of August happens to coincide with the beginning of Autumn migration for birds.

So this is really a report in two halves and we will start with the true summer months of June and July before we get into the early stages of Autumn migration.

It has been a mixed year for our breeding birds. We know that Lesser Whitethroat bred around Long Wood, but think we only had three territories due, most likely, to loss of habitat. There were a few concentrated areas of the patch where there seemed to be a lot of young Common Whitethroat with our first newly fledged birds on 5 June. Chiffchaff territories appear to be down on normal and Willow Warbler almost certainly didn’t breed locally this year.

Reed Warbler showings were strong with a pair on the Roding (5 June) and two singing birds on the Shoulder of Mutton.

Our Meadow Pipits were seen carrying food on 9 June in Brooms, but this species still seems to be hanging on by a thread as a breeding species; we had four territories earlier in the year. Similarly, our iconic Skylark - although still singing - did not display any evidence of having bred successfully this year.

Little Owls have been seen on numerous occasions, although we are not sure whether they have bred successfully this year and we sadly also found a predated corpse. Our small colony of House Martin were seen over their usual colony on Aldersbrook Estate and up to 33 birds were seen by the end of the breeding season with around 12 birds staying on into September after the main departure. 

Little Owl - N Croft

Great Crested Grebe bred on Perch Pond but sadly we don’t believe any of the chicks made it to fledging. 

House Sparrows seem to be doing very well in the small number of colonies in the area with over 100 birds seen around Jubilee. Goldfinch and Greenfinch numbers both broke records this year; interestingly, they may actually be beneficiaries of the new growth in the fire-damaged parts of the Flats. But Reed Bunting, like Willow Warbler, sadly seem to have been lost as a breeding species (whether permanently or temporarily, only time will tell).

A Common Tern was seen on 8 June (400 metres East of Wanstead Park). But first on Patch (taking it strictly by the birders’ definition) was a month later with a very obliging bird that perched up for Nick C on Shoulder of Mutton on 8 July and probably the same bird seen fishing on the Basin the following day. Nick also saw a young bird later in August. Several of us have missed C Tern for the year.

Common Tern - N Croft

We had at least two different Yellow-legged Gulls at slightly different stages of maturity and present on numerous days, normally to be found loafing with the other large gulls on the pitches. The first one to appear was on 8 July.

Yellow-legged Gull - T Brown

The first returning Black-headed Gull, and indeed first juvenile gull of the season, was seen on 1 July. For those impressed by juvenile gull plumages, we think Black-headed Gull youngsters are among the most pleasing to the eye. My second favourite juvenile gull is the Lesser Black-backed Gull and we got some of these lovely dark chocolate birds back on 19 July. 

Juv Black-headed Gull - J Heal

The first returning Common Gulls always arrive later than the Black-headed Gulls, and we got the first ones back on 15 July, with numbers only really picking up later in the autumn. Later in the season Nick also picked up a lovely juvenile Mediterranean Gull on Heronry that almost caused a twitch before it flew off (first for the year) on 30 August.

Hobby seemed to have a successful year on the Patch and we believe that two birds fledged successful from the breeding pair that were seen frequently through the summer (one of which I was thrilled to add to my garden list in Leytonstone).

Bullfinch have been seen on several occasions around the Old Sewage Works with four birds seen on 11 June, although they were very difficult to pin down and I seem to be going through a second year in a row without seeing or hearing any.

Our first Common Sandpiper for the year appeared on Alex on 27 July - found by Tony B with  a Green Sandpiper found by Rob S on Heronry on the 14th August. 

August and Autumn Migration

August happened with a bang. Most (but not all) of the birders stopped taking pictures of invertebrates and raised their eyes to tree tops and skies again as migration began. In fact, this year autumn migration seemed to take off properly on 11 August. Chart 1 shows some of our core passage migratory bird sightings stacked up across August reaching a zenith on 29 August when we had 12 Wheatear, seven Common Redstart, and six Whinchat amongst other things.

Chart 1: Total sightings

The Spring had been dreadful for Willow Warbler and we did not seem to have any sticking around as regular singers (as already mentioned), but the passage migrating birds started to appear from the first day of August. In fact, Willow Warbler were seen on 21 of the days in August with individual bird high counts of seven on four separate days.

The 1 August also produced our first Garden Warbler since 25 June (a pretty narrow gap between ‘end of Spring’ and ‘beginning of August’, I am sure you will note, and one which most likely reflects outlier birds).

