Capital nature - Barnehurst, Bexley and beyond

19/3/11: Pining for Coal Tits as Starlings vanish

2011-03-19T22:22:00.005+01:00

Another roundabout sortie to the local shops on a sunny spring afternoon.

I have been hoping to find Coal Tits and/or Goldcrest in the large pines on the east side of Erith Cemetery for some time and, after exercising a fair bit of patience, I was rewarded with long-lasting views of a pair of Coal Tits foraging and, at one point sat still preening in close proximity to one another.

Other birds seen were Great Tit, Blue Tit, 2 Long-tailed Tits, Blackbirds, Robin, Carrion Crows and 3 Magpie. House Sparrows were heard by the gatehouse. The absence of the Starlings from the nearby Poplars was evident, but I did eventually stumble upon a rather bemused-looking lone individual which was very tolerant of my approach. Overall, species numbers were down on visits earlier in the year.

Grape Hyacinths were coming up in the gravelly tops of several memorials and I could only assume that they hadn't got wider traction on account of frequent mowing. A few moments of intensive searching found a couple of leaves of Birds-foot, mirroring its occurence on Hollyhill Open Space on the other side of the same valley.

The 'laughing' call of a Green Woodpecker and drumming of a Great Spotted Woodpecker were heard emanating from the nearby Erith Quarry site, and the stand of Gorse towards the north-west corner could be seen in flower through my binoculars.

The Council has lately made some improvements to the 'front' part of Northumberland Heath Recreation Ground with patches of Crocus and Daffodils in the grass, and several newly planted trees. But there is still much scope for improvement in terms of wildlife-friendly features - a strip of unmown grass round the margins would help. There were 2 Long-tailed Tits in the evergreens near the car park - where the native Gorse in the shrub bed - was flowering nicely and a Pied Wagtail and a couple of Starlings flying over, plus the usual House Sparrows and Carrion Crows. Starling numbers have suddenly declined markedly in this area too. Presumably most were winter immigrants.

I had been thinking earlier in the day that, after a long period of largely overcast weather (albeit with little rain) it felt like the sort of conditions in which one might get to see a butterfly and, lo and behold, there was a Peacock on the wing in the 'rear' section of the site - though nothing for it to feed on across the swathes of closely mown turf.

9/3/11: Two men in a boat

2011-03-09T21:35:00.006+01:00

Spent most of the day in a small boat with Eric, 'fishing' for rubbish in the River Cray that could not be safely reached from the bank. It was a small, very stable, but rather 'square' and hard to manouevre craft, so it took us a long time to row slowly from the Riverkeeper's Yard down to the main work site at the old Vitbe Mill Pond, then all the way back again several hours later. There is so little clearance under the Maiden Lane and Thames Road bridges that we had to lie down in the boat and propel ourselves by hand, pushing against the underside of the bridge decks - putting me in mind of the way narrowboat men 'walked' their vessels through narrow canal tunnels.

At the Mill Pond the river splits in two, one branch has a boom across it, and this is where much rubbish and woody debris had accumulated, the other drops over a high weir, with both parts merging into Crayford Creek a little further downstream. It was slow-going work and a total of nearly 20 sacks of rubbish and several large items were removed. There was the usual array of metal drinks cans, glass and plastic bottles. Also lots of small fragments of polystyrene - which were a real pain to pick out of the reeds. This stuff should be banned! The most exotic items were a couple of loo seats, which we were able to get out. Further upriver we noticed a lawnmower on the bottom, which will have to be tackled another day.

On the way down to the river 9 Redwing were seen on Perry St Farm. At Thames Road Wetland a Chiffchaff was calling from somewhere within the Reedmace stands in the morning and 6 Goldfinch were on shrubs on the Sewer Pipe Embankment. At dusk there were a couple of bursts of loudish, scratchy song, which may have been a Cetti's Warbler. A local bird-watcher reported 3 from Crayford Marshes today, and I saw a dark brown bird with a strongly-cocked tail on TRW just before dusk last week.

There was a single Grey Wagtail at the Vitbe Mill Pond. On the surrounding banks were a Pyracantha and a couple of Mahonia aquifolium, none or all of which might conceivably have been self-sown. There was also a modestly-sized Gooseberry plant hard up against the Thames Rd bridge abutment.

On the long row back to the yard a couple of Pike were seen partly out of the water, spawning up against reeds, on By-way 105, and a Song Thrush was singing on the former Samas-Roneo site behind Barnes Cray Rd.

5/3/11: Richmond and Barnes: Fallow Deer, birds and heathland

2011-03-05T23:02:00.011+01:00

Off to Richmond Park today for a London Natural History Society meeting about the ecology of the Fallow Deer in the park.

There were 2 Jays at Barnehurst station. From there I went to North Sheen station.

In the environs of the Sheen Gate at the park were 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Mistle Thrush, 13 Redwings, Ring-necked Parakeets and a large number of Jackdaws. On the nearby Adams Pond were- 5m + 3f Mandarin Duck, 2 Egyptian Geese, 2m + 1f Tufted Duck, Common Gulls and Black-headed Gulls.

The leader gave us lots of interesting facts about the Fallow Deer, which he has studied for several years, on a tour of their favourite locations, including one of the prime rutting areas, and showed examples of antlers at different ages. The Red Deer were also seen at fairly close quarters.

LNHS members watch Fallow Deer at Richmond Park

After the meeting I went off on one of my long, roundabout walks back to another railway station. Not far from Richmond Park, on Priory Lane, I found a colony of the plant Claytonia perfoliata spreading out from under a garden fence and slightly overhanging the pavement - only my second record of the species in London.

On Barnes Common (the section south-west of Barnes station) were 1 Jay, Great Tit, Blue Tits, Long-tailed Tit, Robin, Wood Pigeon and Magpie. On a retaining wall by Barnes Station were several Hart's-tongue Fern and some Ivy-leaved Toadflax, and by the station approach lane were a number of Greater Celandine.

Along Rocks Lane things got more heathy, with old ant hills - often with Sheep's Sorrel and in one case a couple of Birdsfoot - and Broom plants. Further up the road, near Old Barnes Cemetery, were several Gorse in flower and lots of Silver Birch.

Old ant hill on Barnes Common, with two types of Moss

Gorse in flower on Barnes Common

At St. Mary Barnes Church there were several Greater Celandine.

On Barnes Green pond were (the now near-obligatory for certain parts of the capital) 2 Egyptian Geese, 2 Greylag, 2 white domestic geese, 7 Canada Geese, c25 Tufted Duck, lots of Mallard, 4 Coot, 1 Moorhen and, on the banks, feral Pigeons.

I then made my way to Barnes Bridge station via a quick look at the Thames as it began to get dark.

28/2/11: Danson Park delights

2011-02-28T20:18:00.001+01:00

Birds in the park today were:

2 Stock Dove amongst a group of Wood Pigeon, 2 (+?) Common Gull amongst lots of Black-headed Gulls foraging on sports pitches, 6 or so Greenfinch pecking at buds high up in Poplar trees, 1 Redwing, 5 Cormorant, 4 Tufted Duck, 2 Mute Swan, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Grey Heron, 29 Canada Geese, 2 Egyptian Geese, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, c25 Starling, Carrion Crow, Blackbird, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tits and Ring-necked Parakeets.

There was a cold breeze in the air which made lingering a bit unpleasant, and for the first time in a couple of weeks the binocular-focussing fingers were getting a bit numb!

28/2/11: Shooting the garden Fox

2011-02-28T13:24:00.000+01:00

Shot with a camera, of course .... Another 'apologies' for the quality job, as these pictures were taken with the mobile phone cam through a double-glazed window, and then enlarged a bit, affecting both crispness and contrast.

Anyway, here's the current 'owner' of this Barnehurst manor, always a rather well-fed looking individual. It's come very close to me when I've been out in the garden, but that's been when it was intent on taking its usual route around the place and I'd been standing there already. I think if I'd gone out of the back door on this occasion to try and get a closer view it would have run away.

21/2/2011: Northumberland (Heath ....) / Erith - golden Gorse and booming bird

2011-02-21T19:01:00.009+01:00

There was a Common Gull on North Heath Recreation Ground.

In Erith Cemetery (east side) were circa 40 Redwing making quite a lot of noise, but being quite skittish, 5 Chaffinch, 2 Greenfinch, 2 Magpie, 2 Blue Tit, 1 Great Tit, Blackbird and lots of Wood Pigeon. There were about 70 Starlings in Poplars between the cemetery and Carlton Rd.

I went a little further up Brook Street to Hollyhill Open Space, first because I could hear a Song Thrush there, and second, because I wanted to check whether the Gorse were wild single-flowered plants, or the double-flowered cultivar which I'd previously found the ones by Gravel Hill at Hall Place North to be.

The Song Thrush was singing from a copse at the foot of Hollyhill, but I couldn't get a visual on it. The song was echo-ing within the valley, making it sound very loud indeed, and even more difficult to get a precise fix on the bird's location. There's a good chance it was the same individual heard singing from the Brook Street allotment site recently.

The Gorse, in a stony, apparently weeded 'shrub bed' was all single-flowered, and had recovered from the burning a couple of years ago. At this time of year the way huge numbers of Common Stork's-bill carpet the ground really stands out, and I was able to spot some of the Bird's-foot (Ornithopus perpusillus), which I knew was also listed as being present on the site. Both the latter species are classed as 'notable' for London.

The site as a whole is decribed as 'former heathland' in the 2004 draft 'Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation in Bexley', which raises questions and possibilities in respect of the Council's existing and re-written Heathland Biodiversity Action Plan. This talks about increasing the amount of heathland in the Borough, but in immediate practical terms, or any site-specific prescription for future action, fails to look beyond extending that within Lesnes Abbey Wood.

Edge of the Gorse bed on Hollyhill Open Space, looking south across the eastern section of Erith Cemetery. The three blocks of flats in the right distance are near the southern end of Brook Street.

Looking east-south-east over the Gorse bed at Hollyhill Open Space, across the land-filled and re-greened Erith Quarry site to the right beyond the houses. There's a glimpse of the River Thames in the distance, just left of centre, whilst the church spire in the centre of the picture is that of Christ Church, Erith.

13-19/2/11: Barnehurst bits and pieces

2011-02-19T22:23:00.001+01:00

13/2/11: First Common Frog active in my garden.

16/2/11: Common Frog croaking on Grasmere allotment site. 7-spot Ladybird found.

18/2/11: White-cheeked Blackbird seen in the garden again.

19/2/11: Fox after dark on Barnehurst Avenue by the electricity sub-station.

16/2/11: First 'local' Song Thrush in years ....

2011-02-16T19:13:00.001+01:00

There was a Dunnock and a Collared Dove in my Barnehurst garden today.

A Brown Rat was seen in Bursted Wood.

Along Streamway (Northumberland Heath/Erith), leading to Brook Street, a Song Thrush was heard, calling from trees between the allotment site and the Erith Cemetery west side, the first I've heard anywhere in this area for ages.

Birds seen along this valley, with its stream, small amount of woodland, grass, Willow and Alder were 1 Redwing, 6 Ring-necked Parakeet, 5 Blue Tit, 1 Great Tit, several Wood Pigeon, 7 Starlings, a Blackbird, Robin and circa 11 House Sparrows in various hedging.

There was some Viola odorata in the wooded section opposite the houses, but this was probably a garden escape. Some Lesser Celandine was noticed here also.

14/2/11: Waxwings in London Borough of Bexley

2011-02-14T21:31:00.005+01:00

The London Bird Club wiki was listing Waxwing sightings in Russell Close, Bexleyheath, and at Bourne Mead, opposite the playing fields at Hall Place, during the past couple of days, and I couldn't resist seeing the species in my home Borough after three lots of sightings elsewhere in the capital this winter.

I therefore set off on one of my indirect sorties to Bexleyheath Broadway .......

At Bursted Woods and former the Pitch and Putt course (Barnehurst) were 2 or 3 Redwing, 2 Mistle Thrush, Ring-necked Parakeets, Wood Pigeons, Great Tit, Blue Tit and Carrion Crow.

No sign of Waxwings in Russell Close, but there was a large Cotoneaster stripped of berries, and another still laden over the road.

At Martens Grove (Bexleyheath): 2 or 3 Redwing, 1 Mistle Thrush, 1 Blackbird, 2 male Chaffinch, 8 Goldfinch feeding on the ground, Ring-necked Parakeets, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Robin, Magpie, and Carrion Crows.

Bourne Mead (Crayford) - off Bourne Rd, opposite Hall Place playing fields: great - the Waxwings were still there, camped in a tree above a heavily berry-laden Cotneaster, with individuals intermittently coming down to feed. I counted around 30 birds resplendent in the late afternoon sun and, when they finally flew off south east, beyond railway line, there may have actually been around 40 birds in total. 150 had been reported yesterday.

A serious birder was a few yards the other side of the Cotoneaster, with a large zoon lens on a DSLR. He turned out to be a local chap, but said he hadn't managed to get any particularly good photos.

Hall Place North (Bexleyheath): 22 Redwing, 2 Mistle Thrush, Great Tit, Wood Pigeons. 28 House Sparrows in the hedge of the adjacent school. 18 Ring-necked Parakeets over the north end of Gravel Hill.

12/2/11: Grey Squirrel prefers purple .....

2011-02-12T21:11:00.000+01:00

A visit to Holland Park this sunny afternoon, with a couple of nature-loving friends.

Not much to report on the wildlife front, but the plethora of Crocuses in the grass were pretty battered, something I put down to the depradations of a gaggle of Peacocks. On watching a bit longer, another culprit came to light. One of the Grey Squirrels was selecting the purple-flowered Dutch Crocus blooms, pulling them off, chewing the bottom ends (presumably for the nectar) and then discarding the rest.

Since I have a modest display of Crocuses planted in my own lawn, I'm relieved that the two incumbent Greys here have yet to adopt this behaviour - and I sincerely hope they never do .... !

8/2/11: Chasing Waxwings round the Emirates

2011-02-08T22:12:00.006+01:00

I was at a meeting in our new Green Party HQ off Old St/City Rd today, so I followed up reports of Waxwing outside Arsenal Football Club's Emirates stadium, and I got to see 5 in Drayton Park road before they took off for somewhere else. That's my third lot this winter. Of course this had to be the day a bunch were also reported from Bourne Rd in my home Borough of Bexley .......

The Waxwings were just over the road from Islington's Gillespie Park Nature Reserve, which I'd never been to before, so I had a look round. There was a Song Thrush singing on the other side of the railway line as the light began to fade.

Earlier in the day I'd wandered round Bunhill Fields burial ground on City Road, and found a colony of Claytonia perfoliata (called Miner's' Lettuce and various other vernacular names), a non-native species I've not seen before, though I soon discovered that its presence here has been previously recorded.

Claytonia perfoliata, Bunhill Fields burial ground, City Road, London

3+4/2/11: Perry St farm / Is horse grazing a problem at TRW?

2011-02-04T19:42:00.007+01:00

3/2/11

Today I was down near Thames Road Wetland for a meeting with two fellow members of Bexley Natural Environment Focus Group to discuss our collective response to the Council's draft Biodiversity Action Plan re-write.

I checked out Perry Street farm from Gascoyne Drive on the way there. There were 5 Pied Wagtail. A minimum of 133 Starlings were in and around a Bramble thicket in the middle of a field. Most of the birds could only be seen in silhouette, and there were probably others hidden from view.

Something must have spooked the Gulls roosting on the industrial redevelopoment site on Thames Rd., down near the 'Jolly Farmers' public house, as a huge 'cloud' of something like 200 birds took to the sky.

At Thames Rd Wetland there was a male Chaffinch, male Blackbird, a Robin, 3 Mallard and a couple of Coot. 3 Blue Tits seemed to be finding something to eat amongst the Reedmace seed heads.

Very close (8-10 foot) views were had of 2 brown 'Warblers', also foraging in the reedmace. They had a light eye stripe and light grey underparts. I am advised that these would have been Chiffchaffs, a new record for the site.

Long-tailed Tit and 2 Collared Doves were along By-way 105.

