Wintering Turtle Dove at Valentine's Park Ilford

An organised birding party found a wintering Turtle Dove at Valentine's Park Ilford on Saturday and I watched yesterday as a couple of local guys connected so this morning I took the Jims down to Ilford to see if we could find the bird. We got to the park at 8.05am after an eight mile drive and walked down to the lake but on arrival the large flock of Collared Doves started to disperse and our search for the Turtle started. We walked the park a couple of times but I kept saying "it'll come back when the Collared Doves return" and sure enough at around 10.45am the Collared Doves did start to return and with them came the Turtle giving brief views before vanishing into the foliage on the island. I managed to grab a couple of record shots at distance and in the grey gloomy weather. Only a handful looking for the Dove today including a few familiar local faces and a couple more that had come a bit further for a London tick.

Turtle Dove at Valentine's Park Ilford

A heavily cropped and overexposed Turtle

Ring-necked Parakeet at a nest hole on the island

Parakeets have invaded this space

Several Stock Dove have also made the park their home

Cormorant 

Great eyes

A Great Cormorant

Year list now 164