After living for 32 years on the 15th floor of a bloc of flats it was a real shock moving to a ground floor flat with a very limited view–from the stars to the a muddy patch.
I was fascinated by the thousands of seagulls who landed in the Park then went to land on the Thames then whirl off to Essex, could literally spend hours watching. then there was a Kestrel who came regularly at 3 50 every afternoon to sit on the corner of the flat roof, the Jay who came 5 30 to roost behind the block, Magpies and Rooks, and of course the Pigeons, that authority had to cull every so often. I saw the most magnificent Sun Rises; the river changing colour; Storms and fogs literally rolling down the river from London, Essex disappearing in the mist (a good thing)
What was going to happen to me when I moved ? where was I going? how could anything compare to my wonderful view.
Well I moved, and out of my window could see 3 trees and a small fence………….. A neighbour saw me with small bird feeder in my hand working out how to hang it on the fence, and presented me with a n unused bird table .WOW It would not be an exaggeration to say that my world improved, from that moment. A quick visit to buy bird food, camera out on the windowsill, my 3 bird books removed from the nature shelves , and then the wait to see who and what would deign to visit my table. was so pleased to see Sparrows, only one of our endangered species, and no one seems to know why. Blue and Great Tits then suddenly birds I had never seen before ever, Coal Tits. Wood Pigeons ,Collared Doves, Magpies, Starlings, and Robins. In the Spring I was lucky enough to catch a fleeting glimpse of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, the very next day was rewarded with daily visits from a Greater Spotted Woodpecker for 3 weeks. I am almost certain that there were 3 Sparrow families, at least 2 Starling, Wood Pigeon, Coal Tits,and Collared Doves.
Some days I hardly see any birds and I wonder where they are, and if anything has happened to them.
I know they have fur not feathers but for some months a squirrel quite regularly visited, then suddenly one day a tiny squirrel on it’s own, with such a skinny little tail.Now I realise that there are 3 young squirrels, as one is quite sandy coloured, one has a white mark on a back leg and the other one is grey.
With the Regeneration at Erith Park I feel that I am helping all the bird life in The Dell with the food on my table, and it’s given me a whole new life with BIRDS