On the way to the 'Bear and Ragged Staff' in Crayford for a post-meeting drink with one of my BNEFG colleagues, we spotted 2 Grey Wagtails in the town-centre Riverside Gardens.

4/2/11.

Some management work at TRW today.

I had been concerned by the impact of horse-trampling in the 'Brookweed zone', noted on the 3rd. Horses aren't supposed to be on the site, but every now and again someone puts them out there. Said person(s) even renewed the barbed-wire fence that keeps them on the east side of the Wansunt. Except that there were also fresh droppings and hoof-marks along the Thames Rd bank of the larger part of the site, to the west of the Wansunt. This section is not completely fenced and therefore horses could potentially get onto Thames Rd and cause a serious accident .........

Anyway, the fact of the matter is that the Brookweed survived grazing activity by up to 3 horses last winter before I knew it was there, so I guess in the long run this process might conceivably be beneficial. But still, this is where I regret not having made the time to count and map Brookweed rosettes last season. If I'd done so I'd be in a position to start making a proper assessment. Taking a 'better safe than sorry' approach (given that I can hand-weed the Brookweed zone to reduce competition from more thuggish plants anyway), I wove bits of cut Bramble stem through the Rushes around which the Brookweed grow. Time will tell if this will work.

There's no indication that the feeding itself does anything other than take out the tops of the Rush clumps (see picture below), and this may give the Brookweed more early season light. But the trampling pressure is clearly pretty significant - and might be the main explanation for why most Brookweed appears to grow hard up against the bases of the Rushes where there is less of an impact.

Horse-trampling and Rush grazing in the 'Brookweed zone' at TRW

I also did some more work on extending a deepening my 'dune and ditch' system east of the Wansunt, part of a process of increasing cover and micro-habitat variations to encourage invertebrates and help Common Lizards colonise more of the site. As part of this endeavour I re-arranged the piles of Reedmace pulled out last year into a 'dead hedge', piling up bits of rubble at intervals to provide Lizard basking sites. The Reedmace will rot over time, but if we keep adding to the linear 'heap', a low banking will eventually be created.

Pulled Reedmace being used to create a 'dead hedge' to provide more cover for small creatures of various sorts in the exposed eastern end of the TRW

There had been around 20 Goldfinches along By-way 105 earlier in the day, and there was a female Pochard on the Cray here.

Around 28 Teal were on the water in the farm fields south of of Thames Rd Wetland.

On the way home, there were about 43 House Sparrows in the roost hedge on Thames Rd, by the 'Imagination' building, and a further 36 or so in the tree they use on Perry Street roundabout.

1/2/11: Barnehurst Bird's-nest fungi

2011-02-01T23:35:00.002+01:00

These Cyathus (family Nidulariaceae), are known as bird's nest fungi, since they resemble small bird's nests filled with 'eggs' - technically known as peridioles - which contain reproductive spores. They often grow on woody debris, as here, where there were unrotted twigs in material dug out of my compost heap and used to grow some Cabbages in a large pot.

The above picture was taken on 13th December with the 'eggs' still in place

This shot was taken on 1st February, by which time the 'eggs' had all been splashed out of the cups by raindrops.

31/1/11: Barnehurst and Bexleyheath multi-site birding

2011-01-31T22:42:00.015+01:00

The white-cheeked male Blackbird was in my Barnehurst garden again today, the first time I'd seen it since I first spotted it early in the month - see 6/1/11 post. There were also 3 female and 2 other male Blackbirds.

Taking a long and round-about route to Bexleyheath Broadway, the ports of call and some of the species seen were as follows:

Bursted Wood (former Pitch and Putt course): 2 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Great Tit, 1 Blue Tit, 8 Wood Pigeon. Within the wood itself were 10 Grey Squirrels within a narrow segment of the eastern end of the site alone .....

Russell Park: Basically a recreational park that is pretty bleak for wildlife, but could easily be improved without compromising its main function. Blackbird, Robin, 2 Carrion Crow, 1 Wood Pigeon, 10 House Sparrow (north west corner hedging, others could be heard from other boundary hedges).

Hall Place North: 4 Blue Tit, 1 Great Tit, 2 Carrion Crow. Much less than usual about, probably because of the racket being made by Council contractors - 1 bloke driving a tractor and trailer, 2 inefficiently creating piles of leaves to scoop up using intrusively loud petrol blowers (a good old-fashioned rake would have been vastly quicker and quieter ....) and 3 more standing around chatting.

One of a number of roads around the Borough, the name of which alludes to a heathland past ....

Looking south from the top of Broomhill Rise, out beyond the A2 and over the valley of the Rivers Shuttle and Cray to the Joydens Wood area on the high ground beyond

Grass verge plants in Broomfield Rd included Parsley Piert, Buck's-horn Plantain and Spotted Medick.

The Warren, off Broomfield Rd. Somewhere I've never been before. A hill-top site with some open grass areas and a small amount of woodland. 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Wren, 3+ Ring-necked Parakeets, 7+ Blue Tit, Great Tit (heard), 1 Blackbird, 1 Carrion Crow, 1 Robin, 1 House Sparrow.

Woodland at The Warren

Norway Spruce at The Warren. Presumably a 'guerilla planted' Christmas throw-out ...

Plant species at the Warren included this Iris foetidissima (a native species, but probably a garden escape here), of which there were about 24 plants, most youngish and clearly self-sown off this larger clump.

There were several Shining Cranesbill (Geranium lucidum) in a front garden on Mount Road, only the third place I've found it in Bexley Borough so far.

There was a Grey Heron flying east over Sandford Rd, near Danson Park, being chased by a lone Ring-necked Parakeet. It was then joined by a second Grey Heron.

Danson Park: There was still a significant amount of ice on the lake, though somewhat thinned out. 1 Green Woodpecker - my first for the site, feeding on grassland near trees south of the lake, 2 (possibly 4) Greenfinch, 2 Egyptian Geese, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Mistle Thrush, 8 Cormorant, 3 Grey Heron (may have included the two seen earlier over a nearby road), circa 80 Wood Pigeon, 36+ Ring-necked Parakeets, 54 Canada Geese, Carrion Crows, 1 Magpie, Blue Tit, 2 Mute Swans, lots of Coot, Moorhen, Mallard and Black-headed Gulls.

A pair of Mallard stand on the still part-frozen lake at Danson Park, with the Mansion in the distance

A male Mallard hybrid (cross with a domestic duck) on Danson Park lake

The late afternoon sun is reflected off the lake at Danson Park

31/1/2011: Help stop the privatisation of our forests!

2011-01-31T20:08:00.001+01:00

If you aren't one of the 330,000 people that have signed the anti-sell-off 38degrees petition yet, please do so here:

http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/save-our-forests#petition

The petition has helped trigger a crunch vote in Parliament this Wednesday (Feb 2nd). MPs will vote on a motion demanding a rethink of plans to sell our national forests. This vote can be won if MPs come under enough pressure.

It's quick and easy to email your MP, click here to send them a message: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/tell-your-mp-to-save-our-forests

Here's my letter to local MP David Evenett (Conservative):

Dear Mr. Evenett,

I'm concerned about the proposed sell-off of English woodlands and understand there is a vote in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon.

Our woodlands should belong to, and be available for the enjoyment of the public in perpetuity, as well as being managed for biodiversity, wood products and carbon capture. I am not persuaded that privatising them or issuing long leases with certain accessibility conditions is the best way to do that. If we look at who is buying land and national debts at the moment, we see overseas investors from (unsustainably) growing economies. There is therefore a danger that those with little long-term interest in our forest heritage will take control of what belongs to the UK public.

In addition, the Forestry Commission appears set to maintain a regulatory role, but without the income it currently makes from selling timber. The net result will be a very limited saving to the public purse. Moreover, the amount of subsidy currently received by the FC per taxpayer is tiny in comparison to the national benefit of a public forest estate.

As someone actively involved in both Lesnes Abbey (Wood) Conservation Volunteers and Cray Riverkeeper Volunteers, I see how difficult it is to mobilise volunteer labour, and I think the Government is being naive and misguided if it thinks 'community groups' with little funding, and often without paid or trained organisers can take over from the FC on any significant scale. Has it really thought through the Health and Safety implications and red tape that will be associated with volunteers attempting to do serious tree work? I doubt it!

I urge you, therefore, to vote against the Public Bodies Bill as currently proposed, and any amendments that open the door to a sell off. Please can you assure me that you will vote to protect and keep **our** forests in public ownership on Wednesday and tell the government to rethink?

Best wishes,

Chris Rose

29/1/11: Wings of Red, Wax - from Tooting Common to Finsbury Park

2011-01-29T22:27:00.001+01:00

An unpleasantly cold LNHS meeting at Tooting Bec Common in search of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (none found). There had been a report of Waxwings on the Common so we set off to see them first, finding circa 40 Waxwings in the 'triangle' east of Balham station, near the underpass to Cavendish Rd. They were pecking away at something on their Sycamore perching place on the railway embankment, but soon took flight at the approach of a passing train. Amongst other species seen were: 8 Redwing, 1 Sparrowhawk (over), 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Nuthatch and 12 Ring-necked Parakeet. Those on the lake included 4 confiding Egyptian Geese, which were presumably used to being fed, 10 Shoveler, Tufted Duck and 2 Mute Swans.

Quite a lot of Waxwings have been reported from the Islington area lately, so I made my way to the Victoria Line, baled out at Finsbury Park station and crossed the road to the ground of that name. The highlight here was circa 98 Redwings and 95 Starlings feeding together, on the north side slope. Some of the other birds seen were 4 Chaffinch and 2 or 3 Goldfinch, and on the lake - which I hadn't looked at on previous visits - 11 Shoveler, 11 Pochard, 28 Tufted Duck, 2 Cormorant + 1 over, 4 Greylag, 22(+?) Canada Geese and 2 Mute Swan.

Some Finsbury Park lake pictures follow:

2 male and 1 female Pochard (foreground) with 4 male Tufted Duck behind

3 Mallard (male and female in foreground), female Pochard and male and female Tufted Duck

Mute Swan, with a male of each of Tufted, Pochard and Mallard Duck (left to right, behind)

28/1/11: Welcome Wren sighting in the garden

2011-01-28T23:48:00.004+01:00

Throwing food scraps on the lawn instead of the bird table is generating a lot more activity here. There were 10 Starlings and at least 3 different Blackbirds eating their fill today. A Robin and Blue Tit were about. Most pleasing was a great view of a Wren from the kitchen window, first in a Fuchsia bush, then when it briefly posed on top of some garden canes. Their small size (and thus high heat = energy loss) is a problem in harsh winters because, being insectivorous, they can't cash in on the usual bird table fare when their prey is in short supply.

27/1/11: North Heath birds shun cold north wind

2011-01-27T17:35:00.001+01:00

Not much showing itself in a grey afternoon, characterised by a cold northerly wind.

Northumberland Heath:

There were 2 Redwings at the school on Brook St, the closest ones I've seen to where I live so far this winter. At North Heath Recreation Ground 10 Wood Pigeons were feeding on the grass. c60 Starlings were intermittently wheeling over the western ('rear') section, and 15 House Sparrows were congregating around a feeder in adjoining garden. 50+ House Sparrows and 2 Blue Tits were in Erith School hedges, along Avenue Rd.

Erith Cemetery (east side):

Very little about. 2 male Chaffinch were seen, around 50 Wood Pigeon which were behaving rather restlessly and frequently taking flight - perhaps scaring off smaller birds in the process - a couple of Blackbirds, 2 Carrion Crows and some Magpies.

26/1/11: Highgate Siskins steal show

2011-01-26T23:35:00.006+01:00

Up to north London today to help the Green Party Office move from Archway down to the Old Street area, and had decided a couple of days ago to take the opportunity to have a last look (for a while anyway) around Waterlow Park in Highgate. Co-incidentally, a report appeared on the London Bird Club wiki that Siskins and Bullfinches had been seen there yesterday.

I got off the Northern Line at Tufnell Park and walked up Dartmouth Park Hill, stopping off at Dartmouth Park (Upper Holloway) part way up. A Mistle Thrush was showing well near the main road and 4 Blue Tit and a Great Tit were in trees. The view over central London from the slope on the east side of the park is as good as from Parliament Hill, and since my last visit the Shard at London Bridge has appeared on the horizon.

In Waterlow Park the first stand-out was a prominent Song Thrush singing with great gusto. A lone Long-tailed Tit was foraging nearby, and later 2 Great Tit and several Blue Tit were seen. Blackbird, Robin, Carrion Crow, Magpies, several Wood Pigeon and several Feral Pigeon were also noted. On the two larger lakes were a total of 8 Tufted Duck, 5 Moorhen, 3 Coot, 27 Mallard and 18 Black-headed Gull.

The best was pretty much last, with excellent and very close views of circa 15 Siskins feeding on Alder cones in the Upper Pond Nature Area at around 11.45 a.m.

Later a Pied Wagtail was seen on an office building in Leonard St., Shoreditch.

23/1/11: Lesnes Abbey and Erith Marshes - why isn't the Belvedere Power Station site being returned to the marshes?

2011-01-23T22:48:00.009+01:00

Down in Lesnes Abbey Wood today, working on the Ransoms (Wild Garlic) Glade with LACV, clearing Bramble and Ivy from the ground. Good number of Wild Narcissues coming up. There was even a stunted one already in flower, but the bud had been badly mauled by molluscs.

There was 1 Grey Heron on the Abbey Ponds, and another flew over. Also 3 Mallard. A Sparrowhawk was seen circling over the Abbey. A party of around 7 Long-tailed Tit were seen in the wood itself.

Later on, heading for the marshes, 1 Kestrel came down on a lamp post, 19 Chaffinch were in trees and 7 Magpie were at the fields, sadly now a building site, at the junction of Norman Rd and Eastern Way. 1 Pied Wagtail was on house roof the south part of Norman Way.

The old Belvedere Power Station on the northern part of Norman Rd has been demolished since I was last out here, along with the short pylons. There are signs up flagging it as land for industrial use. But the question has to be asked as to why Bexley Council have not decided to return it to grazing marsh (or at least clear most of the site and allow it to scrub over) - which is what I have suggested they do. The site is specifically listed in the draft Local Development Framework, Site Specific Allocations document which invites comments on land use in the Borough. Much is made in Council publications of the huge importance of the marshes from a Bexley and London-wide perspective, but it just keeps getting eaten away at. OK, so some new ditches have been dug, which is great, but this is simply in line with the Council's apparent view (though never quite overtly expressed as such) that wildlife/biodiversity can be crammed into an ever smaller area as long as this is 'enhanced' a bit ('mitigation') from the likes of section 106 money by allowing yet more concrete and tarmac to be poured elsewhere. So here's an opportunity to cut the rhetoric and greenwash, and show the Council means what it says and isn't going to put money first for a change. Will it be taken?

Meantime, here's what was seen out on Erith Marshes (what little is left of them): 2 Grey Heron, 2 Mute Swan. 40 Teal in a wide drainage channel. More Teal on the (flooded) field between the Sewage Works and that ghastly Incinerator plus over 200 Gadwall, 2 Shelduck and 60 Lapwing. The fact that the tide was right in on the Thames probably had something to do with this. A Fox was spotted trotting along the northern margin of the field, but the birds didn't seem bothered. 30 Canada Geese, a Great Tit, Blackbird and Song Thrush were in the Sewage Works grounds.

22/1/11: Bittern is star of Cheshunt show again

2011-01-22T18:55:00.001+01:00

Up at 06.45 (urghhhh) to get to Cheshunt for a Roy Woodward-led LNHS meeting around former gravel pits in the Lee Valley Regional Park.

Saw 48 species of birds. This time there was a Bittern standing in a channel through the reeds, head pointing skyward, at precisely the time we entered the hide. It remained there for a little while before moving into the reedbed. Whilst we ate our lunches we had a couple more decent views as it came out and crossed these purposefully cut narrow channels, which increase reedbed 'edge' feeding sites.

Other highlights were: a couple of female Goosander, a few Smew, a few Goldeneye, a Pink-footed Goose amongst a flock of Greylags, Wigeon, a gathering of Fieldfares in a cattle field and a very good view of a Treecreeeper towards the end of the meeting.

