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•
latest
SHP sightings
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LOCATION & ACCESS
Sunny Hill Park
(TQ 227900), located in the suburbs of north London and 13km from the city centre, lies at the junction of the Great North Way and the
Watford Way, near the start of the M1 motorway. This small area is not really a place to come birding considering the nearby attractions of
better sites such as Brent Reservoir (2.5 km to the southwest) or Hampstead Heath (5 km to the southeast). However, it is a site that I pass
through regularly to and from work. Watching this patch of green is more an experiment to see what might turn up in an unlikely location. The
situation affords good views over the Wembley, Harrow and Edgeware areas of the metropolis and offers a possible vantage point for observing
visible migration of birds. Nearest tube station is Hendon Central, about 15 minutes walk to the south.
HABITAT
At around 900 metres long and 400 metres at its widest, the park is largely composed of grassland roughly divided in two in terms of
management. One half is regularly mown recreational grassland, the other half being left to nature for most of the year. Best area for
butterflies is the scrubby grassland by the Great North Way. With no woodland to speak of, trees are mainly restricted to lining the paths in
avenues with a small cluster around St. Mary's Churchyard and Church Farm House
Museum. The lack of water further reduces this sites attractiveness for birds although there
is tiny, shaded and muddy pond.
SPECIES CALENDAR
Breeding: Green Woodpecker,
Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blackcap, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit and Jay among
the commoner species.
Passage: Hobby, common
warblers, thrushes, hirundines, Meadow Pipits, Swifts and Wood Pigeons.
Winter: Coal Tit, Siskin, Nuthatch, Common Gull.
BUTTERFLIES
Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Large Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Purple Hairstreak, Small
Copper, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, and Meadow
Brown.
DRAGONFLIES
Migrant Hawker & Southern Hawker.
MAP
SPECIES
LIST
|
01
|
Grey
Heron
|
|
02
|
Mute
Swan
|
|
03
|
Canada
Goose
|
|
04
|
Mallard
|
|
05
|
Sparrowhawk
|
|
06
|
Kestrel
|
|
07
|
Hobby
|
|
08
|
Black-headed
Gull
|
|
09
|
Common
Gull
|
|
10
|
Lesser
Black-backed Gull
|
|
11
|
Herring
Gull
|
|
12
|
Common
Tern
|
|
13
|
Little
Owl
|
|
14
|
Feral
Pigeon
|
|
15
|
Stock
Dove
|
|
16
|
Wood
Pigeon
|
|
17
|
Collared
Dove
|
|
18
|
Ring-necked
Parakeet
|
|
19
|
Swift
|
|
20
|
Green
Woodpecker
|
|
21
|
Great
Spotted Woodpecker
|
|
22
|
Skylark
|
|
23
|
Sand
Martin
|
|
24
|
Swallow
|
|
25
|
House
Martin
|
|
26
|
Meadow
Pipit
|
|
27
|
Yellow
Wagtail
|
|
28
|
Grey
Wagtail
|
|
29
|
Pied
Wagtail
|
|
30
|
Wren
|
|
31
|
Dunnock
|
|
32
|
Robin
|
|
33
|
Wheatear
|
|
34
|
Blackbird
|
|
35
|
Fieldfare
|
|
36
|
Song
Thrush
|
|
37
|
Redwing
|
|
38
|
Mistle
Thrush
|
|
39
|
Whitethroat
|
|
40
|
Garden
Warbler
|
|
41
|
Blackcap
|
|
42
|
Chiffchaff
|
|
43
|
Goldcrest
|
|
44
|
Firecrest
|
|
45
|
Long-tailed
Tit
|
|
46
|
Coal
Tit
|
|
47
|
Blue
Tit
|
|
48
|
Great
Tit
|
|
49
|
Nuthatch
|
|
50
|
Jay
|
|
51
|
Magpie
|
|
52
|
Jackdaw
|
|
53
|
Carrion
Crow
|
|
54
|
Starling
|
|
55
|
House
Sparrow
|
|
56
|
Chaffinch
|
|
57
|
Brambling
|
|
58
|
Greenfinch
|
|
59
|
Goldfinch
|
|
60
|
Siskin
|
|
61
|
Linnet
|
|
62
|
Lesser
Redpoll
|
|
63
|
Bullfinch
|
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