And if Swallows make a summer, then surely their departure marks the end of summer? If so, we started seeing southward-bound birds on the move from 2 August (although the major flow may well not have started yet). We don’t have breeding Swallows anymore, but even the numbers of passage birds seen were down by around 60%.

Our shortest staying summer breeders are, of course, Swift. Checking my own records, they were a constant feature this summer from 6 May until 3 August. On the weekend of 3 / 4 August, they were screaming around above my house and parts of the patch. The following weekend, like Keyser Soze (I’m afraid you either get this 90’s film reference, or you don’t), they were gone. Actually, ‘gone’ may not be strictly correct as we have still been picking up passage birds moving through, and the last ones seen were only a day off our ‘latest’ record and watched by Nick C from the Old Sewage Works on 1 September. Although the number of days these birds were seen were normal, we believe the numbers of resident breeders were down by up to 70% on previous years.

For the first year ever, we recorded Wood Warbler in both Spring and ‘Autumn’, both in a similar location in Long Wood, with the Autumn bird found by Nick on 7 August. We believe this was the first Wood Warbler recorded in the Autumn across London.

Wood Warbler - N Croft

Amongst a set of core passage birds (Tree Pipit, Wheatear, Whinchat, Common Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, and Yellow Wagtail), Wheatear, as usual, kicked things off with the first returning Autumn bird on 8 August found by Nick C. Since then numbers have mostly been lower than usual. The peak day on 29 August with 12 birds was exceptional as the second most productive day this August saw three.

As already mentioned, 11 August felt like the day that Autumn Migration really started; Tony B found Pied Flycatcher in Motorcycle Wood in the SSSI which only Bob V was quick enough to twitch successfully. But the rest of us need not have worried. There were to be plenty to go around. 2018 was the only year in my five years of birding locally that Pied Flycatcher failed to feature on my year list, so I was extra keen to secure one this year. Luckily, it turned out to be a record year for them. Pied Flycatchers were recorded on each day from 23 until the end of August, with the 24 August seeing a total of six birds; doubling our previous day record.

Pied Flycatcher - J Heal

Spotted Flycatcher are often the dead certs of the Autumn migration period, but, unlike their slightly scarcer pied cousins, 2019 hasn’t been fabulous for them. Nevertheless, this species was recorded on 16 out of the 21 last days of August with a peak of five birds on 27 August.

Spotted Flycatcher - J Heal

The first Autumn Whinchat appeared on 16 August, and, since then, were recorded every single day through the rest of the month with a high-count of ten birds on 27 August.

Whinchat - J Heal

It was a record-breaking season for Tree Pipit. Last year I had the only Tree Pipit of the Autumn; a single bird calling low over my head near Long Wood. This year we had a short but tremendous run of sightings, also with record numbers of birds and mostly seen perching, sometimes circling, and flying up and down from ground to tree. From the first sighting on 11th August until the end of the month, there were actually only three days when Tree Pipit were not seen at all, and we have had up to six birds in a day.

The passage migrant that has been most disappointing is Yellow Wagtail; normally one of our strongest performers with double figures of fly-overs common in the Autumn days. Indeed, partly due to the poor run, and more probably because young family duties mean I don’t get out early in the morning very often, I have actually missed this species altogether on the patch this year. And so now is a good time to study ‘Chart 2’ which shows just how low the numbers of Yellow Wagtail have been compared to last year. 2018 and 2019 is perhaps not a fair comparison as our most devoted patch watcher was around a lot less last year, so I have tried to iron this inconsistency out by plotting the average number of birds seen divided by the number of days the patch was actually watched. This shows both how good 2019 has been overall, but how poor it was for Yellow Wagtail.

Chart 2: 2018 and 2019 comparisons

To plot a year-on-year comparison slightly differently, ‘Chart 3’ shows the total number of core passage migrant birds recorded per day with Yellow Wagtail removed (so, Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Tree Pipit, Whinchat, Redstart, Wheatear). Some of the long flat red lines for 2018 show some of the days when nobody was out recording, but the relative size of the peaks compared to blue 2019, again shows what a good year it has been.

Chart 3: Totals compared for 2018 and 2019

This now leads me to make another conclusion, not about the year, but about the location. On 29 August, Wanstead Flats had double the number of Spotted Flycatcher of any other site in the London Recording area, it had 50% more Pied Flycatcher than any other location, 12 times as many Wheatear, seven times as many Common Redstart, and 50% more Whinchat. The 29 August may have been a good day for Wanstead Flats, but we had more of those migrant species on our first, second, and third best days than any other London site had on their best day. Wanstead Flats surely remains the pre-eminent location for passage passerine migration in London which is just one of many reasons why holding a summer music festival on this site is such a poorly considered idea. 