19/1/11: North Heath Rec and Erith Cemetery birds include Redwing and Greenfinch

2011-01-19T18:18:00.008+01:00

There were 15 Wood Pigeon on North Heath recreation ground, around 60 Starlings - mainly in a large tree, but also on house chimneys and TV aerials - where the gardens of houses on Brook Street form part of the park's boundary, and also at least 8 House Sparrows here.

Further along Brook Street, in the eastern part of Erith Cemetery, there were 6 (and possibly one or two more) Redwing - of which I've seen none so far this winter, except on or by Crayford Marshes and, very pleasingly a group of 12 Greenfinch. The latter most probably make use of the nearby Erith Quarry site, which is now mainly secondary scrub. 14 House Sparrows were utilising a feeder in adjoining garden. There were also 20+ Wood Pigeon, 4 Ring-necked Parakeet, 3 Magpie, 2 Carrion Crow, several Starlings, Blue Tit and a Robin.

17/1/11: Crayford birds, high water and a load of rubbish

2011-01-17T23:22:00.007+01:00

Having had a meeting near Crayford Way to discuss Bexley Natural Environment Group's submission on the Site Specific Allocations part of the Council's draft Local Development Framework, and the future of BNEFG in the wake of the unexpected death of its Chairman, Jeremy Cotton, over Christmas, I took the opportunity to check out the river and TRW.

Following heavy rain and, no doubt, a contribution from ground saturated by previous snow-melt, the Cray was the highest I'd ever seen it ...

The dry Reedmace stems (centre in the above photo) mark the normal margin of the river

The Cray passing the Riverkeeper Volunteers yard by Footpath 106. The tufts of vegetation sticking out of the right hand side of the river mark the normal extent of the water.

Maiden Lane bridge with the water nearly touching the underside of the roadway

Negative impact: large numbers of plastic bottles and cans, presumably dislodged from places on the riverbank where they had been inaccessible to River clean-ups, or hidden in summer vegetation growth, were now strewn all along the banks by By-way 105

The water level in the Wansunt, where it crosses Thames Road Wetland, was up compared to normal levels, but not as noticeably as on the neighbouring Cray

Water levels on the TRW pools were not much higher than normal, though they had crept outwards up the shallow banks a bit, and in this photo were getting the Brookweed's feet wet in amongst the clumps of dark green rushes (just left of centre)

25 Goldfinches were seen along By-way 105 by the River Cray, and there were a couple of Coot on the river near the Thames Rd bridge, as well as 2 more on the TRW 'lake'. Looking south from the east end of the Sewer Embankment, a Little Egret was spotted in the distance, following a Grey Heron west over the farm between the Cray and the Dartford Loop railway line. There were 10+ Teal and 3 Moorhen on a watery field here.

Circa 240 Starlings were on the electricity pylon at the junction of Thames Rd and University Way. More Teal, 12 Shoveler and 2 Mute Swan were on the flooded fields on the Dartford side of Crayford Creek.

15/1/11: Birds of eastern Bexleyheath

2011-01-15T19:11:00.006+01:00

First up, Martens Grove:

1 Green Woodpecker - my first record of this species here, feeding in a grassy glade with Pigeons, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker - later heard drumming, 3 Goldfinch, 1 male Chaffinch, 1 Wren, 22+ Woodpigeon, several Ring-necked Parakeet, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow and Robin.

Then round the corner to Shenstone Park and the 'pinched off' north-east 'enclave' of Hall Place North just over the main road:

Here the birds included 2 Mistle Thrush, 1 Wren and Ring-necked Parakeets.

Across a short section of footpath and I was into Hall Place North 'proper':

Of note were 1 Green Woodpecker, and four separate groups Ring-necked Parakeets heading west over Gravel Hill approaching dusk - totalling circa 43 birds.

There appeared to be no House Sparrows in the school playing field hedge on Gravel Hill, but there was a lot of chirruping from evergreen shrubs by the Council multi-storey car-park on Albion Rd - perhaps they decamp here in the winter for more protection?

9/1/11: Lesnes Abbey wood birds

2011-01-09T21:54:00.000+01:00

Went out on the first Lesnes Abbey Conservation Volunteers event of the year, and my first for some time. We were clearing Ivy and other more robust plants from an area where Wild Daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) had been present, but had declined. The wood is noted, for amongst other things, the fact that this is possibly now the only site in the capital where the species is found naturally. Towards the end of the task a couple of clumps of the Narcissus were found, just starting to poke their leaves above ground. There were quite a few shoots of Bush Vetch in this particular location.

For details of the group and the future events diary please see here, all are welcome to get involved. No special skills are needed.

http://www.lacv.btck.co.uk/

Arriving early as usual, I'd done a bit of bird-watching by the Abbey ponds before others arrived. There was 1 Grey Heron, 1 Moorhen, circa 40 Carrion Crow, 4 Magpie, 1 male Chaffinch, 1 Robin, 3 House Sparrow and 2 Blue Tit.

Later in the wood I noted 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Ring-necked Parakeet and a group of circa 43 Woodpigeon.

7/1/11: Erith Cemetery flora and avifauna

2011-01-07T20:37:00.000+01:00

Went into Erith Cemetery on Brook Street for the first time, on this occasion the eastern side.

The flora was to some extent typical of the dry, sandy soil in this part of Bexley Borough. There was a huge amount of Common Stork's-bill (Erodium cicutarium), a small amount of Bird's-foot (Ornithopus perpusillus), Sheep's Sorrel, Parsley Piert sp., quite a lot of Mouse-ear Hawkweed, Henbit Deadnettle and a lot of Sedum acre and Sedum (probably) album, the latter two presumably escaped out of the gravel on top of some of the graves.

3 Goldfinch were seen, circa 44 Starlings in Poplars between here and Carlton Rd., Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit, House Sparrows, Carrion Crow and about 25 Wood Pigeons.

On leaving, House Sparrows were heard in bushes in the western section.

Towards dusk about 34 House Sparrows were counted flitting into shrubbery by the car park in Northumberland Heath recreation ground.

6/1/11: Busy for birds in Barnehurst back garden - including Black-and-white Blackbird

2011-01-06T17:08:00.002+01:00

Lots of birds in the garden this rainy, but mild afternoon. Up to 10 Starlings, some on the ground and others squabbling around the bird table and trying to get past the Wood Pigeon.

A Magpie. A couple of Blue Tits and a Robin.

Also, after a long period with little Blackbird activity, there were three males and a female on the lawn together. One of the males, a rather sleek and apparently a juvenile bird, has small white areas on its shoulders and a prominent pure white blotch on each cheek, and looks altogether rather handsome. Here he is .... (you'll have to excuse the very poor quality photos, taken with a mobile phone through a double-glazed window in poor light, from a distance and then enlarged a lot):

4/1/2011: Bursted Wood and Danson Park birding ....

2011-01-04T23:24:00.002+01:00

Bursted Wood (Barnehurst): Very close view of a Great Spotted Woodpecker which came within about 20 feet of me, only 10 feet up a small tree, before realising I was there and finding somewhere bigger and further away. Also 1 Jay on a tree out in the open near the Primary School. Plus all the usual suspects: Carrion Crows, Wood Pigeons, Ring-necked Parakeets, Magpies.

Danson Park (Bexleyheath/Welling): Still a largish ice sheet on the lake. Three species I've not seen here before. 50+ Shoveler, 6 Pochard, 4 Tufted Duck, 18 Mallard (mainly males), 1 or 2 Great Crested Grebe, 8 Cormorant, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Egyptian Geese, 46 Canada Geese, lots of Coot and Moorhens, 2 Stock Doves amongst a large number of ground-foraging of Wood Pigeons, 5 Magpies, Carrion Crows, 15 Starlings, a few Ring-necked Parakeets, and lots of Black-headed Gulls.

30/12/10: Waxwings ten a penny in Teddington

2010-12-30T23:11:00.000+01:00

OK, I'm not a 'Twitcher' and wouldn't travel to Shetland - or even halfway across London - in the hope of being able to pick a rare Gull out of a crowd. But Waxwings appealed, and I'd never previously seen one. So I'd been keeping my eye on the London Bird Club wiki, especially the reports of Waxwings hanging out in Balham several days running, as the given location was just up the road from where the Green Party HQ used to be.

There were none to be seen when I arrived, but it was obvious they must have been in a couple of well-berried trees in some grass outside a couple of small blocks of flats. These had now been commandeered by a couple of Blackbirds. A small flock of birds did whoosh over, catching me by surprise - they didn't sound right for Starlings. Maybe it was them, They were heading in the direction of the other local street they'd been reported from, but no luck there either.

Armed with a new report from Teddington, fresh in this morning while I was on the move, did I try there or pop down to Tooting Common in the hope of seeing my first Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, then head north to the site of some Waxwing sightings in Finchley, now possibly past its sell-by date? I opted for the former - there was a decent number of birds, they'd been seen a very short while ago and I only had to go back up to Clapham Junction, then back out again towards Shepperton.

I was in luck. Just as I approached the Teddington location (well, Fulwell actually) at a bout 13.45, a number of birds descended on a garden then, disturbed by something flew back up into a tree on the other side of the street. A couple of other binocular-toting individuals confirmed that I was in the right place. There, up in the top of a very large tree, its branches spreading out over a main road, were some 50 Waxwings, for the most part nonchalantly preening themselves and showing off their distinctive profile with that swept-back' tuft of crown feathers. It can't have been more than about 10 minutes before they all took flight after someone slammed a car door, and although I wandered around for a bit to see if I could find them again, and came back past the original location, that was that. The benefits of mobile internet access, a £7.50 travelcard (so that's 15p a Waxwing) and a stroke of luck on the timing. For the record, what had attracted them to this particular spot was a rather small pink-fruited Rowan, right by a front garden wall and the pedestrian pavement.

Of course I noted down a few plants here and there whilst I was out and about. There was a small colony of Annual Nettle by an old telephone exchange in Balham, and Lesser Celandine leaves showing by a housing estate on Balham Hill.

This Antirrhinum was in flower on a railway bridge in Fulwell, despite the two lots of snow and sub-zero temperatures recently. The brickwork also sported a number of Greater Celandines.

And next to the bridge was this stand of Euphorbia, probably E. lathyris, Caper Spurge.

Three Stinking Iris were along a footpath by Fulwell Golf Course, and didn't appear to have come from any deliberate plantings.

25/12/10: ducking out of Christmas bags Kingfisher and Pochard

2010-12-25T21:19:00.006+01:00

Urghhhhhh. I really can't stand the even-more-over-consumption-than-usual-fest that is 'Christmas,' nor getting bored stiff in other people's over-heated houses for hours on end. Not to mention the wall-to-wall rubbish on the telly.

I did my bit by visiting my brother and his family in the morning, counting 82 Wood Pigeon on or in the vicinity of Barnehurst Golf Course.

There was a Jay, 3 or 4 Long-tailed Tit, 2 pairs of Blackbirds and a Blue Tit in his garden on Mayplace Rd East.

A Mistle Thrush was in a tree in the grounds of Crayford Manor House.

Heading for the River Cray there were 12 Lapwing, 40 Starlings, 3 Goldfinch, 2 Long-tailed Tit and a Jay with an acorn in the St. Paulinus/Manor Rd. field.

There were 2 Long-tailed Tit, 2 Blackbirds, a small group of Chaffinch , Feral and Wood Pigeon and 3 Collared Doves along Footpath 106, where I managed to slip over on snow by now compacted to ice, bruising my elbow :-(

By the Maiden Lane bridge 2 Redwing - still few and far between around here at the moment - were in a bush, and 2 Great Tit were nearby.

3 Ring-necked Parakeets were chasing each other over the Willow Carr along By-way 105. A male Pochard - possibly the one that was around last winter - was on the river by the Thames Rd bridge in the company of a few Mallard. Then something of modest size came speeding towards me, low and straight under the bridge and upriver. It took me a moment or two to realise it was a Kingfisher, and I caught sight of a confirmatory flash of blue as it went past.

2 Goldfinch were around the Sewer Embankment. Not much was happening on Thames Road wetland which was completely frozen up. I was there long enough to see a Lapwing come down on the flat adjacent to Thames Road on two separate occasions. On the second I was close enough to see the bird actively foraging. It may or may not have been the same bird, as two had been doing some aerial 'combat' over the nearby park a short while earlier, and later on two were seen in the Council depot car park over the road. This is the first time I've seen the species actually using the site, rather than just flying over it.

A Wren and a Dunnock were observed in the bowl of the Wetland itself. A fly-over Cormorant was seen.

Three groups of Starlings were seen at the southern end of the marshes, the largest, of 37 birds, was over the Viridor site.

A couple of Teal were on Crayford Creek. I though of trying to make it to Moat Lane, but the light was fading and enough people had been along the path to ice it up under their footfall, so I took the safer option and headed back towards Thames Rd., lingering in the area where I saw the Bearded Tit last Friday. After a while 1 or 2 Bearded Tit were heard calling from the large embayed area of reed bed on the Dartford side. Although the sound appeared to be emanating from the margin of the bed near the water, it was now dusk, and try as I might, I couldn't see anything moving in the gloom.

24/12/10: Danson Park Shoveler surprise

2010-12-24T20:51:00.005+01:00

Bursted Wood:

Checked out the tree line along the north side of the former pitch-and-putt course. 2 Blue Tit, 3 Long-tailed Tit. Plus a couple of Great Tit turning over leaves on bits of ground free of snow.
Inside the wood itself several Magpies and Carrion Crow were about. There were 3 or 4 Blue Tit in the hospital grounds. Some 40 Wood Pigeon flew overhead and 3 Ring-necked Parakeets. A Wren darted under some ivy at the base of a tree.

17 more Wood Pigeon were in a couple of trees on The Green.

8 House Sparrows were in a garden shrub on Herbert Rd., Bexleyheath, and several Starlings were seen here, then more along Church Rd.

There were a couple of Collared Doves along Upton Rd.

17 Starlings were in a tree at the junction of Lion Rd and Upton Rd, and about 30 more were in a tall Poplar some way away south of Martin Dene.

In an attempt to find out if it was possible to get onto Bexleyheath Golf Course I ended up on Iris Avenue, but there was no (legitimate) way in here. I was, however, pleased to see 16 young plants of native Broom along the bank leading up to the roadway.

I followed a footpath that continued across the A2, where a Great Tit was singing very loudly to be heard above the din of the traffic.

An alleyway leading onto Arcadian Av. harboured Hedera colchica, probably a garden throw-out, and a Japanese Honeysuckle, likely seeded from a specimen in a nearby garden.

Heading west I went through the underpass that comes out at the bottom end of Lodge Lane, on my way to Danson Park.

Danson Park:

Danson lake was pretty much completely frozen over apart from a small area around an island with trees on, by where the solar panels are sat on a floating raft. This had had the effect of concentrating most of the waterbirds in one place, though the large number of Black-headed Gulls were spread between this location and the ice up by the boating shed.

I was surprised to see 52 Shoveler - some swimming and most standing on the ice - my first record of this species here (though I've not visited in winter before). There were 40 Coot, 52 Carrion Crow (that all homed in on some duck-feeding kids), 14+ Moorhen, 14 Canada Geese, quite a few Mallard, several Ring-necked Parakeets, 5 Long-tailed Tit, a (Mistle?) Thrush, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Great Tit, 1 Blue Tit and 1 Robin.

17/12/10: No pain, no gain - Bearded Tit on Crayford Marshes

2010-12-17T23:28:00.008+01:00

I was perusing the London Bird Club (London Natural History Society, Ornithology Section) Wiki ('Latest news' page)

http://londonbirders.wikia.com/wiki/LatestNews

for the first time in a while yesterday evening, because I fancy seeing my first Waxwings. Sure enough, some had been seen in Old Bexley, also in Bromley.

But what caught my eye were reports of Bearded Tits on Crayford Marshes this week, both by Erith Yacht Club, and also along the Cray by the landfill mound - the latter location being a stone's throw (or three) from Thames Road Wetland ....

