Upcoming visits 

Friday 24th July, Woodberry (JD/DH): Meet outside the café by 10:00am. You can get there by a number of different buses. Or tube to Manor House then walk from there. It’s free to enter. The walk round the reserve will take only about a 1½ hours. Then there is a chance for coffee after. Further information about the location is available through the link here. No sign up, just come along if you want.

Monday 3rd August, Wanstead (JD): We'll meet by 9:30am at H&I station, to get the Victoria line to Blackhorse Road where it is an easy change to the Overground for a short journey on to Wanstead Park. For those starting from a different point, please get to Blackhorse Road to get the 10:05am Suffragette train to Wanstead Park station (avoids Stratford station). From Wanstead Park station, there is a short walk to the Flats which we cross via a small avenue of trees and Park Rd to enter the Park by Shoulder of Mutton. We will walk east along by the 3 Lakes, passing the kiosk for a possible snack and by the river to come out at Warren Rd. A diversion is possible to access the loos at Keepers Lodge. We will return from Wanstead station (Central line). There are also places to eat nearby.

Please let us know if you are coming and where you will be joining the group on the day.

Friday 28th August, Walthamstow Wetlands (JD):  This will be a local outing to Walthamstow reservoirs which are 7 minutes walk from Tottenham Hale station along Ferry Lane. We'll meet inside at the ticket office area of Tottenham Hale station by 10:00am.

Walthamstow Reservoirs are an important part of the system for supplying London's water. Some of them are quite 'hard-edged' and not so great for birds. Others are much softer-edged and there are islands and so forth, so that overall it a very good place for birds. We'll see a good variety of ducks, herons, cormorants, kingfishers if we're lucky, and some other species including perhaps some less common ones. For the visit, you can stop to look at birds almost from the entrance but there is also a walk of about a mile and a half round the best bits for birds. You can do as much or as little as you like and stay for as long or as little time as suits you. However we'll probably finish by 12:30pm and then it's a choice if you want to stay for coffee or lunch. No sign up, just come along if you want.

Monday 7th September, Rainham (JD/DH):  Meet at Fenchurch Street Station (at the information office at the Bank / Monument end) by 9:40am in good time to get the 9:53am train to Purfleet. Fenchurch Street is not the best London terminus to get to so check your route and allow plenty of time. For those with a Freedom Pass you need to buy a Zone 6 extension ticket only from Rainham, which costs only £4.25. The reserve is a shortish walk from Purfleet station. Then it is about a 3 mile walk all the way around. We'll probably spend around two hours walking around. The café at the reserve has now closed so take a packed lunch. But the centre, with water and toilets, is still open. Back in Islington by late afternoon is normal. If you want to come please email me.       

Friday 25th September, Thurrock Thameside: details to follow.
     

Provisional dates for 2026 and provisional locations

Mon 5th October Connaught Waters, Chingford              
Fri 23rd October, Stokers Lake or Rye Meads (before it closes?)                                      
Mon 2nd November, Two Tree Island      
Fri 27th November, ???
Mon 7th December, ???

Other information

This section provides some learning material in no particular order:

Previous Visits: we maintain a register of all our previous visits and our 'spot' count on each visit: VISIT REGISTER

Bins: To enjoy our bird visits to the maximum you will need decent binoculars (8 × 25 or 8 × 42 or 10 x 42 or 10 x 50 are good). The first number tells you the magnification (ie 8 or 10 times bigger), the second number is the size of the 'objective' (larger) lens which determines the amount of light (sharpness) of the image. Bigger numbers also mean bigger weight. There are also two forms — porro prism (offset lenses) or roof prism (in-line lenses). Porro type are generally cheaper but larger/heavier. Appropriate footwear and rain gear if the weather threatens. Each of our visits will have a maximum of 10 participants (but normally we are a lot less than that).

British Bird List: If you want to print out a list for use during your visits to allow ticking off what you see then the list is here: Bird List
London Bird Club: To help plan your own trips, or to inspire suggestions for our visits, you might want to look at the London Bird Club Wiki here: LBC
Birds on the Edge: see here for information of birds at risk: At Risk
WWT: To read the quarterly magazine from WWT click here: WWT Mag
LWT: To follow what the London Wildlife Trust are up to have a look here: LWT
Bird Sound: If you want to hear some particular bird song or call try using this site: Bird Calls & Songs