Other August birds of note included a pair of fly-over Greenshank on Wednesday 14th from Nick C. Nick was one of a very select few who had ever seen Greenshank from the patch. That was soon to change quite dramatically, but that is a story for September and will be in the next Newsletter.

On a number of days through August, from 14th onwards, a female Mandarin was present on both Jubilee and Heronry (we are assuming it is the same bird).The first returning Water Rail for the Autumn appeared in Wanstead Park on 25th August. A Great [White] Egret flew over the Wanstead Flats on 27th August.

Female Mandarin - N Croft

Tantaslingly, there are always the ‘ones that get away’, such as a possible Nightingale on 21st August on the Flats, but that’s birding for you!

The Brick Pit Bruiser: Great Black-backed Gull

During the winter months, you can find several hundred gulls on the Wanstead Flats. The combination of sizeable mown grassland with 50+ football pitches (ideal for foot paddling for worms), a few lakes with ‘beaches’, and regular feedings of industrial quantities of bread must all serve as attractions to gulls. The relative proximity to several huge watery or waste gull magnet sites cannot hurt either.  

The numbers of Common Gull present are sizeable enough to be an important site for the species, and counts of 500+ are not unusual. 

In second place comes the Black-headed Gull which can also be numbered in the multiple of hundreds.

Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull are only normally present in small - sometimes single digit - numbers across the Patch.

With the exception of scarce visitors or local rarities (with Yellow-legged Gull and Mediterranean Gull being the most common), the remaining commonly found gull, Great Black-backed Gull, is also effectively a local scarcity. Often only seen a few times in the year as fly-overs.

However, in recent years we have had a regular visiting adult on the Brick Pit field. 

I had only briefly seen it once this year from Bob’s car window after twitching the Great White Egret on Perch Pond. So, on Sunday, when I saw a large gull with dark saddle come down in the distance I instantly headed to the field in hope of a decent photograph. Sadly it is easily flushed and did not let me get anywhere near it, so I only managed record shots. But I did manage to capture it with a first winter bird as well.

I know it’s a poor photo but just look at the bull-necked beast with the 1W GBBG and a nervous looking Herring Gull to the left!

If the size of the 1W bird was not enough of a giveaway, the diffuse and narrow tail band and markings, the pale greater coverts, and the nice bright window on the primaries all just about show in this blurry flight-shot (you can hardly blame me for the blur - I had to shoot all of those red ID arrows after it).

A study in Chiffchaff

As we all keep an eye out for interesting autumn migrants, I have been spending quite a bit of time watching warblers recently.

"One after another, the ‘phyllosc’ warblers flew from the sallow trees across the path and into the birches North west of ‘Motorcycle Wood’ in the SSSI. Possibly a mix of birds that have bred here, but more likely a majority of autumn migration birds stopping over on their passage South."

"This wasn’t the classic case of passage warblers joining tit-flocks, this was a warbler flock in which a small handful of Great Tit and Blue Tit tagged along."

"As they moved across the gap/path I was able to count ten warblers to begin with, which were later joined, in a drip-drip fashion, by about ten more."*

This is just one of several occasions recently where warblers have filled the trees in front of me.

Chiffchaff calls and the slightly longer and more complex Willow Warbler calls are everywhere at the moment, and then occasionally - despite it being Autumn - Chiffchaff have been singing. Today I counted five singers and last weekend even had a singing Willow Warbler.

Given all this exposure to these birds, I have started thinking about variation. Not between the two species, but within each species.

Looking back over my photos, there are no works of wildlife photographic art, but there are enough features showing to be of some interest, I hope.

Let’s begin with what I consider to be a classic Chiffchaff:

Dull-ish brown upper-parts, dull-ish pale under parts, indistinct supercilium, and very dark legs. For ID purposes, this is the Chiffchaff we all want to see.

Now have a look at another classic Chiffy from a different angle:

The primary feathers clearly only project a short way beyond the tertials and are nice and evenly spread. Again, classic Chiffchaff. Lovely!

Just as a point of comparison, here is a photo of a Willow Warbler I took recently. The primaries clearly project far further and the supercilium just pops out at us, even if the bird is not as bright as we might like.

The bird in the photo below looks classic Chiffchaff again at first sight. In fact I think the warm brown tones make this a good candidate for the northern, Phylloscopus collybita abietinus sub-species, although I doubt even an expert could be sure from a single photo alone, and possibly not without analysis of the bird itself.