Never having seen one of those either, and since they're scarcer in this part of the world at any rate, I ignored the weather forecast and hot (later to become frozen-)footed it down there.

Setting off at 11.15, I took the Colyers Lane route towards Slade Green station. It was overcast, but seemed fairly mild. A couple of Blackbirds, some Starlings and a Collared Dove were seen en route. Another 18 Starlings were along Northend Rd, and 11 more in Barnett Close.

On the recreation ground west of the station 10 Feral Pigeons were feeding on the ground, and a couple of Carrion Crow were seen.

10 Starlings were on a TV aerial at the junction of Howbury Lane and Whitehall Lane, 26 were on aerials on the east side of Slade Green station, mainly on the former pub, about 36 more were on a tall Poplar nearby (some may have moved from one of these locations to the other by now), 38 were seen flying from Howbury Grange west towards the football pitch on the north side of Moat Lane and 24 more were at Howbury Grange itself.

At this end of the Moat Lane footpath were a Song Thrush, a fairly approachable Pied Wagtail, 3 Chaffinches, a Great Tit and a Blue Tit.

A count of Wood Pigeons sitting in the row of large Willows yielded a total of 97, with 8 in small trees further along. 3 male Blackbirds were hanging out together not far beyond.

Three Redwings, my first definite sightings of the year, were in the patch of Hawthorns where Moat Lane rises up to the flood defence embankment on the Darent.

By now it was getting rather colder and it started snowing. Lapwings, Redshank and a handful of Teal were along the river. The ducks seemed to be happy enough ducking under for a 'wash and brush up' in the cold water. 8 Mute Swans evidently saw things rather differently and had decided the best place to be was up on the grassy banks. The eerie calls of waders, piercing the increasingly gloomy conditions, were a potent reminder of just how wild this place once was.

I pressed on past the flood control gate, and the snow was being blown sideways. There was no quick way home from here anyway. The nearer I got to Essex across the big river, the less I could see of it through the streaming white stuff.

50 Lapwing populated the exposed mud where the Darent joins the Thames, along with a lot of Gulls. There were a few Dunlin here too. By now it was getting difficult to focus the bins on account of cold fingers, and problematic with gloves on.

Pressing on towards Erith Saltings, by the Yacht Club, one of the reported Bearded Tit sites, a largish flock of Chaffinches flew up from the rough. There were several Teal and some Wigeon on the water, with Gadwall and Mallard mostly on the mud. A Grey Heron stood sentry. A few Cormorants were in evidence. A single Curlew or maybe Whimbrel (my birding skills are somewhat deficient) was spotted.

Now my feet were really feeling the cold, despite three layers of socks. I set off down Ray Lamb Way, and was rewarded with half a dozen Redwing in trees on the rough verge between the road and houses. In addition, the sun came out. A three-quarter moon appeared, looking unusually large in a blue sky dotted with both grey and white clouds. A small white plane, caught in the sunlight, flew over the moon.

Heading towards Darent industrial estate, the icy conditions, lack of a footpath and heavy-ish traffic created potentially hazardous conditions and I nearly fell too far down the side of a drainage ditch. Just as I got to the first of the buildings, a Green Woodpecker flew over.

I took the footpath which comes back out onto the Darent, a way up stream of the floodgate, then turned right, heading back towards Moat Lane and on to the Cray. I surveyed the view, now lit up in quite the fantastic light of a low winter sun in a clear blue sky, and with the bonus of snow on the ground.

Then there was sun ..... The moon over the QE2 bridge, and Littlebrook power station, looking across Reed bed and the channel of the River Darent from London into Kent.

The view west down Moat Lane, the way I'd come earlier in the day. But now I was heading further south - to the Cray ......

Lapwing dotted the increasing areas of mud on the river bank, and a Fox was seen over on Dartford marsh.

Heading up the footpath flanking the Cray, a flock of around 36 Chaffinches was seen.

Something was noticed in the big embayment of Common Reed on the Dartford side, and after much fiddling about getting my frozen fingers to focus the binoculars, a sighting of one male Reed Bunting became two males and a female.

This was the other area, by the landfill mound, where Bearded Tit had been reported from earlier in the week. But they could have been seen anywhere along this lengthy stretch. For some reason I stayed put. There was a slightly different sort of call. Could that be it (ooops, I hadn't checked what Bearded Tits sound like .....). A heavy-ish movement was seen in the top of some Common Reed. Not, I sensed, the wind-generated sort. I got the bins on the right spot. Shortly, a rear view of something unfamiliar was seen. Two prominent white bands down the back. Again, I wasn't sure what they were supposed to look like from this angle. But it was different. I knew that much. I moved closer. In next to no time I was rewarded with a 3/4 front view of an obliging male Bearded Tit, oblivious to, or unfazed by my presence. And from less than 30 feet away. Fantastic. Moreover it was on the north side of the river, and therefore a legitimate London, and London Borough of Bexley 'tick'. A few yards distant on the other side of the water, and it would have been in Kent. Not to mention hard to see in the gathering gloom.

Reed bed (foreground) where my first ever Bearded Tit was seen this afternoon.

Mission accomplished, but I didn't feel as excited as I would have been if I'd seen one on Thames Road Wetland. But by now it was 15.50, and by the time I got to TRW it was too dingy to see anything much very clearly. There were some calls from the Reedmace/Reed bed, but not being a birder, I had no idea what all of them were .......

Worse than the cold was the walk home. These wellies had been OK on a shorter trek, but they must have a subtle, but untoward effect on leg movement, as the fronts of my thighs were now hurting rather a lot from the unusual strain I presume this had been putting them under. The problem might rule out traipsing around looking for Waxwings tomorrow if I can't find a quick vegan way of keeping my feet both dry and rather warmer! No pain, no gain, as they say .....

8/12/10: Charmed by Goldfinches whilst ditch digging at Thames Road Wetland

2010-12-08T19:23:00.002+01:00

I was the only Riverkeeper volunteer out today, so went off and did some more solo ditch-digging at Thames Road Wetland, while Ashe Hurst stayed at the yard and got the equipment store tidied up. Another feet freezing day, despite three pairs of socks, though the sun came out so I did warm up properly in the end.

Snow was still on the ground on most of the site, bar the south-facing Thames Roads bank, and there was little in the way of free water - even the surface of the 'lake' was iced over.

The TRW 'lake' completely iced over

There hasn't actually been much precipitation lately and, as I'd hoped, the melting snow had had the effect of wetting the 'soil' and making it more workable. Some of the more stony ditches were therefore deepened a bit further.

A new ditch was started in an area with more 'proper' soil and less stones, and an adjoining one was deepened. These should be quicker to get to a decent depth, creating more substantial adjacent banking in the process. This will create a variety of microhabitats, and better cover for various species on this otherwise very flat and thinly-vegetated part of the site.

More soil, less toil - this new ditch in less stony substrate was much quicker to dig. As I do more work on this project, the whole lot should end up looking a lot more 'natural' and less trench-like .....

Proceedings were enlivened by a charm of some 25+ Goldfinches wheeling over the site and flitting between trees and shrubs on the eastern section of the Sewer Pipe Embankment.

Ignominious end - the River Wansunt disappears into this pipe taking it under Thames Road and sundry industrial units. Thankfully, a more enlightened attitude prevails these days, and a number of rivers are being opened up again, partly in response to the realisation that restoring natural flood alleviation capacity is the best way forward.

A glint of sunlight on a frozen ditch on TRW

As dusk started to close in and I headed back to the yard, two dumpy birds with long bills were inadvertently flushed from the west end of the site. A good side view was had of one as it flew low over the Reedmace and quickly dropped out of site. The other flew off, circled round at quite a height, and some way off over the other side of Thames Rd, before coming back. Heading towards me, so that I could see its pale underside, it must have realised I was standing there and it banked away again. I concluded from size and behaviour that these were Snipe (as opposed to Jack Snipe). I think I must have seen one or two last winter, but hadn't had such good sightings.

A London-bound train flashes over Thames Road rail bridge as the reflections of street lights stretch across the ice-covered 'lake'.

7/12/10: Birds (and Bird's-foot) in and around Bexleyheath

2010-12-07T17:28:00.008+01:00

First up, Martens Grove. Lots of Wood Pigeon as usual. Magpies. Ring-necked Parakeets. Great Tits. Blue Tit. Robin. Blackbirds. Great Spotted Woodpecker calling from the top of a bare tree. Possible Goldcrest in a pine tree, but I didn't get a clinching view.

On to Hall Place North. My feet were getting very cold standing around in the snow! Wood Pigeon, 4 Magpie, Carrion Crows, 2 Collared Doves near adjoining houses. Lots of Ring-necked Parakeets. 3 Great Tits

Oak trees at Hall Place North, still carrying most of their leaves

The small Legume Bird's-foot (Ornithopus perpusillus), a prominent component of the turf in some parts of the site at this time of year, seen here growing with Sheep's Sorrel.

A few House Sparrows were heard in a school field hedge on Gravel Hill, opposite the Marriott Hotel.

Then Christchurch, Bexleyheath Broadway. There were several Carrion Crows in the neighbouring St. George's Field, one of which was, for some reason, repeatedly - and unsuccessfully -trying to pull a rather springy Cherry tree sucker off the base of the trunk. Perhaps it was just having fun ....

Christchurch Cemetery was more interesting. 2 or 3 Grey Squirrel. A male Chaffinch. Several Wood Pigeon. 2 Collared Dove. 3 Goldfinches feeding in an Alder species. 3 Magpies. A Robin. A male Blackbird. 2 Blue Tits. It was especially pleasing to see a flock of around 22 Greenfinches here, mostly juvelines, given the disease problems the species is currently suffering from. I haven't seen any in my garden in more than 18 months.

17 Ring-necked Parakeets were later seen flying over Long Lane into Russell Park, and 16 more west into Bursted Wood, Barnehurst.

27/11/10: Seeing the wood and the trees

2010-11-27T22:29:00.002+01:00

A selection of tree photos taken today ....

Tree with a skirt of leaves - on the lower branches, and on the ground. Former Pitch and Putt golf course, north side of Bursted Wood, Barnehurst

The yellowed leaves of Sweet Chestnut continue to light up Bursted Wood, Barnehurst, in late November

Yellowed Sweet Chestnut leaves stand out against the dark green of an ivy-clad tree, Bursted Wood, Barnehurst

Tree silhouettes, Hall Place North, south of Bexleyheath

A row of trees stretching down the hill at Hall Place North, silhouetted at dusk

A deliberately blurred shot of a 'naked' tree at Hall Place North

Dead tree, Martens Grove

Trees in the dark, Martens Grove

27/11/10: Parakeet parade over Gravel Hill

2010-11-27T21:09:00.003+01:00

I was heading for Hall Place North at about 4 p.m. Four groups of Ring-necked Parakeets flew over Gravel Hill in quick succession, heading roughly north-west or west - 14, circa 15, 25-ish and then another group of about 15.

No sign of any Redwings here yet.

25/11/10: Fine stand of Annual Nettle in North Heath alley

2010-11-25T21:38:00.001+01:00

Here's part of the largest and most luxurious stand of Annual Nettle (Urtica urens) I've yet found, growing in an alleyway in Northumberland Heath, London Borough of Bexley.

The leaves of the plants in this colony are particularly sharply and attractively 'cut'.

20/11/10: (On the way to) Richmond Park

2010-11-20T22:53:00.002+01:00

Up early to get over to Richmond for the LNHS Ecology and Entomology field trip in Richmond Park, looking for invertebrates under dead wood.

On the way to Barnehurst station, 23 Ring-necked Parakeets were seen flying north-east.

On a wall by a noticeboard in Terrace Gardens on Richmond Hill, I found my first specimens of Rusty-back Fern in London, a total of 24 plants.

Rusty-back Fern or Scaly Spleenwort (Asplenium ceterach or Ceterach officinarum) , Terrace Garden, Richmond, south-west London, growing with Hart's-tongue Fern

There was a good turnout of 11 members and the legendary Dingo the dog. I didn't make notes on the invertebrates found.

LNHS members studying invertebrates associated with dead wood. Dingo isn't very interested .....

Richmond Park panorama, with anthills in the foreground

Sulphur Tuft fungus (Hypholoma fasciculare)

There were a number of Jackdaws around and a Common Toad was found under one of the logs lifted up. Sheep's-sorrel was most prominent on top of anthills. Other small plants included Common Stork's-bill, Parsley Piert and, at one location, what I think was quite a lot of Bird's-foot (Ornithopus perpusillus).

18/11/10: Counting Starlings over Thames Road Wetland

2010-11-18T23:34:00.001+01:00

OK, so not quite up to the numerical standards of tonight's Autumnwatch, but whenever I see a fair few Starlings I try to get a count, given that I know indigenous numbers have declined dramatically.

On November 16th, at dusk, I was particularly pleased to see a flock wheeling several times over Thames Road Wetland (of which I am Site Manager), and I was able to get a 'side on' mobile phone camera picture - albeit a rather distant one.

The speed of the birds and size of the flock meant that I'd been unable to get a visual count estimate of the numbers of individuals at the time, so I cropped the photo down to the margins of the flock and printed it out. Whilst the image of each bird was not particularly sharp, I was able to number all the birds and, with reference back to the somewhat sharper on-screen image, resolve how many birds were present in the surprisingly few image 'overlaps'. I came up with a total of ................

231 birds (or possibly 230)

Interestingly, this is considerably more than my 'on site' guesstimate, which I rejected at the time, and also for an estimate based on application to the photographic image of the sort of rapid, rather 'jumpy' and 'finger-pointing' count I've used in the field before, which came up with about 80.

So if you want to get a more accurate count for a flock of birds that you can get within one frame - and still blow up to a decent size and reasonable resolution - you don't need a fancy camera to do it.

Here, as a matter of interest, are the original photo, and the cropped version that was printed out to do the numbered count :-

Flock of Starlings over Thames Road Wetland at dusk, 16th November

Starling flock cropped and enlarged out of the preceding photograph, printed out, then counted by numbering all the individuals in the resulting image. It still doesn't look like 231 to me ....... but cameras don't lie!

16/11/10: Cray and Thames Road Wetland in the mist

2010-11-16T23:46:00.000+01:00

The first hard frost (that I've been up early enough to see, anyway) and, consequently, as the sun came out and started to burn it off, a goodly amount of mist.

Nothing in the way of new species to report at this time of year, as might be imagined (one lives in hope of a Bittern and Waxwings ....), but there was the wintry sight of a Pied Wagtail on the pavement at the Thames Rd end of Crayford Way, and also at the junction of Barnes Cray Rd and Maiden Lane a short while later (could have been the same individual). Several Chaffinches were along By-way 105 by the river.

3 Ducks were on the Thames Road Wetland 'lake', one of which was a male Teal. They 'spooked' rather easily and all flew off together, so the other two were probably female Teal.

There were a couple of Robins about on the site and one or two Dunnock.

Some Coltsfoot - not previously noticed, as it was hidden away behind some concrete barriers - was found in the north-east corner of the site.

I spent about 4 hours expanding and deepening my banks-and-ditches system in the compacted, gravelly soil in this part of the site, so as to increase cover, especially for heat-loving insects. But it's hard going and a slow, rather tiring, wrist-aching process with a mattock and spade. Unlike my garden Robins, which would have been down to have a look, the residents here took no interest. Perhaps they already knew how poor the ground was for worms - I only found one in the whole dig!

Here, then, are some of today's pictures of the Cray and its surroundings, and the Thames Road Wetland ........

