SOUTH-EAST LONDON 225 



Greenwich, a solitary pair of jackdaws bred 

 until recently in a hollow tree in the 'Wilder- 

 ness,' but have lately disappeared. The owls, 

 too, which were seen from time to time down to 

 within about two years ago, appear to have left. 

 The lesser spotted woodpecker and tree-creeper 

 are sometimes seen ; nuthatches are not un- 

 common ; starlings are very numerous ; robins, 

 hedge - sparrows, greenfinches, chaffinches, 

 thrushes, and blackbirds are common. In 

 summer several migrants add variety to the 

 bird life, and fieldfares may always be seen in 

 winter. In the gardens and private grounds 

 of Lee, Lewisham, and other neighbouring 

 parishes small birds are more numerous than 

 in the park. 



London (streets and houses) extends along or 

 near the river about five miles beyond Greenwich 

 Park. Woolwich and Plumstead now form one 

 continuous populous district, still extending 

 rows of new houses in all available directions, 

 and promising in time to become a new and not 

 very much better Deptford. Plumstead, being 

 mostly new, reminds one of a meaner West 

 Kensington, with its rows on rows of small 



Q 



