I just spotted a greenfinch, which is a common enough British bird, but it’s the first one I’ve seen in my East London garden. The number of species now visiting has at least doubled since I moved in here, last century.

greenfinch pic by Neil Phillips

What I’ve come to realise is that even though we are in an inner city type borough the actual location is right at the tip of a thin wedge of more or less continuous green space which acts as a funnel from Epping Forest. Having a few large trees around makes it a last refuge for non-urban wildlife.