River Cray, looking downstream over the Maiden Lane bridge parapet

Looking south from the River Cray embankment, just downstream of Maiden Lane bridge

Thames Road Wetland in the mist, frost on the ground, looking east towards the railway line

Wintry afternoon sun slants across the River Wansunt where it transects Thames Road Wetland, lighting up the dying golden leaves of a Poplar by the River Cray (centre, in the distance)

A ditch at the eastern end of the Thames Road Wetland site

Moon over Thames Road Wetland in the gathering gloom

9-16/11/10: Barnehurst garden update

2010-11-16T22:34:00.000+01:00

9/11 - Wood Mouse in the compost heap

10/11 - Pine Ladybird (Exochomus quadripustulatus) in a gap between some stacked flower pots

12/11 - adult Common Frog active in the drizzle

14/11 - adult Common Frog active

15/11 - the current 'Fox in residence' (by which I mean my garden is part of its territory, though it doesn't have a den here) was around at dusk again, and this time came closer than ever - about 2 feet away from my feet as it followed its chosen route without bothering too much about my presence

The current 'Robin in residence' (maybe an incomer, maybe one of the three that were around a while ago) is also a lot bolder than the Robins of old here, and will often come within a foot and a half. If I'm working on the compost heap or repotting plants outside, it will quickly come and have a look then, if there aren't any titbits to be had it sensibly flies off to get about its business elsewhere.

16/11 - the first hard frost (although I admit I might have missed a previous one, being none too keen on getting up 'early')

9/11/10: Thames Road Wetland report to Bexley Natural Environment Focus Group

2010-11-09T21:09:00.002+01:00

Note: Bexley Natural Environment Focus Group is an interface between Bexley London Borough Council and representatives of conservation organisations operating in the Borough. It is attended by various Councillors and Council Officers. The Group has not previously had a report on Thames Road Wetland (TRW) hence the amount of background detail in this particular report, which I am posting here as it may be of interest to a wider audience. In any event the site is in the hands of the Council, so in the interests of public accountability, here we are .....

But first, some 'Then and now' photos that were not part of the original report:

TRW February 2008. Photograph by, and reproduced with kind permission of, Steve Thoroughgood

TRW September 2008. Photograph by, and reproduced with kind permission of, Steve Thoroughgood

TRW October 2010. View closely matching that of September 2008.

THAMES ROAD WETLAND (TRW) REPORT
to Bexley Natural Environment Focus Group

From: Chris Rose, Site Manager. 9/11/10.

SITE

Owned by Bexley Council. Managed under the auspices of (Thames21) Cray Riverkeeper Volunteers led by Ashe Hurst. I accepted the offer of the role of Site Manager in April 2010.

The site is in Crayford on the London/Kent border, by the lower reaches of the River Cray and was created in part mitigation for the Maiden Lane Roneo-Vickers development. It is an old field bounded by the River Cray to the west, Thames Rd to the north, the Dartford to Slade Green railway line to the east and an embankment with the North West Kent Sewerage pipes in it to the south. It was dug out to below the water table, so stays permanently flooded. The eastern end is transected by the canalised River Wansunt.

I have received no prior records from the developer/contractor ecologists as to species already present, water plants introduced, or what may have been trans-located here. Despite official requests, all I have been given is an outline plan showing ground-works and giving a list of the shrub species planted, so I have had to start from scratch. Steve Thoroughgood has kindly agreed to let me use, in presentations and reports, his pictures of the site from February and September 2008, relatively soon after the site was flooded and planted up, that I came across on Google Earth. The most recent GE imagery itself pre-dates the flooding.

SPECIES

The shrub plantings on parts of the Thames Road bank are largely of species not indigenous to the local area such as Guelder Rose and Wayfaring Tree, or are non-native in the case of Sambucus (tentatively) racemosa (which were supposed to be nigra). These have suffered badly from the drought earlier in the year, being on steeply-sloping gravelly ground.

There are a variety of aquatic plants, becoming dominated by Greater Reedmace, with some small patches of Phragmites australis reed bed (Bexley BAP). Ruderal plants of note are Slender Thistle, Annual Nettle and the recent non-native colonist Narrow-leaved Ragwort.

Other species here that are not especially frequent in this part of the Borough are Common Stork’s-bill, Vervain and White Melilot. The very infrequent plant Dittander occurs in large quantity on the Sewer Embankment and is spreading in the ‘bowl’. Star of Bethlehem was found this spring, but I have yet to determine whether it is the native sub-species (probably a garden escape from spoil). Brookweed (Samolus verlerandi) which I discovered in July is an important record as this may now be its only site in London.

Invertebrates will require specialist recording effort. Hairy Dragonfly, Migrant Hawker, large numbers of Blue-tailed and lesser numbers of Azure Blue Damselfly. Recent additions to the list include Roesel’s Bush Cricket, Long-winged Conehead and Wasp Spider.

Common Lizard – UK and London BAP, Grass Snake - UK and London BAP, Marsh Frogs and Common Newts are present.

Breeding birds – Moorhen (probably), Coot, Little Grebe, Reed Warbler (estimated 6-8 pairs)
Visitors – Grey Heron, Little Egret, various ducks including, most recently, a pair of Teal. Used by Black-headed Gulls from the Council Depot site in winter. Good numbers of Goldfinch are conspicuous at this time of year.

Two Water Vole (UK, London and Bexley BAP species) latrines recently found. Some Rabbit activity, but impact on vegetation small.

MANAGEMENT AND GETTING INVOLVED

This spring contractors belatedly installed hibernacula on the Thames Rd bank without prior consultation with myself or Ashe Hurst, using good quality, cleaned, second-hand bricks (rubble from Maiden Lane might have been a ‘greener’ option). Some Star of Bethlehem will have been destroyed as a result, though they were warned it was there. Previous habitat work was disrupted and had to be restored. This south-facing bank has the most extreme temperature variations, so it is questionable whether hibernacula should have been sited here anyway.

Recent work has involved Reedmace-pulling to create and restore open shallow water. The aim is to retain overall vegetation diversity, increase the amount of Common Reed, submergents and non-reedy emergents such as Starwort and Water Mint, and to increase the variety of Odonata.

Careful ‘weeding’ has been done around the Brookweed to remove Teasel seedlings and some Creeping Buttercup. An adjacent area has had the soil level re-profiled, most of the Buttercup removed and bare ground created. Seed has been harvested from existing plants and scattered in this new area, particularly around the clumps of Rush that Brookweed appears to like growing at the foot of, in a bid to increase the number of plants and size of the area colonised. Further such work will be conducted when other operations in this area have been completed.

On the flat, compacted, gravelly north-east corner of the site, sinuous ditches and ‘dunes’ are being created to provide micro-habitat heterogeneityfor thermophilic and burrowing invertebrates.

To increase the Common Lizard population and enable it to colonise more of the site, corridors of appropriate cover will be created where little exists, and some areas of rank vegetation are being opened up. Cut vegetation has been heaped to create Grass Snake egg-laying sites.

Litter is a continuous, but fairly modest problem. There has been some unauthorised horse grazing, but this may actually help diversify the vegetation on some parts of the site. It is not clear if or how this process might be safely and legitimately facilitated and managed in future.

My intention is to involve members of specialist societies in order to properly record more difficult species groups, and to input management advice. They may also be a source of further volunteer labour. T21 has, however, recently handed down a significant increase in Health and Safety paperwork, which could constrain options. A formal site management plan is in preparation.

Any readers of this report who have interesting records from this site, who would like a guided tour or who would like to help with the management work are invited to contact me.

Occasional reports and photographs regarding the TRW site can be found here:
http://capitalnaturebexley.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/45169058@N03/

MY DETAILS: Chris Rose ...... chrisrose@gn.apc.org

Brought up locally. First class honours degree and an MSc in zoological science, Bristol University. Self-taught field botanist. Also have many years of experience of horticulture and cultivated plants. Recommenced recording all kinds of wildlife – particularly in the north and east of the Borough – in 2004, after a twenty year break.

Member of London Natural History Society, the South London Botanical Institute, Kent Botanical Recording Group and the Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group. In October 2010 helped set up a formal London Amphibian and Reptile Group and became both Reptile Officer and South East London Officer (covering the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark). Joined the Bexley Natural Environment Focus Group in September 2010.

6/11/10: Hyde Park - birds and Southern Oak Bush Cricket

2010-11-06T21:41:00.000+01:00

A nice afternoon in Hyde Park with LNHS friends Miriam and her daughter Celeste.

Celeste is great at spotting 'bugs', and noticed this female Southern Oak Bush Cricket on the underside of one of the hundreds of London Plane leaves lying on the ground.

Good views were had of a foraging Green Woodpecker.

On the Serpentine were: two Mute Swans, two young Great Crested Grebes, Mallards, Tufted Ducks, Pochard, a male Shoveler, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese and a number of Black-headed Gulls.

October and early November - Cray/TRW wildlife round-up

2010-11-04T23:35:00.028+01:00

Observations made 7th, 14th, 20th, 28th October and 4th November 2010

7/10:

A Common Fumitory and Wild Carrot were by a car park at the Thames Rd end of Howbury Lane, along with Spotted Medick.

At Thames Road Wetland, Reed Sweet Grass and Water Mint were noted. A Peacock butterfly was seen, also a Small Copper (from memory a new record for the site) and an inquisitive Migrant Hawker dragonfly. A 22-spot Ladybird was found. 6 Marsh Frogs and a couple of Common Lizards were spotted.

Whilst wading in the water to clear some areas of Greater Reedmace, groups of Lesser Water Boatmen were seen in open water (there are two families embracing these, Corixidae and Pleidae - I'm not sure which group these specimens fell into). Lesser Water Boatmen swim on their fronts, and Greater Water Boatmen species swim on their backs. A fresh Water Vole (UK, London and Bexley Biodiversity Action Plan priority species) latrine was found.

Fresh Water Vole Latrine at the margin of a patch of Reed Sweet Grass, on Thames Road wetland

14/10:

Reed Canary Grass was noted by the Cray along Footpath 106. 2 Goldfinches were feeding on a Spear Thistle seed head. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker was calling from a very exposed position at the top of an exotic garden conifer. A Jay was seen flying across the river at the Barnes Cray Road end of the footpath.

A Greater Celandine was in flower by the culvert taking the River Wansunt under Maiden Lane.

There were 30 Mallard (including two black hybrids with white breasts) downstream of the Maiden Lane bridge over the Cray.

There were 7 or so Fennel seedlings around the adult plant on the eastern part of the Sewer Embankment by Thames Road Wetland. Sycamore leaves here were heavily infected with Tar Spot fungus. A flowering Black Nightshade was at the eastern end of the TRW site, by the trackway. There was some Self Heal in the pallet yard.

Sycamore at TRW, heavily infected with Tar Spot fungus

Black Nightshde in flower, TRW

On the flat section of the TRW, next to Thames Rd, were Parsley Piert, Buck's-horn Plantain, Shepherd's Purse, several Hemlock, Black Medick, two Sun Spurge, Fat Hen and Mugwort. A Geranium pyrenaicum, White Campion, Bristly Ox-tongue and Narrow-leaved Ragwort were in flower, along with a lot of Ribbed Melilot and White Melilot.

Narrow-leaved Ragwort in flower, TRW, beside Thames Road. Bristly Ox-tongue in front of it.

Ribbed Melilot (yellow flowers) and White Melilot flowering together on the TRW site by Thames Rd

Later a Jay was seen in a garden on Dartford Rd., and approximately 52 Starlings heading east over the railway line. A large Tomato plant with fruit was growing outside shops opposite the end of Heath Rd.

20/10:

There was a Common Darter dragonfly at TRW, and another along By-way 105 as I headed for the Riverkeeper Volunteers yard. There was a Red Admiral on Footpath 106 by the yard. Heading back to the Wetland, there was a Fox on the north bank of the Cray.

On the 'lake' at the Wetland were a Coot and 4 Moorhens. Also a male and female Teal - a new species record for the site.

28/10:

Thames Road Wetland - Great Tit, Blue Tit, 1 Chaffinch, a Robin and several Goldfinches along the Sewer Pipe Embankment. About 20 Black-headed Gulls on the 'lake'.

A Red Admiral was fluttering in the Willow (believed to have been poisoned during Giant Hogweed control operations) along By-way 105.

About 21 Canada Geese were flying west. A large Common Frog was in the Riverkeeper Volunteers yard.

Back at the Wetland a Darter landed on a dumped fridge on the Sewer Pipe Embankment and 8 Long-tailed Tits were at the east end of the site. 9 Ring-necked Parakeets flew over late in the afternoon.

A Darter dragonfly and a Dipteran fly share a perch on a dumped fridge at TRW

After working on the Wetland I went over to the south end of Dartford Marshes, but there were no ducks on the flooding fields yet. Around 92 Canada Geese flew up from the east side of the River Darent, and flew low over my head. OK they're not native, but there was still something majestic about the experience!

4/11:

A flock of 23 Goldfinches were flitting about at the east end of Thames Road Wetland early this morning.

Reedmace removal operations revealed another Water Vole latrine,, though not as fresh as the one on 7/10.

I went out onto Dartford Marshes again, and in the by now very gloomy conditions, made out 10 (most likely) white-rumped Greylag Geese on one of the flooded fields.

October and early November Thames Road Wetland management work

2010-11-04T22:47:00.001+01:00

TRW management activity 7th, 14th, 20th, 28th October and 4th November 2010

With my 'Site Manager' hat on, here's a round up of recent management work on the site, and the reasons for the various actions taken.

The main group activity on these dates was Greater Reedmace removal. The reasons for this were:

- to ensure the survival of other emergent plants, and to allow increases in some of them, such as Common Reed, and to prevent the water areas becoming too much of a Greater Reedmace monoculture
- to prevent encroachment onto the area occupied by the rare Brookweed
- to recover areas of shallow open water and muddy margins for (additional species of) Dragonflies and Damselflies
- to create more 'reed edge' microhabitat for foraging waterbirds
- to prevent the build up of excessive amounts of Reedmace litter in certain shallow areas, so as to slow/prevent succession to bog and then dry land, which would be more difficult to remedy later

Most of the work was concentrated on a shallow pool at the east end of the site, on the east side of the River Wansunt, which had been almost entirely taken over by Greater Reedmace.

The method used was pulling, as it was correctly surmised that this would bring up root and some of the rhizome carrying new shoots. (It works better where the water is deeper - i.e. the plants have had their feet in liquid mud all year, and less well in shallower areas where the water level has fallen below the soil surface for part of the year). It was felt that this would deliver better and longer term control than other options. Late last winter we had scythed off top growth, and horse grazing had had the same practical effect, but the Reedmace quickly caught up with untouched stands through regrowth from the base. The seed heads were breaking up at the time, so that the myriad seeds were getting in our eyes, noses and mouths. There is also a need to do this work when birds are not breeding. The RSPB's Reedbed Management handbook doesn't say anything much about Reedmace control, and Googling Reedmace control or management didn't turn up a great deal either. But searching 'Reedmace pulling' revealed the fact that a lot of other conservation groups around the country were going to be using the same technique at the same time of year, and this had increased my confidence in taking this approach.

Getting started - Cray Riverkeeper Volunteers Boss Ashe Hurst, Angelle and daughter Stephanie begin to make inroads into a 'wall' of Greater Reedmace

The cleared area gets larger

View from the sewer pipe embankment, looking towards Thames Rd. Cleared area visible left of centre. Removed Reedmace being piled up on the right.

Views from opposite directions showing the extent of the cleared area in mid November

We won't have got all the root out in this restored open water area, so there will be a need to go in again early next year to remove as much as possible of any regrowth.

Reedmace removal from around Common Reed (right centre) and Reed Sweet Grass (front right)

Reedmace removal from in and around a stand of Sedge at the north-west corner of the site

Another of my priorities was the creation of bare ground next to the current area of Brookweed, and weeding (mainly removing Creeping Buttercup and seedlings of Teasel) to favour the establishment of new plants of this species, which is very rare in London. Seed from the existing plants was scattered in this 'new' area in an initial attempt to increase the number of plants and double the 'footprint' of the colony. Brookweed appears to do best around the bases of these clumps of Rushes.

A further intiative is the digging of winding ditches (and creation of adjacent ridges from the spoil) in the flat, very open and sparsely vegetated north east corner of the site. The purpose of this is to create microhabitat heterogeneity and cover, especially for thermophilic (heat-loving) and burrowing invertebrates. It is also hoped that it will enable Common Lizards colonise more of the site. The work has been hard and slow-going because of the heavily compacted, extremely stony nature of the spoil that was dumped on this area.

If there are any readers out there who would like to get involved with hands-on management work here, please get in touch!

