Regent's Park

England, London

Overview

Central London is not ideal birding territory but a visit to Regent's Park and the associated area of Primrose Hill can produce a good range of commoner parkland birds as well as scarcer migrants in spring and autumn.

In addition to the world-famous London Zoo, Regent's Park also has areas of lawns, shrubberies and gardens and the Regent's Canal with its densely vegetated banks.

Primrose Hill is a small area of higher ground to the north of Regent's Park consisting of similar habitats. As with all city parks the area is heavily used for all manner of recreational pursuits and birding is most productive in the early morning.

Birds

Notable Species

Present throughout the year are Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel and Tawny Owl along with typical city park birds such as Great Spotted Woodpecker and the commoner thrushes, tits and finches. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Nuthatch and Common Treecreeper are all rare visitors to the park. Blackcap is the only breeding warbler. The boating lake has a small heronry and breeding Great Crested Grebe and Little Grebe, Mallard, Common Pochard and Tufted Duck. These are all resident as is Grey Wagtail along the canal.

In winter the lake and canal attract Great Cormorant and waterfowl such as Ruddy Duck and Gadwall and the commoner gulls. Redwing, Fieldfare, Common Bullfinch and Siskin are among the passerines visiting the park in winter.

This area is of most interest during passage periods when it is possible to see a much larger range of species. In spring with the right weather conditions migrants can include Eurasian Skylark, hirundines and pipits, Wheatear, chats and flycatchers. Warblers such as Blackcap, Common Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler are by far the most numerous but also regularly seen are Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler, Garden Warbler and both whitethroats with Wood Warbler increasingly seen in recent years.

Goldcrest appears in autumn, often in good numbers, with a few staying for the winter while Common Firecrest is a rare passage visitor, mainly in autumn. Other scarcer migrants include Yellow Wagtail, Ring Ouzel and Common Redstart. Brambling is regular in autumn as are Siskin and Lesser Redpoll.

Non-passerine migrants also occur and include Northern Hobby, Turtle Dove and Common Cuckoo with the occasional Common Sandpiper along the water edges and flocks of Northern Lapwing overhead.

Regular watching has produced a good list of migrants and proved virtually anything can be seen overflying this area. Raptors have included Common Buzzard, Osprey and Merlin.

Waders including Eurasian Curlew, Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwit have all been recorded as well as seabirds such as Shag, Yellow-legged Gull and Sandwich Tern.

Rarities

Genuine rarities are recorded on occasion and have included Ring-necked Duck and Black-eared Wheatear. In March 2003 a Lesser Scaup of probable wild origin was recorded.

Check-list

Birds you can see here include:

Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Gadwall, Common Teal, Mallard, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Ruddy Duck, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Northern Hobby, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Common Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Feral Rock Dove, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, European Turtle Dove, Common Cuckoo, Tawny Owl, Common Swift, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Skylark, Barn Swallow, Northern House Martin, Tree Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Common Wren, Dunnock, Eurasian Robin, Common Redstart, Whinchat, European Stonechat, Northern Wheatear, Eurasian Blackbird, Fieldfare, Song Thrush, Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Sedge Warbler, Common Reed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Wood Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Spotted Flycatcher, European Pied Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Nuthatch, Common Treecreeper, Common Jay, Common Magpie, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Jackdaw, Common Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Brambling, European Greenfinch, Eurasian Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Common Bullfinch

Other Wildlife

Mammals include Hedgehog, Red Fox, Brown Rat, House Mouse, Grey Squirrel and Woodmouse. The Park is also good for bats with five species recorded; Common Pipistrelle and Soprano Pipistrelle, Noctule Bat, Serotine Bat and Daubenton's Bat.¹

Site Information

History and Use

Henry VIII appropriated The Regent's Park for use as a hunting ground.²

The park has a wide variety of activities, as well as an Open Air Theatre and London Zoo.²

Areas of Interest

Beside the boating lake is a large heronry.³

Access and Facilities

London Zoo is well-signposted from anywhere in the capital and Regent's Park can be entered from various gates around the perimeter.

The nearest underground station is Regents Park on the Bakerloo line.

The Regent's Canal is on the northern edge of the park and Primrose Hill lies to the north, across Prince Albert Road.

Contact Details

General Enquiries: +44 (0)20 7298 2000

References

1. Mammals of the Park
2. About the Park
3. Birds of the Park

External Links

• Royal Parks
• Flora & Fauna
• Regent's Park on Streetmap

Content and images originally posted by Steve