We only had a few hours of birding available today, so we decided to visit Valentine's Park in Ilford and hopefully connect with the overwintering Turtle Dove that had been found by the local RSPB group on Saturday. At this time of year, you would expect Turtle Doves to be spending the winter in sub-Saharan West Africa and not within the London recording area!
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| Valentine's Park lake and island |
We arrived at the park shortly after 8am and made our way towards the lake. There were several Collared Doves perched in the trees bordering the lake but the Turtle Dove was not among them. As the light improved the Collared Doves took flight and disappeared over the trees and headed towards the surrounding houses. We spent the next two hours searching all of the surrounding areas without any sign of the bird. As we returned to the lake area after yet another search several Collared Doves were seen flying into the trees on the island. Another scan and the Turtle Dove was found perched on a branch overhanging the lake. It then flew to a dead tree at the front of the island.
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