9/10/10: Erith miscellany includes Southern Green Shieldbug and Jasmine

2010-10-09T22:27:00.017+02:00

Continuing my roundabout route home from Crossness, I took in a number of streets in Erith, London Borough of Bexley, that I had not botanised before.

The Sandcliff Road flora included Pellitory-of-the-wall, Green Alkanet, Annual Mercury, Herb Robert, Yarrow, Nipplewort and a single Wild Carrot, the last of these on a bank behind old factories.

Common Cat's-ear and White Clover were in a grass verge on Wheatstone Rd.

My first ever Southern Green Shieldbug (Nezara viridula) - possibly a 4th instar nymph according to LNHS expert Tristan Bantock - was found on Urtica dioica by the fence of a rough grassy area next to disused factories off Sandcliff Rd, by Footpath 18. TQ 50631 78353. A recent arrival in the UK, this species is native to Africa, but has been frequently brought in with food imports. Reportedly widespread in southern Europe, it has been recorded annually in southern Britain since 2003.

Southern Green Shieldbug (Nezara viridula) - possibly a 4th instar nymph - was found on Urtica dioica. This is a one-handed, significantly-enlarged mobile phone camera picture taken in poor light, hence the slight lack of sharpness

In an alleyway between Friday Rd and Alford Rd. were several small Sun Spurge and also escaped Strawberry.

This demolition site on Fraser Rd has been vacant for a couple of years, but used to have a lot more vegetation. It looks like it has been part 'sanitised' by bulldozer simply for the sake of applying a warped notion of tidiness to everything and anything. Can't it be left to the wildlife until proper work begins?

Seed heads of Wild Carrot seen through chain link fence and green plastic mesh present an ethereal, slightly artistic picture of the site margin

Another bit of 'greenspace' destined for the chop - once the economy 'improves', one suspects - is the former Erith Tramways Depot site by Walnut Tree Rd. It ought to be possible to leave a goodly belt of trees round the perimeter, and I hope that's what will happen .......

White Melilot, recorded here last year, was still present on the Tramways Depot site, and Narrow-leaved Ragwort has also found its way to this patch of ground.

I was rather taken aback to see a Red Admiral flutter overhead on the adjoining Cricketers' Close at 17.18, in what were not sunny conditions.

On the railway cutting sides just south of Erith Station and the Bexley Road overbridge a Greater Celandine was noted, also an Asparagus plant. There were a number of Ash trees, and a circa ten feet tall Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris) carrying acorns.

Not having run my botanical eye over Queens Rd. before, this Jasmine (probably officinale ) growing out from under several trees (left foreground) and over the railway fence just past the Avenue Rd. footbridge, was most surprising. Given the location it seemed unlikely that it had been planted, but I have never seen it as a garden escape before.

Further down the line there was quite a lot of Elm.

There was Spotted Medick on Thanet Rd, lots of Buck's-horn Plantain at Boundary Street and a Greater Celandine behind the derelict 'Style and Winch' public house on Northend Rd. Black Horehound was by a housing estate here.

It was by now rather gloomy, but I was cheered by coming across a fourth site in the Borough for the uncommmon plant Dittander - on a mound at the south-east corner of a grassy area by flats on Northend Rd, next to a garage/petrol station. This neatly fills in a gap between my other three locations which are Thames Road Wetland, part way up Thames Rd towards the junction with Northend Rd and then the south east corner of the Erith Quarry site.

A Senecio cinerea above a retaining wall at the top of the hill on Colyers Lane appeared to be outside the garden boundary, and had the look of an 'escape', though it might conceivably have been planted. There was also a lone Narrow-leaved Ragwort here.

9/10/10: Crossness clover to Franks Park fungi

2010-10-09T21:37:00.003+02:00

An LNHS bird-watching meeting, starting at Belvedere station and walking out to the sea-wall at Crossness. I took very few notes on this one.

Close inspection of the relevant piece of ground did reveal that the patch of Strawberry Clover was just about hanging on in a trackside verge, despite the effects of heavy lorry movements associated with ditch restoration and other habitat improvements. There was a big flock of Teal on the Thames. A Kestrel perched briefly on the modern Sewage Works building.

I took a typically long detour home, this time passing through Franks Park , Erith where a number of (unidentified) fungi, pictured below, were photographed.

Franks Park - east-facing bank with bramble, Broom and Oak

Franks Park with Sweet Chestnut to the right - a species typical of the woodland in this part of Bexley

Assorted (unidentified) fungi in Franks Park, Erith

7/10/10: Crayford Creek exotics and missing Marsh plant

2010-10-07T23:53:00.004+02:00

The land-filled 'landward' end of Crayford Marshes, along Crayford Creek, has long been known for its 'exotics'. There are a number of such records in Rodney Burton's 'Flora of the London Area' (published by the London Natural History Society in 1983).

A few more were gleaned today. On a bund of clay-ey spoil by the 'entrance' to the marsh (TQ 53026 75581), were the following garden escapes, all in flower ........

Ice Plant (Sedum spectabile)

and a red-flowered single Dahlia (foreground) with two substantial yellow-flowered Marvel of Peru (Mirabilis jalapa) behind, left.

My actual 'mission' was to search for any remnant of the very rare Marsh Sow-thistle (Sonchus palustris), for which the bank of the Creek was a well-known site. Indeed Burton says that there used to be a 20 yard strip of it. Armed with a grid reference provided by someone who had recorded it there in the past, I checked some tens of metres along the bank either side of the stated location. As thoroughly as I thought prudent, at any rate - given that this involved 'wading' up to my thighs in flattened Phragmites, and a blanket of Cow Parsley, Nettles and decaying Hedge Bindweed, such that I could not see where my feet were going and I was concerned I might disappear down into some hidden, wet and deep ditch. But there was no sign of the Sow-thistle which, it has been alleged, was deliberately destroyed by persons with development proposals in mind.

Former Marsh Sow-thistle site, now a mat of Common Reed and coarse 'weeds'

Mayweeds and Bristly Ox-tongue brighten up landfill capping on Crayford Marshes

Looking across Dartford Creek (the River Darent) towards the flood control barrier near the Thames, showing the flat, open character of the marshes. The low rise on the horizon, in the centre of the picture, is part of Essex, on the north bank.

Further on, the was a small patch of Tansy in the footpath, and a larger one not far from the fence in a neighbouring field. A Little Egret took flight from the Dartford Creek.

Along Moat Lane several Geranium pyrenaicum, Common Toadflax, Spotted Medick and a single White Melilot were seen. There were two Mute Swans on Howbury Grange moat.

Towards dusk now, around 80 Starlings were wheeling over Slade Green station.

3/10/10: From Lesser Calamint to a riot of red Apples

2010-10-03T22:06:00.004+02:00

Lesnes Abbey Conservation Volunteer (LACV) work today.

Great to see such a fabulous show of Lesser Calamint (Clinopodium calamintha syn. Calamintha nepeta) flower at its only know site in London, near the ruined Abbey.

Lesser Calamint, at Lesnes Abbey. Second, close-up shot, shows it next to fellow Labiate Black Horehound (Ballota nigra).

In the mud round the lower of the Abbey ponds were several Trifid Bur-marigold and some Celery-leaved Crowfoot (Ranunculus sceleratus). The alien water fern Azolla, present last year, appears to have died out, maybe because of the hard winter, the subsequent drought, silt clearance or some combination of these.

After some pond-clearance work with LACV members up in the woods themselves, I made my way to the 'sea wall' at Crossness, via Belvedere railway station, during which time the weather improved somewhat. Unusually, there was only one Shelduck in sight and few Mallard, but lots of Gadwall. An unidentified Hawker Dragonfly whizzed past.

There was an Asparagus plant by the Incinerator. Towards Erith, by the fence at Dee Dee removals, a previously unnoticed Apple tree (pictured below) now stood out with its massive crop of small (27mm diameter) red fruits, looking just like cherries when viewed from above.

Further east, and past the pinkish-flowered Rosa rugosa previously noted on the upper 'shore' below the sea wall, I spotted a white-flowered specimen in the same habitat, though with only one bloom that was by now 'going over'.

In Erith, Annual Nettle (Urtica urens) was still present along the fence line around the former Riverside Swimming Baths site.

30/9/10: Danson Park aliens, new plant records and fungi

2010-09-30T23:42:00.006+02:00

There were a lot of aliens in evidence at Danson Park, Bexleyheath, this afternoon. Apart from the Canada Geese, Ring-necked Parakeets and Grey Squirrels (slightly fewer after a dog-owner sat impassively on a bench while her mutts chased and killed one), there were a pair of Egyptian Geese which are turning up in parks all over London (but this was my first record of the species in Bexley Borough - no doubt it's been 'clocked' by serious local Twitchers already, however), a bevvy of Norway Maple seedlings, lots of Turkey Oak saplings seeded from the mature specimens and various clumps of Michaelmas Daisies.

A pair of Egyptian Geese (Alopochen aegyptiacus), with Danson Mansion in the background. The natural range of the species is mainly the Nile Valley and south of the Sahara.

In the Old English Garden there was the alien Narrow-leaved Ragwort, which is now all over the north of the Borough, at least from Erith to Belvedere/Abbey Wood, and which top botanist from the BMNH Mark Spencer says will probably be a major invasive nuisance in 20 years. In the 'potager' (mixed flower and vegetable) border of the OEG were some 8 plants of Fool's Parsley. I've only found it in 4 other places in London so far (of which 3 are in Bexley), and only a single plant in each case.

To the north west of the Mansion, where a lot of grit has been spread on the ground, both Swine Cress and Lesser Swine Cress were found, along with a lone Garden Radish.

Other new plant records for me from the Park (all on the sandy mounds/bare ground on the mini golf course near the Crook Log entrance) included Parsley Piert, Weld, a single Common Stork's-bill and 14 plants of Annual Nettle (Urtica urens), the latter probably under-recorded as it looks similar to seedlings of the usual large perennial one, but now I've got my eye in for it, I still think it's uncommon in Bexley - and this is only the third place I've found it in the Borough.

Annual Nettle (Urtica urens), Danson Park mini golf course

There were also several species of fungi out, but I'm no good on ID-ing these so readers will just have to enjoy the pictures without knowing what they are (but if you do, please leave comments .......)

Various Fungi at Danson Park

26/9/10: Crouch End turns up 'new' Impatiens

2010-09-26T21:50:00.000+02:00

Another Mark Spencer-led LNHS meeting to record less intensively botanised parts of the capital. Quite a large group of people met at Highgate station, some of whom were on a 'breakaway' trip to look for fungi.

View from a small park off Shepherd's Hill, Highgate, looking north. Alexandra Palace in the distance on the right.

The park looked like it had had a couple of patches sown with a meadow mix of some sort, as Meadow Cranesbill (Geranium pratense) and other unexpected species were present.

I didn't keep a full set of the day's records myself, instead contributing to the filling in of a pre-prepared tick-box list of species.

Notable was the finding of escaped Impatiens balfourii (a Himalayan annual variously known as Balfour's Touch-me-not, Poor Man's Orchid, and Kashmir Balsam), which Mark said was a new record for Middlesex.

A few of us stayed on in the rain to have a quick look at a coppiced area in Highgate Wood, where Himalayan Honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosana) was a non-native occurrence, and Broad-leaved Helleborine was seen.

26/9/10: Barnehust Bush Vetch

2010-09-26T00:39:00.001+02:00

The west end of Barnehurst station's 'down' (Dartford-bound) platform is bathed in September sun. Oak and Silver Birch in evidence.

Bush Vetch (Vicia sepium) in flower on the 'up' (London-bound) platform.

25/9/10: Hounslow - Heath, and I find a very rare London plant in the town centre

2010-09-25T22:05:00.001+02:00

London Natural History Society visit to Hounslow Heath for insects, though I was hoping to see some Adders.

We found a few interesting specimens, such as Gargara genistae:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11518091@N00/4987515763/

There were some butterflies about. I saw 2 Meadow Browns, there were also Speckled Woods and a number of Small Coppers - their larval food plant, Sheep's Sorrel, was in evidence. A Sparrowhawk was seen overhead. I spotted a couple of Common Lizards in rather long grass.

Besides the Heather and Gorse. there was a large patch of Chinese Mugwort (Artemisia verlotiorum), a first for me.

As it happened, I got temporarily detached from the other 4 attendees, and during this time came across a local person who is keen on the snakes. He showed me what he thought was the best location and we did see a small Adder, probably 2 years old, even though the weather had become unfavourable.

Better was yet to come, as on the way back to a railway station I found several Hoary Cinquefoil (Potentilla argentea) by a car park just off the Staines Rd near Hounslow town centre. There were only 7 bona fide records in Burton's 'Flora of the London area' based on 1966-1976 records, and some of these were outside what is (now) the Greater London Authority boundary. It was said to be declining then. I showed the Natural History Museum's Mark Spencer (who is working on a new London Flora) a small sample at the LNHS meeting the next day, and he was very pleased because of the rarity and the fact it's within his own recording patch. He has subsequently confirmed that my identification is correct and it's not some similar foreign species I didn't know about. No photos I'm afraid, as it's only the second time I've seen the species, and it hadn't really clicked what it was until I got home and looked it up in my ID book.

2/9 - 20/9/10: Barnehurst garden wildlife round-up

2010-09-20T23:50:00.001+02:00

More records from my north Barnehurst garden. Bit of an upturn in moth species at the windows after dark lately. Plus second year of Southern Oak Bush Cricket records - a flightless species that is somehow spreading considerably.

2/9 :-

* Southern Oak Bush Cricket in a potted Rush plant

3/9 :-

* Slow Worm under black plastic bag on pile of dry vegetation for the first time in a few checks over the summer months
* 5 Long-tailed Tits foraging
* Male Southern Oak Bush Cricket nymph on Euonymus japonicus hedge after dark
* A rather worn and rather 'late' Wormwood Pug moth (I've got some seed-raised Wormwood plants in pots in the garden ....)
* 1 x Vine's Rustic moth
* 1 x male Willow Beauty moth

4/9 :-

* 1 x male Orange Swift moth

5/9 :-

* Female Southern Oak Bush cricket on Euonymus japonicus hedge after dark

Female Southern Oak Bush cricket (2009 photograph)

10/9 :-

* 1 x fresh Speckled Wood butterfly
* An adult Slow Worm on each of the two plastic-bag-covered piles of dry vegetation
* Field Mouse in compost heap

12/9 :-

* 1 x Blood-vein moth
* 1 x Square Spot Rustic moth

13/9 :-

* A Green Shieldbug nymph

15/9 :-

* Both Slow Worms under the same bag (above photo)
* 2 Wood Pigeons

16/9 :-

* An Elephant Hawk moth caterpillar on the ground, seeking a pupation site

20/9 :-

* 1 x Speckled Wood buttefly (above - basking on the arm of a plastic garden chair)
* 1 x Small White butterfly

18/9/10: 'The Old Orchard' south of Hall Place, east of the A2

2010-09-18T22:45:00.012+02:00

Another visit to the scrubland south of the railway track that runs past Hall Place, on some maps called the 'Old Orchard'. I spent a bit of time here watching the trains go by when I was a teenager. In those days (the mid 70s) people used to dig here for old bottles, so I presume it was a Victorian rubbish dump. Now it has a diverse - if somewhat eclectic - flora with large bushes, medium-sized trees and some areas of thin soil, sparse vegetation and rubble, backed by oak woodland on what I assume is the southern valley side of the River Cray floodplain.

Crayford 'Old Orchard' scrubland, looking south-east to the oak-covered ridge

Noticeable today - having 'clocked' it for the first time on a recent LNHS trip to Bookham - was a lot of Red Bartsia, a plant I've not found in Bexley Borough before. There were still a few flowers hanging on.

There were Common Toadflax, a few pale cream Lucerne x Sickle Medick hybrids, two Asparagus, four Lesser Swine Cress, Hop and a lot of Common St. John's-wort, the latter in flower. A single, 'dwarfed' plant of Upright Hedge Parsley was found in a rabbit-grazed patch. Other singletons were a Hoary Ragwort and a Vervain. A few Marjoram plants were still in bloom, both pale purple-violet and white variants. Geranium rotundifolium was noted, and several Geranium pyrenaicum occurred along the track between the railway and pumping station towards Crayford. Shrubs included a Spindle, Dogwood and Sloe. Field Maple was also present. A few clusters of fungi were also noted.