But look at the rascal’s legs. They appear orangey red, rather than dark! This is clearly a Chiffchaff, but the leg colouration is confusing nonetheless. I am aware that light and angles can make a huge difference with colouration, but normally in the other direction - pale legs made to look darker.

It should be no surprise that some distinguishing features do not show well in some birds, so we might get a Willow Warbler with dark legs, or an indistinct supercilium, or with very little yellow showing on the underside etc etc. But imagine how confusing it is if this combination comes together in a single bird that neither sings, nor calls, nor flicks its tail.

I wouldn't suggest that the following bird falls quite into that category, but I do think it shares a number of features we would expect to see on both Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler. The leg colour is inconclusive, the primary tips are not showing well, it is relatively yellowy underneath, and the supercilium is more distinct than we normally get with Chiffchaff. It also seemed brighter in the field than it appears in the photo. I would personally come down on the side of Willow Warbler, but I accept I could be wrong (do let us know if you think I am); perhaps this is just on the bright side of the P.c.collybita end of the spectrum.

I am sharing all of these thoughts not to try and bore or patronise our readers, but more as a celebration of the variation found in our warblers and as a reflection of the kind of thought processes that go through my head when I am out in the field.

Finally, here is a picture of what I believe to be a young Chiffchaff showing downy grey undersides.

At least they keep us on our toes! 


The other benefit of watching warblers closely is that occasionally you find something else. So it was near Motorcycle Wood last weekend when I found the Patch first Pied Flycatcher for the year. ;)

*From my field notes

Patch Locations: The Lovely Jubilee Pond

This is one of a series of posts in which readers can explore parts of the wider Wanstead Patch that we often talk about. Today it is the turn of the scenic and sublime Jubilee Pond.

Or should that be slime? Have you ever been to Jubilee Pond? Don’t bother, it’s totally disgusting, an embarrassment. It used to be a boating lake back in the day, but gradually sank into disrepair. It was refurbished a way back when, and then more recently again in 2013, using funds gained from the Olympics – partly from the rental of Fairground Flats to the metropolitan police for their temporary megabase. The renovations were about cleaning it up, making a nice path to go around the edge, planting cover for wildlife, and of course adding some amenities for the local community to enjoy – some bike racks, some picnic benches, and a small pier for pond dipping. You don’t need me to tell you how the local community have “enjoyed” it. Here are a few photos to show what it looks like. I haven’t posted the dead Mute Swan that was floating with its head underwater at the west end for a few days. It’s probably still there, we rang somebody but they couldn’t be bothered.

note the brand of juice please

So, lovely as I am sure you will agree. Basically Jubilee Pond has found permanent favour as a place to sit and drink yourself to oblivion and then chuck shit all over the place. Ideally in the pond. It’s filthy, it smells, and there are rats the size of beavers. The lack of care shown by those that cause it to be in this state is flabbergasting. I have a solution though, and it is to close the local shop. Shut it down.

 Just across the road from Jubilee is the Dames Road Convenience Store. Convenient if you are after something to throw on the floor. It has a staggering selection of alcohol which it sells indiscriminately to anyone who wants it, assuming they are over 18 of course. Customers place their purchases in blue plastic bags and then go home to consume it responsibly hem hem. This is what the shopkeeper will tell you. What actually happens is that the customer crosses the road, drinks the lot, pisses in the bushes and chucks the whole lot in the pond (or vice-versa, or both). The fact that a great many of the plastic bags, bottles, cans and cartons that leave the shop end up on the floor within 100 yards of its front door cannot have escaped the attention of the owner, who probably has to pick his way through the detritus every day. The question of course is whether or not it is his responsibility? Is it his fault that his clients drop litter? No. However should he feel bad that the local area looks like a total shithole primarily because of his business? Yes he bloody well should. Does he? I don’t know, I might ask, but my assumption is that he does not because it is getting worse and worse. Which must also mean he is making more and more money and therefore is pretty happy with how it is going. I would like to see him going round picking up all the litter, and in some cases, his unconscious customers.

No doubt there will be denials. How can I prove it all came from the shop? Well I can’t of course. Circumstantially however it is interesting to note that the same brand of mango juice that I find cartons of all around Jubilee is the same brand he stocks, and that empty booze bottles are stickered up in the same way, but that’s not proof is it? No. But actually I don't care, I don't need proof and it won't make any difference anyway. What I would like you to do is boycott the shop as they're guilty as sin. You know it and I know it. And they know it. Bastards. Or better still, go and pick up the litter and then walk into the shop and dump it there. Literally empty the bag out on the floor and walk out. Viva la revolucion!