Favourite Croydon wildlife sightings of 2020

2020 has been a very difficult year, but I don't think discussing how horrible it's been is going to make any of us feel better. Instead, I'm going to recap my favourite Croydon wildlife sightings of the year. These aren't all rare species, but they're sightings that were special to me for reasons I'll explain.

Roe deer

Back in January I saw some roe deer at Bramley Bank nature reserve and recently I've seen some around Selsdon Wood too. However, over the summer we had a special visitor staying on the edge of the railway cutting next to Park Hill, a short distance from East Croydon station. I dubbed him Rowan, as he seems to be a male roe deer. He was a little shy but curious about me watching him through the fence. I hope he found his way back along the railway line to a more suitable territory eventually.

Roe deer, Park Hill, July 2020

Butterflies and dragonflies

During the first lockdown, I visited Hutchinson's Bank, on the edge of Croydon. This peaceful chalk grassland nature reserve is famous for its butterflies and there are certainly a lot to see during spring and summer. I spotted a yellow butterfly which seemed to disappear when it landed on the grass, but I then noticed it masterfully disguised as a leaf! After staring at it in wonder for a time, I Googled it and discovered it's called a Brimstone butterfly.

Brimstone butterfly, Hutchinson's Bank, July 2020

The small pond in Lloyd Park is home to an impressive amount of wildlife, including a large number of newts. During the summer months, I spotted several Broad-Bodied Chasers, a type of dragonfly. This one is a male, as he has a powery blue coating on his tail. He turned out to be quite the poser, spending a lot of time perched on this reed.

Reptiles

While I was excited to see the sheep at Hutchinson's Bank (part of the Downlands Grazing Project), I was most intrigued by the mention of common lizards. Some friendly butterfly enthusiasts gave me a tip off about where some live and I managed to spot them basking in the sun on several visits.

The most surprising sighting at Hutchinson's Bank was one warm day in mid October, when I almost tripped over a slowworm in the middle of the path. Slowworms are neither worms nor snakes, they are legless lizards. This is the first one I've seen in Croydon and the first one I've seen out in the open like this.

Flighty little birds

Some birds are certainly not rare, but are still hard to get good photos of because they are small and don't like to pose. One such bird is the long-tailed tit. They're fast-moving little balls with tails longer than their bodies and I've been struggling to get decent photos of them for a long time. One Sunday evening in September, I went to Coombe Wood and spent around an hour crouched on the damp stone path through the rockery, where there's a small pool used by many birds for bathing. I was able to observe an assortment of birds including great tits, blue tits, goldcrests and a long-tailed tit preening and bathing. I felt like a giant watching the inhabitants of a miniature world. Experiences like this have given me temporary respite from the troubles afflicting humanity.

Long-tailed tit, Coombe Wood, Sep 2020

Blue tit (left) & great tits, Coombe Wood, Sep 2020

Sparrows

House sparrows are not rare but their population has declined a lot in England. Although some lived locally, my father was sad not to have any visiting our central Croydon garden. Back in April, my father and I dug up part of the lawn to grow vegetables, as a lockdown project. Some of the soil was still bare in June when I noticed a small flock of house sparrows using it to dust bathe. They also used the pond to bathe and drink and joined the other birds on the sunflower heart feeders. They've been regular visitors ever since.

Birds of prey

In July, I had some great views of kestrels hunting at the top of Croham Hurst. 

In 2019, I saw some kestrels at several sites in Croydon but no larger birds of prey. This year, I have seen a pair of red kites (I can't be sure it's the same pair each time) above Hutchinson's Bank, Milne Park in New Addington, Shirley Heath and Millers Pond in Shirley. The below photo, from November, shows a red kite being chased by a single crow over Millers Pond. I noticed the red kite because all the black-headed gulls and pigeons took to the air at once.

I am also pretty sure I saw a peregrine falcon, the world's fastest animal, at Beaulieu Heights. Here's a short video.

Green woodpeckers

Over the summer, I spotted at least two pairs of green woodpeckers in Lloyd Park and saw one of them with fledglings. They are more commonly found searching the grass for ants and other insects than in trees. They have a particular loud call, known as a yaffle, which sounds like laughter. I also saw some in Fallen Oak Field at Littleheath Woods.