Common Toadflax on a mound, looking north to the ridge atop Gravel Hill on the horizon

Subtle colours of some fungal fruiting bodies

Deciding to explore more of the site than previously, I eventually headed up a track at the west end of the site, parallel to the A2 Rochester Way (which veers slightly more westward as the Dartford by-pass), which eventually led to a scrappy industrial site at the southern end of the remains of the original Rochester Way. A large White Poplar had fallen across the track, which was bordered on each side by non-native, planted shrubs and trees - including saplings of False Acacia and Tree of Heaven.

Fallen White Poplar with attractive lenticel pattern on the trunk

Towards the industrial estate I found some open ground smothered in Common Stork's-bill. There were also several Wild Parsnip and some Soapwort. Just before the estate were a couple of suspected non-native grasses and, the the northern end of the old Rochester Way, some Ribbed Melilot.

Looking rather like reed Canary Grass, the flowers of this largish unidentified species were far spikier

Round the corner, by the road into the industrial area, were Small Ranunculus moth caterpillars on Prickly Lettuce.

By poking about in an unpromising-looking, shady, shallow sandy pit where rubble etc. had been dumped some time ago, I found a single plant of Stone Parsley which I believe to be uncommon in the Borough, also Greater Celandine and the herbs Spearmint, Lemon Balm and Feverfew.

Further on was a larger, open sandpit with a couple of Vervain, some Wild Carrot, a few Sheep's Sorrel and a self-sown Snowberry.

After some more persistence I came across an out-of the-way track atop a south-facing steep sandy bank, overlooking a housing estate. This had several large Broom plants on it, and most interestingly, it was smothered with Hare's-foot Clover, a definite London rarity, and also lots of mining bee nests holes. A good end to the afternoon, by which time there wasn't enough light to take a decent picture on my mobile phone camera.

3/9 - 14/9/10: Several more Small Ranunculus moth locations

2010-09-14T21:53:00.000+02:00

To re-cap, the Small Ranunculus moth became extinct in the UK in the early part of the 20th century but has recently been making a comeback in Kent and Essex, around the Thames. I've found several more Small Ranunculus moth locations in the last few weeks, all by checking Prickly Lettuce.

3/9 :-

* Barnehurst Station: 9 half to full-sized caterpillars on a circa 6.5' tall plant at the top of the cutting side by the Station Approach fence
* Top of Hornbeam Lane by the Red Barn pub (other side of Barnehurst station): 1 caterpillar on one 3' plant, 2 on another, none on 12 other plants
* Erith Rd, bottom of the hill from North Heath: 1 caterpillar on a single plant by the 'garden gate' of a private dwelling
* Erith Rd, top of the hill towards North Heath: several plants, two with caterpillars, of which there were 3 in total
* Erith Rd, on 'the flat' towards North Heath: single plant at the edge of a front garden, 1 caterpillar

5/9 :-

* Colindale Avenue, Barnet, nearly opposite Colindale tube station: 3 caterpillars on plants at the edge of a field
* Slade Green railway station, grassy verge at rear of 'down' platform: several Prickly Lettuce but only 1 caterpillar found

7/9 :-

* St. Paulinus Churchyard, Perry St., Crayford: 2 plants. 9 caterpillars (8 of which rather small) on one, 4 large and 1 smallish on the other
* Crayford, Maxim Rd., by River Cray: Several tall plants. 10 caterpillars on 6 plants, the most being 4 on one plant

14/9 : -

* Kidbrooke, Birdbrook Rd.: Several large plants ('going over') outside the gate of the nature reserve, just one smallish caterpillar

14/9/10: 'Moonlighting' in Kidbrooke

2010-09-14T20:30:00.000+02:00

I'm always happy to do hands-on conservation work outside of the 'Bexley Borough line', especially when it involves a reptile-and-amphibian-rich site like the Birdbrook Nature Reserve in Kidbrooke (London Borough of Greenwich) and is only a short ride down the railway line from Barnehurst.

This interesting plot of land shows remnants of past industrial use in bits of concrete path and various cultivated plants, such as Mediterranean Broom and a collection of Sedum species. On what is a damp site in parts, with some sort of spring or drainage pipe coming in from the west end, there was a varied flora including my third London record of Crown Vetch, also Purple Loosestrife, Sorrel and Wild Carrot.

The tasks at hand, organised by Froglife, were deepening a pond on heavy clay, which occupied most of the volunteers, and restoring a bank back to its formerly excellent status for reptile basking by cutting down the thicket of bramble now enveloping it.

General view of part of Birdbrook Nature Reserve, looking south-east

Yours truly (right) posing with trusty slasher, and a London Wildlife Trust worker, after clearing a reptile basking bank of bramble top growth (photo by Sivi Sivanesen, Froglife).

I also thinned out a stooled Sycamore on the right to let in some evening sun from the west, whilst leaving enough stems to maintain an enclosed feel to the site and shelter from northerly breezes once the foliage thickens out again next year.

The adjoining path back to the railway station sported a number of species frequent in this part of London, including Geranium pyrenaicum and Spotted Medick, along with the fine fungus pictured below .......

7/9/10: Gorilla conservation: join me sponsoring Miriam for 7K run

2010-09-08T01:10:00.005+02:00

Miriam Mesa, a fellow London Natural History Society member, is running 7km (4.3 miles) in central London on 26th September in aid of Gorilla conservation, including projects that help improve local people's standard of living in ways that reduce their impact on Gorilla habitat.

Miriam, who will be running in a Gorilla suit, hopes to raise £400, and is now just over half way to meeting her target. If you would like to sponsor her please go to

http://my.artezglobal.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=302375

where you can make a donation on-line and get more details.

Thanks.

7/9/10: More from Barnehurst and Cray valley - with Lizards and new TRW invert records

2010-09-07T21:33:00.001+02:00

A sunny morning as I set off for more volunteering work on the River Cray.

Breasting the hill on Barnehurst Golf Course there were a lot of Roesel's Bush Crickets buzzing in the grass at the margin of the 'rough' (wildlife area). A quick search yielded a 'visual' on one specimen just to be sure. A great view of a Jay carrying an acorn in its mouth was had on the eastern margin of this patch. A Chiffchaff was heard calling from the mature Poplars here.

Pellitory-of-the-wall living up to its name at St. Paulinus Church, Crayford

An 'escaped' Antirrhinum was also in growing out from the wall here

By the Cray along footpath 106 were Trifid Bur-marigold and various 'escapees' such as single plants of Wheat, Oats (presumably from bird seed) and a Hollyhock.

Down at the Thames Road Wetland (TRW) one of the self-appointed 'Conservation Grazing Managers' had reappeared, and was happy to follow me around the east end of the site - which is cut off from the rest by the River Wansunt and a short stretch of barbed wire 'fence' - but he wasn't quite trusting enough to let me get the punk 'bling' of Burdock seeds out of his mane and tail.

The inquisitive TRW 'Conservation Grazing Manager' sports a mane full of Burdock seed heads

Here on the east side of the Wansunt I added another two species to the TRW tally, a female Wasp Spider in her web, and Long-winged Conehead Crickets at the margins of a Reedmace bed.

Female Wasp Spider (Argiope bruennichi), and her shadow, on the east bank of the Wansunt, at TRW, in the late afternoon sun

Elsewhere in the valley of the Cray today, a number of Common Lizards were seen basking on various bits of 'rubbish'.

Three adult Common Lizards bask together on a discarded black plastic bin

A juvenile makes use of the thermal properties of an old tyre

5/9/10: Barnet botanising - checking out Colindale captures (un)Common Calamint

2010-09-05T23:57:00.004+02:00

An LNHS meeting in Colindale, London Borough of Barnet, led by BMNH botanist Mark Spencer.

Mark is leading on the new Flora of London project (the last ran from 1966 to 1976), and the purpose of the visit was to get more records from a poorly-studied area that is within his own recording patch.

There was quite a big turnout, and by doing my usual thing of hanging off the back and side of the main group I found quite a few of the more interesting things that might otherwise have been missed including Stone Parsley (Sison amomum), Slender Trefoil (Trifolium micranthum) and Common Stork's-bill. Also Water Soldier (though this latter will have been put in the pond in Rushgrove Park deliberately). There was what I felt to be a disproportionate amount of interest the Swine Cress (Coronopus squamatus) I discovered hidden under some overhanging branches here - but apparently it's infrequent in north London.

Mark himself was excited by the Common Calamint (Clinopodium ascendens) I spotted in a front lawn on Colindeep Rd., because he says it's very uncommon in this part of London that was Middlesex, and various members started taking photos of it (luckily the residents didn't come out to ask what on earth was going on ....).

Later I went up to Edgware and Burnt Oak on my own and found a young Milk Thistle outside Burnt Oak Library in what appeared to be recently (re-)sown grass and a Wall Rue fern (Asplenium ruta-muraria) in the Watling Rd. railway bridge brickwork (pictures below).

There was a Little Egret in the Silk Stream near the Colindeep Road bridge, and a Long-winged Conehead cricket in Rushgrove Park.

1/9/10: Along the Cray and to the Wetland

2010-09-01T23:45:00.000+02:00

An adult Swan with 6 Cygnets was on the river behind the houses on Barnes Cray Road, presumably the female as the male died of an infection a while ago.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker was sat calling from right at the top of a tall garden conifer near the Riverkeeper's yard on Footpath 106. A Dock Squashbug and a Speckled Bush Cricket were in the yard. A Common Blue butterfly was feeding on a Common Ragwort on the riverbank opposite the gate.

A male Migrant Hawker was patrolling FP106 in an open area where a path goes off to Crayford Way. Several Trifid Bur-marigold plants were noted at the water's edge.

Several Common Darter Dragonflies, a couple of Migrant Hawkers and a Blue-tailed Damselfly were seen along By-way 105 and a Roesel's Bush Cricket was heard then found.

A Red Admiral butterfly was in the Pallet Yard south of Thames Rd Wetland.

In the bowl of the Wetland several matt black caterpillars were at the tops of the stems of what I think is Hoary Mustard, where a few flowers were still in bloom.

24/8 - 1/9/10: Recent run of moths, several Small Ranunculus sites

2010-09-01T23:05:00.002+02:00

Despite, or maybe because of the recent cooler, wetter weather, there has been an upturn in the number of moths at the lounge window after dark.

24/8 - These two largish Noctuids were at the window. Look like they may be the same species, but I have been unable to identify them from my ID book ....

25/8 - A Small Dusty Wave indoors. This Willow Beauty at the window after dark ....

26/8 - A Vine's Rustic at the window after dark.

30/8 - A Male Orange Swift ditto

1/9 - Small Ranunculus moth caterpillar hunting has turned productive. 4 lots of caterpillars were found on Prickly Lettuce in 3 disjunct locations today. The largest number were in the otherwise rather bare surroundings of the Cray Riverkeeper Volunteers yard by Footpath 106 behind Crayford Way, with 11 on one plant and 2 on another. There was a single caterpillar further along the riverbank towards Crayford town centre. 2 were on the tallest of several Prickly Lettuce in a shrub bed at the junction of Iron Mill Lane and Thames Road. 4 more were on a circa 4' tall specimen on the demolition site where until recently stood 'The Harrow' pub on Northend Rd.

There were several 20mm long matt black caterpillars at tops of Hoary Mustard flowering stems at Thames Rd Wetland, occuring singly where there were still flowers open at shoot tips. These have yet to be identified.

30/8/10: Dartford Warbler, Grayling, Large Marsh Grasshopper, New Forest Shield Bug

2010-08-30T22:59:00.005+02:00

Bank Holiday day trip to the New Forest with London Natural History Society invertebrate specialists Sarah Barnes, Tristan Bantock, Neil Anderson, Rob Wallace and Abby in search of rare insects.

I won't give a blow-by-blow account. Suffice to say I saw a significant number of species new to me, both plant and animal, a couple very rare.

Much of the territory covered - between Ashurst and Beaulieu Road railway stations - was heathland with Ling, Cross-leaved Heath and Bell Heather. I haven't decided whether the small, late-flowering Gorse (in the above picture) is Western Gorse (Ulex gallii) or Dwarf Gorse (Ulex minor). Both occur in the forest. The plants I looked at seemed to have features of both.

This is Bog Myrtle .......

and this a late Bog Asphodel .....

Other plants seen included Sneezewort, Devil's-bit Scabious, Bog Pimpernel, Bogbean and Marsh St. John's-wort (Hypericum elodes).

Early on in the visit we saw a couple of Stonechat with a Dartford Warbler flitting back and forth in the same area. Dartford is the next station east of where I live, just over the London border in Kent, and the Warbler - which I'd never seen in the flesh before - was the emblem of the erstwhile North Kent Wildlife Preservation Society, which I joined aged 10 in 1970. It was later changed - long before the Warbler started its recent dramatic range expansion - to a Heron to symbolise the North Kent marshes. Perhaps one day it will turn up on Dartford Heath. One was seen at Crossness in Belvedere fairly recently .......

Several Grayling butterflies (below) were seen, a first for me, quite pale on the wing and often gliding - in contrast to other 'Browns'. Once landed on a plant or on the ground they were remarkably amenable to being closely approached .

Another new insect for me was the Keeled Skimmer dragonfly, of which a singleton and a tandem pair were seen.

A big feature of the trip was Orthoptera. The list of species seen is as follows:

Meadow Grasshopper
Mottled Grasshopper
Woodland Grasshopper
Slender Ground-hopper
Bog Bush Cricket
Long-winged Conehead
and, last but definitely not least, the mighty Large Marsh Grasshopper (Stethophyma grossum) - pictures below - the largest British species, which now occurs only in a very few sites. Several were eventually found very close together after much quartering of a quaking bog for which we'd been given a rough OS grid reference. Ye olde vegan plimsolls are not the best kit for this sort of job, and my feet were still wet when I got home more than three hours later !

Large Marsh Grasshopper - see also http://www.flickr.com/photos/tristanba/4951449849/ which gives a better impression of how bright a yellowish green it can be.

An adult and nymph of the New Forest Shield Bug (Eysarcoris aeneus) were also found in this area - several pictures here http://www.flickr.com/photos/tristanba/4951858637/

Rounding off the trip, a mixed group of House Martins and Swallows were lined up along telephone wires by Beaulieu Road railway station.

28/8/10: London Zoo botany

2010-08-28T22:43:00.000+02:00

London Natural History Society visit to London Zoo to help the head of Horticulture there build up a picture of plant life on zoo-owned land.

More than 100 species of plant were recorded, but nothing stunning. There was a lot of Wall Lettuce along Outer Circle Road, more than I've seen anywhere else in London, and a lot of Indian Bean Tree seedlings coming up. This latter appears to have the potential to become a bit of a nuisance like the Tree of Heaven.

The increasingly ubiquitous Roesel's Bush Cricket was in the grass around the car park by Prince Albert Rd.

I rather liked the Cape Hunting/Painted Dogs - Lycaon pictus. - now seriously endangered like so much else.

12/8 - 21/8/10 - a 'catch-up' miscellany

2010-08-21T22:36:00.007+02:00

12/8 - circa 140 Starlings congregating at the top of an electricity pylon south of Crayford Way and east of Crayford town centre.

13/8 - baby Common Lizard and several Dock Squash Bugs, Grasmere allotment site, Barnehurst

14/8 - after a 'subconcious glimpse' the other day, I confirmed that there was at least one, possibly two Caper Spurge (Euphorbia lathyris) trackside at the east end of Eltham's 'up' platform

Also this Treacle Mustard (my first identification / record of it) was near the junction of Ufford St and Boundary Row in Southwark (picture above)

The number of moths at the window of my home has been poor this year, but there was a Brimstone Moth tonight

15/8 - there was a 2" body length Common Toad on my compost heap at Grasmere allotments, and two Common Blue butterflies resting head downward in the grass stems by the pond there

16/8 - I was pleased to see that Catmint (Nepeta cataria) has hung on in an unpromising spot by the petrol station in Long Lane, Bexleyheath, with a strongly-flowering specimen (below) in evidence. I have raised a few plants from seed I collected here last year, but Thrip grazing has rather spoilt the appearance of the surface of the leaves of this and various other Labiates I'm growing.

