July (got to be done!)

The Macbeth of months.  Like your least favourite relative coming to stay, for too long. Like a month or something. I may be on my own here, as I was most of the month on the patch with everybody else sensibly elsewhere.  And, finally, when something did happen I missed it.

Here are the bloody highlights....

Some Treecreeper
Early Wheatear
Pied Flycatcher

Missed it, so did I

My highlights


Nothing!

2nd
Wanstead Flats: 2 singing Lesser Whitethroat, singing Garden Warbler, Sand Martin, 6+ House Martin, 30 + Swift, 5 Black-headed Gull, 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull, Kestrel, 3 singing Skylark, 2 Stock Dove (Nick Croft)

Wanstead Park: 4 Little Egret at the west end of Heronry (Dan Hennessy) Hobby (Jono Lethbridge)

3rd
Wanstead Flats: 2 Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, singing Garden Warbler, 50 + Swift, 8+ House Martin, 4 Stock Dove, 3 singing Skylark, singing Meadow Pipit (Nick Croft)

Wanstead Park: Little Egret, adult and 3 Great Crested Grebe chicks, 3 adult Little Grebe, Swift, House Martin, Little Egret, Grey Wagtail (Nick Croft)

5th
Wanstead Flats: 3-4 Lesser Whitethroat, singing Garden Warbler, 12 House Martin, 40 + Swift, 2 Egyptian Goose, 6 Little Grebe (Nick Croft)

Wanstead Park: 2 Reed Warbler (Tony Brown), 2 Little Egret, Little Grebe with chick, Grey Wagtail, calling Goldcrest, 2 fledged Mistle Thrush (Nick Croft)

7th
Wanstead Flats: 2 Garden Warbler, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, Kestrel, f Pochard, 10 + House Martin, 30 + Swift (Nick Croft/Marco Johnson)

Wanstead Park: 2 Kingfisher, 3 Little Egret, Reed Warbler, House Martin, 10 + Swift, 13 Black-headed Gull, 4 Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Grey Wagtail (Nick Croft/Marco Johnson)

8th
Leyton Flats/Snaresbrook: Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Little Egret west, 2 Great Crested Grebe (one with possible nest site on Eagle Pond), 7 Tufted Duck, 2 Black-headed Gull, Coal Tit, c5 Swift (Stuart Fisher)

9th
Leyton Flats/Snaresbrook: Common Tern on Hollow Pond, 3 Great Crested Grebe (1 juv Hollow Pond, pr, female on nest at Eagle (Stuart Fisher)

11th
Leyton Flats/Snaresbrook: Oystercatcher East at 10:10 (presumed to be same bird as one seen over Blackhorse Road at 6:10am), 2 Common Tern, Sand Martin, Whitethroat singing, 2 Green Woodpecker, 3 Black-headed Gulls (Stuart Fisher)

 12th
Wanstead Flats: 5 Common Gull, 40 + kettling Black-headed Gull feeding on flying ants, 3 Skylark, 40 + Swift, 6 House Martin, Lesser Whitethroat (Nick Croft)

Wanstead Park: 3 Reed Warbler, 2 Little Egret, 3 Little Grebe, 4 Great-crested Grebe, 10 + Black-headed Gull (+ 1 juvenile), 2 Common Tern, f Shoveler, Kingfisher, 30 + Swift, House Martin (Nick Croft/Bob Vaughan/Jono Lethbridge)

15th
Wanstead Flats: 30+ Black-headed Gull, 6 Common Gull, Kestrel, 4-5 Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, 40+ Swift, 300+ Starling, House Martin, singing Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, 30+ Greylag Goose, 3 Little Grebe chicks, 3 singing Skylark, singing Stock Dove; Purple Hairstreak (Nick Croft).

Leyton Flats/Snaresbrook: Treecreeper (heard), Common Tern, 4 Great crested Grebe (incl 2 juvs), Sparrowhawk, 6 Black-headed Gull, 2 Stock Dove, Coal Tit, Goldcrest, 12 Tufted Duck, 20 Mallard (Stuart Fisher)

16th
Leyton Flats/Snaresbrook: Treecreeper, Peregrine soaring over lunchtime (Stuart Fisher)

17th
Wanstead Park: Nuthatch calling in Bush Wood (Bob Vaughan).

22nd
Wanstead Flats: 2 Common Gull, 40 + Black-headed Gull, 6 House Martin, Swift, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, 4 Little Grebe (Nick Croft/Marco Johnson) Common Sandpiper (Gary Hewett)

Wanstead Park: 2 Reed Warbler, 4 Great Crested Grebe, 6 Little Grebe, f Pochard, Swift, House Martin, Sparrowhawk (Nick Croft/Marco Johnson)

23rd
Wanstead Flats: 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 7+ Chiffchaff, 5 Little Grebe, 2 Common Gull, 5 Skylark, 1-2 Meadow Pipit, 10 + Swift, 6+ House Martin (Nick Croft/Marco Johnson) Northern Wheatear, earliest return record (Gary Hewett)

Wanstead Park: Little Egret, 2 Grey Wagtail, Peregrine Falcon carrying food, Reed Warbler, 2 Common Tern, 4 Great Crested Grebe, 6 Little Grebe, Gadwall, Swift, House Martin (Nick Croft/Marco Johnson)

24th
Wanstead Flats: SSSI and Long Wood: 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 20+ Common Whitethroat, 15+ Chiffchaff, singing Willow Warbler, Yellow Wagtail over, 2 Meadow Pipit, 4 Skylark, Sparrowhawk with food, 5+ Swift, 6+ House Martin, 4 Stock Dove, family of 5 Mistle Thrush and a family of 6 Goldfinch (Nick Croft)

25th
Wanstead Flats: Long Wood/SSSI - 10+ Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, 20+ Common Whitethroat, singing Meadow Pipit, 4 Skylark, Stock Dove, c.10 Swift, House Martin, Kestrel (Nick Croft).

28th
Wanstead Flats: Lesser Whitethroat (pub scrub), 10 + Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, 2 eclipse Gadwall, Great Black-backed Gull, Kestrel, 15 + House Martin, 2 Swallow east, 2 Swift, 400 + Starling, 3 Skylark (Nick Croft).

29th
Wanstead Flats (Long Wood/SSSI): 22 House Martin, 1 juv Swallow, 3 Swift, 15 + Chiffchaff, 3 Lesser Whitethroat (Long Wood), 20 + Common Whitethroat, juv Willow Warbler, 10 + Blackcap, 2 Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Stock Dove, Pied Wagtail (Nick Croft)

Leyton Flats/Snaresbrook: 2 Treecreeper (two different areas), 2 Stock Dove, Painted Lady, Jersey Tiger (Stuart Fisher)

30th
Wanstead Flats: Yellow Wagtail east, Meadow Pipit, 3 Skylark, 7 House Martin, 3 Swift, 25 + Chiffchaff, 15 Common Whitethroat, singing Willow Warbler, 12 + Blackcap, 40 + Long-tailed Tit, 30 + Blue Tit, 1-2 Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, 6 Little Grebe, 20 + Goldfinch (Nick Croft)

Leyton Flat/Snaresbrook: Treecreeper just west of Crown Court, Kestrel alarm calling, juv Willow Warbler, 5 Great Crested Grebe (incl pair with 2 chicks on Eagle Pond) (Stuart Fisher)

31st
Wanstead Flats: f/juv Pied Flycatcher (Birdguides), Treecreeper (first record for the flats), Willow Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Sparrowhawk (Dan Hennessy)