Thanks to Robin Sharp for leading and Judith Rose for making a record of the QPARA Annual Bird Walk, held on Saturday 6th May. There was plenty of avian activity in Queen’s Park and Paddington cemetery, even if the temperature kept low. A record 18 walkers saw or heard a record 22 species.
Not spotted on the day, but reports of hearing tawny owls both in the park and the cemetery keep coming in.
Please join us for a stroll through Queen’s Park and Paddington Cemetery.
Meet at the park café at 9.30am. The walk will take about 90 minutes, but people can join or leave at any time. We will go round the Park and then via the Woodland Walk, Chevening Road, Winchester Ave, Willesden Lane to Paddington Old Cemetery, arriving at approximately 10.15am. So finding us should be easy.
Nothing is guaranteed, but birds to look out for are: Woodpecker (Green or Great Spotted), Thrush (Mistle or Song), Blackbird, Finch, Robin, Sparrow, Crows, Tit (Blue, Great or Long-tailed), Jackdaw, Magpie, Dove, Starling, Swift, Jay, Wren, Gull (Herring or Black-headed), Parakeet and Pigeon (Wood or Feral). Bring binoculars and a pocket bird ID guide, if you have them, but if not, don’t worry – we can share.
Everyone is welcome, but children must be accompanied by a parent or adult known to them. Those under 8 might be bored, so you need to judge if it is for them.
PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU PLAN TO COME
Contact: Robin (robisharp@googlemail.com, 020 8969 0381) or Judith (juditharose@yahoo.co.uk).
Brent Local Authority has agreed to use Queen’s Park as a collection point for Christmas trees. Drop off trees at the park staff yard on Kingswood Avenue from 9th – 15th January 2017. Other options for disposal include the Reuse and Recycle Centre in Abbey Road or by using the garden waste service offered by Brent.
Tennis courts can be booked via playtenniscityoflondon.com.
The courts must be paid for throughout the year. The LTA have met with the City of London in regard to part funding the redevelopment of the tennis courts. The Park Manager is preparing a tennis development plan, which will support the application for funding from the LTA. A Great British Tennis Weekend event is planned in May 2017, dates will be confirmed.
The City of London are currently carrying out consultation to make sure the café meets with the needs of users, residents and stakeholders. To help in any future tender process, they need to gather as much information as possible about how people use the café, what people are looking for in a café in Queen’s Park and how the catering offer could be improved through the tender process. An online survey is be available until 27 January 2017. http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/3257541/Queen-s-Park-Cafe-Consultation
A consultation event in September gave feedback on the proposed improvements in this area. Users would like more natural play equipment, to encourage use of the underused grass area within the sand pit towards the park entrance ‘Harvist Rd’ and a water/sand play feature. Access to the toilet was also considered. Further consultation with a small stakeholder group will help shape a final design with costings and the appointment of a contractor to complete the works. The Queen’s Park Joint Consultative Group will meet in mid-January to discuss the plans further.
On the 9th January 2017 improvement works will take place at the toilets outside the café. The disabled toilet furniture will be replaced and doors to the toilets replaced. The walls will be painted and the flooring and wall tiles replaced.
A number of projects to be delivered within the current financial year include updating and replacing signage at the park entrances, replacement and new benches, tree and hedge works and minor improvement in the Children’s Farm.
Fortunately the birds in the park were undeterred by overcast and windy weather that greeted the smaller than usual number of walkers that joined us on 21st May. The birds were active everywhere and altogether the five walkers spotted 17 species. It was good to see a pair of Blue Tits flying to and from a nest entered via a tiny hole in the soffit board above the café. Less surprising were another pair in a purpose-built suspended nest box in the woodland walk, close by a hole in a tree from which Parakeets were coming and going. The pitch and putt course yielded three handsome Mistle Thrushes, two Goldfinches and a Great Spotted Woodpecker which seemed to have been using the cut-off section of a newly pruned willow branch for drilling practice. Finally a quick recce of Chevening Road east produced the hoped for Swift. Here is a full list of the birds spotted.
| Name | Number |
| Blackbird | 4 male and female |
| Chaffinch | 4 |
| Crow | 4 |
| Goldfinch | 2 |
| Blackbird | 4 male and female |
| Chaffinch | 4 |
| Crow | 4 |
| Goldfinch | 2 |
| Gull, Herring (Black-Headed) | 2 |
| Magpie | 2 |
| Parakeet | 4 |
| Pigeon, Feral | Many |
| Pigeon, Wood | 1 |
| Robin | 2 |
| Starling | Many |
| Swift | 1 |
| Thrush, Mistle | 5 |
| Tit, Blue | 4 |
| Tit, Great | 2 |
| Woodpecker, Great Spotted | 1 female |
| Wren | 2 |
Please join us for a stroll through Queen’s Park and Paddington Cemetery. Meet at the park café at 9.30am. The walk will take about 90 minutes, but people can join or leave at any time. We will be looking out especially for Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Swifts. Bring binoculars if you have them, but if not, just bring yourself!