The grasslands areas which I surveyed on campus lie either side of the campus lake. These areas contain many differing grass species and are managed to allow patches of grasses of different heights to occur. Amongst the grassland are various trees and shrubs, which provides perches for the avian inhabitants.
The following birds were found in all habitats I surveyed; the lake, grasslands, woodlands and Harris Gardens. These are all generalist species which do well in urban environments.
Blackbird (Turdus merula)
Great Tit (Parus major)
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
European Magpie (Pica pica)
European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)
Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Wren by Vitaliy Khustochka (CC BY-NC 2.0)
For more information on these species, please visit my previous blogs about the campus lake: Campus Lake Part Two and Campus Lake Part Three
These next species were also found in the campus lake habitat, and further information can also be found in my previous blogs listed above.
Blackheaded gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
Black-headed gull showing Summer plumage. “A Head” by freebird4 – CC BY-NC 2.0
These birds were mainly flyover species.
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
These were sighted as flyovers, possibly traveling to and from the lake.
Feral Pigeon/Rock Dove (Columba livia)
These birds often join in with the flocks of woodpigeons which can be found on campus. However, they mainly frequent the central area of campus.
Mallard (Anas platyrhyncos)
There were mainly seen as flyovers, but the occasional pair would wander out into the grasslands from the lake.
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
It was only these next three species which I first saw when surveying the grasslands area:
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
Carrion Crow by Steve Wilde (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
Kestrel by Sergey Yeliseev (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Red Kite (Milvus milvus)
Red Kite by Tony Hisgett (CC BY 2.0)
Swift (Apus apus)
Swift by Dave Curtis (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