An unusual denizen of a crack in the pavement was this Corn (Maize) plant (below) found outside a house in Chapel Road, Bexleyheath.

There was a Goats-beard in the grounds of St. Martin's church on Erith Rd, which looks like it will flower late after presumably having been mown down earlier in the season.

There was a Common Darter and a Speckled Wood along the south margin of Bursted Wood.

18/8 - several Common Frogs active in the back garden in this cooler weather. There was a Field Mouse in one of the compost bins.

20/8 - a party of Long-tailed Tits in the back garden Juniper.

I have checked some flowerheads of Prickly Lettuce - which is frequent in some places locally - for larvae of the Small Ranunculus Moth without success. Today I weeded a specimen out of a pot of Skullcap (it had grown up out of sight behind some horticultural fleece), and it was only after I'd pulled it up that I noticed a few small caterpillars around the buds, which appear to be of this species .....

The Butterfly Conservation website says this:

'Formerly a relatively common species in the south-east, it had become extinct by the early part of the 20th century. In the last few years, however, it has become re-established in a small area of Kent and Essex, around the Thames, where it is now frequently recorded, especially around allotments.The larvae feed on the flowers and seeds of various wild and cultivated lettuce (Lactuca spp.).'

In the evening I was doing some long-overdue work on my rather small and overgrown pond. 3 Robins got very friendly, two rather blotchy ones especially so, coming within a foot of my face as I leant down at one point. The third, with a proper red breast, was less bold. The blotchy birds I'd seen several times before, though I thought there was only one. In any case they seem far too trusing given the local feline presence, and one is already carrying an injury to its head.

14/8/10: Bookham, Wisley for Orthoptera

2010-08-14T23:58:00.001+02:00

Another LNHS jaunt, this time to Bookham in Surrey. This event was primarily aimed at showing people unusual Grasshoppers and Crickets. Given that the site has long been studied by the Society, I'm only going to mention species that were new to me or relatively unusual.

The first thing that was unusual for me was the very large extent of Common Fleabane, especially in the area not far from the railway line.

A plant new to me was Red Bartsia.

Orthoptera found were:

Meadow Grasshopper
Rufous Grasshopper - picture here http://www.flickr.com/photos/11518091@N00/4891603534/
Long-winged Conehead
Roesel's Bush Cricket
Oak Bush Cricket
Dark Bush Cricket
Speckled Bush Cricket
and Common Groundhopper by the 'Isle of Wight' pond

I found a Cryptocephalus beetle on a Thistle flower head, which is being looked at by an expert. He says that if it's C.aureolus, there is just a single record in 1944. If it's one of the other species, it will be a new addition to the site list.

Sarah Barnes, Tristan Bantock and Mick Massie sweep Willow succesion in wet mud around the 'Isle of Wight' pond

This pond contained a large amount of Bogbean, and in the mud had the troublesome alien invader Crassula helmsii (pictured above)

Woundwort Shieldbug and a nymph of the Shieldbug Troilus luridus were shown to me by other participants. A Great Crested Newt was found under arock, and various dead wood specialist insects under the bark of felled Oak.

Wisley heathland - near to the Royal Horticultural society gardens

The target at Wisley was Wood Cricket (Nemobius sylvestris) - only found in a handful of places in the country. In a stroke of 'beginner's luck' I found the species almost as soon as we'd come out of the car park, through some trees and onto the open heath. Picture by field trip leader Sarah Barnes here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11518091@N00/4891655570/

Besides the Heather, Erica tetralix was also in bloom.

12/8/10: More solo Thames Road wetland work and new species

2010-08-12T23:18:00.004+02:00

A mix of recording and some solo site management - laboriously shearing unobtrusive pathways along water courses and creating 'windows' in the taller marginal vegetation (Gypsywort, Great Willowherb) so that Odonata etc. can be seen, and litter-picking.

The contractor-planted shrubs (species not local to the site) have suffered badly in the drought, especially being on steep south-facing slopes. A bit of recent rain has improved matters a bit.

Guelder Rose in fruit on the Thames Rd bank

A Brassica Bug (Eurydema oleracea), a new record for the site, was found on this shrub.

There was a Grey Heron in the river Wansunt. On the eastern side of the Wansunt a Roesel's Bush Cricket was heard, then seen, Creeping Thistle was found which - for the first time I've noticed - carried the stem gall caused by the fly Urophora cardui and there were a couple of Perennial Sow Thistles on a bank in the eastern pools. All three species constitute new records for the site.

This Goosefoot with strongly toothed leaves was in the 'Pallet Yard' south of the Sewer Pipe Embankment, and has yet to be identified

Also in the Pallet Yard was this (new record) patch of Common Fleabane

There was a party of Long-tailed Tits flitting about.

There were some good Blackberries up on the embankment, and the lone Fennel plant was now in flower, the Dittander was going over and 4 juvenile Goldfinches were seen.

This very worn Comma landed on the trackway at the east end of the TRW on my way back

There's a lot of Vervain on this stony part of the site.

This Buddleia by the Cray is distinctive on account of the amount of branching **within** the flower spikes

12/8/10: Bursted Woods Mining Bee identified as Dasypoda hirtipes

2010-08-12T18:59:00.000+02:00

In my 6th August post I drew attention to the fact that I'd found Beewolf wasps in the midst of the mining bee colony on Erith Road, by Bursted Woods.

At the time I had not identified the bee itself. LNHS expert Tristan Bantock has confirmed from my photos that 'it is the very distinctive (Hairy-legged Mining Bee) Dasypoda hirtipes. Nothing else has such long hairs on the scopa. They do nest in aggregations and like fairly loose sandy soil, as does (the Beewolf)Philanthus, but I am surprised they are nesting (together)'.

The Beewolf does, however, specialise in catching Honeybees, so these Hairy-legged Mining Bees are unlikely to be under attack from their neighbours.

According to the Essex Field Club website : 'This mining bee occurs in southern Britain, and whilst still reasonably widespread and locally common on southern coastal dunes, it has declined significantly inland (Falk, 1991a). In Essex most records are from near the Thames. The bee is remarkable for the female's very large pollen brushes on the hind tibia. The species will form nesting aggregations in bare or sparsely vegetated sandy or other friable soils and females collect pollen exclusively from composites (Asteraceae) especially yellow flowered species such as ox-tongues Picris spp. and ragworts Senecio spp.'

Later (on 16th August) I counted the holes - not easy to do accurately without doing the job rather slowly, but my rapid' rough-and-ready-count' of holes with recent excavate (excluding holes flush with the surface which may be last years' holes and/or abandoned this) gave a total of 570 (yes, five hundred and seventy).

Some photos of the site and bees appear below.

For more information about the variety of bees, wasps and ants that can be found in the UK see the Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society website:

http://www.bwars.com/index.htm

Hairy-legged Mining Bee and Beewolf colony by Bursted Woods on Erith Rd, Barnehurst, looking towards Bexleyheath. The pale patches in the grass verge are excavated sand around nest hole entrances. Both are uncommon species.

Early in the day a lot of the bees sit with only the front part of their bodies poking out of their nest holes

Lucky shot of an incoming bee

Three-quarter rear view of female showing dense hairs on hind legs, used as 'paddles' to excavate sand from nest holes

Bee 'paddling' backwards to push more sand out of and away from the nest hole

8/8/10: Jersey Tiger, Dark Mullein - New Cross park

2010-08-08T23:46:00.003+02:00

Another of my indirect routes home after an LNHS meeting took me (somewhat randomly) to Fordham Park, New Cross - in the Borough of Lewisham - which is currently being re-developed.

The area by Childeric Rd, slated to be a wildlife zone, was covered with dense stands of tall Goosefoot species, but threw up this Jersey Tiger - a moth increasingly found in the capital (I saw two last year). Apologies for the poor picture quality, but it's good enough to show that's what it was .....

Amongst various common weeds of south east London, including Black Horehound, Yarrow, Hedge Mustard, Knotgrass and Black Medick were Woody Nightshade, Sun Spurge, Hemlock and the less frequently seen Field Pennycress.

I have yet to identify the above, which didn't appear to be sappy regrowth from pre-existing shrubs which had been cut down to the ground.

The best botanical find was this Dark Mullein (Verbascum nigrum), my first (apparently) non-planted find in London - though I have seen it in a Bexley Council flower bed, so you never know .... It had a specimen of the bug Liocoris tripustulatus on it.

There was also a Stinking Iris outside the park fence.

8/8/10: Croydon - Coombe Lane heath to chalk slopes near New Addington

2010-08-08T23:02:00.003+02:00

LNHS field trip from the Coombe Lane tram stop to heathland on the Addington Hills for invertebrates, followed by chalk downland further down the line at New Addington.

Addington Hills heathland

Species seen here included:

A few Common Lizards
Tawny Cockroach
Beautiful Yellow Underwing moth (larva and adult)
Emperor butterfly - very brief view
Common Green Grasshopper
Mottled Grasshopper
Meadow Grasshopper
Long-winged Conehead
Gorse Shield Bug
Gorse Lace Bug

LNHS members search Hutchinson's Bank - a rich chalk slope surreally close to a New Addington housing estate - for unusual invertebrates

Species here included:

Marjoram
Agrimony
Eyebright
Greater Yellow Rattle
one plant of Sainfoin
Kidney Vetch
baby Common Lizards
a Brown Argus

plus ......

Stemless Thistle (Cirsium acaule)

My first ever Small Blue (Cupido minimus) butterflies

Restharrow (Ononis repens)

On the way to Chapel Bank were ......

a lot of Wild Parsnip in flower

a couple of Brimstone butterflies, a Large Skipper, a Ringlet, Black Bryony, Woodruff, Wood Spurge, Figwort, Bush Vetch,

this Broad-leaved Helleborine in flower

and on/in the environs of the bank Thyme, Hemp Agrimony and Common Gromwell (a new species for me).

7/8/10: Missing the boat - Wimbledon Common / Putney Heath

2010-08-07T22:09:00.000+02:00

I cut the time of my arrival at Wimbledon station a bit fine for walking to the London Natural History Society meeting place up on the Common, and compounded the mistake by walking the wrong way for 15 minutes after too casual a look at my A-Z. Never did find the main party, the site being a lot large than I had imagined, so this turned out to be a rather random solo ramble.

Putney Heath - classic heathland scene with flowering Heather (Calluna vulgaris), and Silver Birch in the distance

Silver Birch with Heather beneath on a damp part of Wimbledon Common

Heathland succesion at the margin of a damp glade - Gorse, Silver Birch and Aspen (or a similar-looking Poplar hybrid) gaining ground amongst Heather

The more notable plants included Tormentil, a Cudweed species, several Meadow Vetchling, a single Agrimony, a couple of ditches in close proximity containing runs of Blackberry with more ferny than usual 'Oregon Thornless' type leaves and a Downy Birch.

Tormentil in a damp glade, a daintier, 4-petalled relative of the ubiquitous Creeping Cinquefoil

The weather was patchy, sometimes rather overcast, so not many butterflies were seen. A Gorse Shield Bug (Piezodorus lituratus) was found. Also several kinds of Odonata. A Migrant Hawker settled on Gorse. A Common Darter was seen. A close view was had of a pair of tandem Ruddy Darters ovipositing amongst grass on a damp pathway. 2 or 3 (Large) Red-eyed Damselflies were utilising an isolated patch of Heather, away from water, with a Gorse plant in it.

I wasn't paying much attention to birds but a Jay was spotted.

Ride through a wooded part of Wimbledon Common

Soil profile exposed by erosion - where usage has 'sunk' the ride trackway. Note thin layer of organic matter over sand studded with bebbles.

As I left the north end of Putney Heath there was a heavy downpour, but I managed to avoid getting too much of a soaking by getting to a sheltered bus stop. Later in the afternoon large amounts of water were noted pouring off the ends of the modern, but badly designed glass roof at the entrance to East Croydon station. Any sensible set-up would be capturing that water for later use.

6/8/10: Barnehurst Beewolfs and darting Dragonflies

2010-08-06T23:35:00.008+02:00

An unsuccessful White-letter Hairstreak hunt in a new location today - but it's getting a bit late in the season and, although warm, it was somewhat overcast during much of the time I was out.

The 'failure' was made up for by finding 2 specimens of the Beewolf (Philanthus triangulum) amidst the big colony of Mining Bees on the sandy bank between Erith Rd and Bursted Woods in Barnehurst.

Part of the site (looking north) with about a third of the bee/wasp excavations in view.

I was watching one of the bees doing more excavation work when a white face appeared at the entrance to another tunnel. I only knew what it was thanks to the LNHS Bushy Park field trip last weekend (see 31/7/2010 post). The owner jiggled back and forth several times, with a bit more of itself coming out of the tunnel mouth each time before it eventually flew off, coming back later 'empty-handed'.

Philanthus triangulum has to date been regarded as rare, and its status given as vulnerable, RDB2, with its population concentrated in the south-east (originally only in sandy habitats in the Isle of Wight and Suffolk) with a scattered distribution north to Lancashire and Yorkshire. It is now being found more often and has been reported as exhibiting more catholic tastes in habitat than previously.

One of the Barnehurst Beewolfs ('blown up' from a mobile phone cam picture). This one had landed on some excavation material, and was fairly obliging - apart from positioning itself behind some bits of grass.

I also checked out the old Pitch and Putt area along the wood margin. To my mind the mowing regime could usefully be relaxed a bit, at least in patches. There was little for insects to nectar on, apart from scattered Yarrow - which doesn't seem to be used much. The bees seen were on a couple of Common Ragwort 'stunted' by mowing, a couple of patches of Black Knapweed which I hadn't recorded here before and a few Spear Thistles in the band of Bramble/Nettle along the edge of the wood.

The heavily mown 'amenity grassland' of the former Pitch and Putt course by Bursted Wood, Barnehurst, quite unnecessarily leaves far too little for our declining Bees to feed on

One of a couple of patches of Black Knapweed, a great bee plant, here flowering at only a few inches tall due to the mowing regime. With a bit more imagination, flexibility and maybe training of contractors, surely such plants could be worked around or uncut areas left for them to proliferate in, providing more interest for people and a better living for local wildlife ......

I was also intrigued to see, along this northern margin of the wood, no less than 6 Hawker Dragonflies constantly zooming around in the same area without any signs of aggression towards one another. Although I watched for some time, none landed and a positive ID was not possible. This behaviour is, however, said to be characteristic of the Migrant Hawker, one specimen of which I saw on the nearby Grasmere allotment site a few years ago.

Some time earlier, I had seen a Common Darter dragonfly perch on a dead branch on the south margin of the wood, by the road to the hospital.

3/8/10: Ruddy hell! Grain Wall Brown joy and Eryngium maritimum bonanza

2010-08-03T23:17:00.003+02:00

An unexpected, short-notice trip over to the Isle of Grain in Kent today with Mervyn Brown, and old acquaintance from North Kent Wildlife Preservation Society days. Mervyn showed up at my door out of the blue a few months ago when he found out I was back in the area. He has been working with Eric Philp on the new Flora of Kent. He used to focus on moths but is now hot on grasses. The purpose of the visit was to look at a colony of Sea Holly (Eryngium maritimum), as he is an afficianado of the genus.

The area looked at was the Thames shoreline, north and west of the village of Grain itself.

Looking east from the cliff-top towards the mouth of the Medway, with Sheerness beyond. Remains of anti-tank defences towards the foreground.

A short way west of the car park was a rough grassy area over a crumbly clay. A number of grasses were identified, including Sea Couch, the Couch/Sea Couch hybrid, Creeping Bent and Yellow Oat Grass. There were a number of Opium Poppies, Hoary Ragwort, Sea Mayweed and White Melilot.

Wild Carrot amongst abundant Horseradish

Creeping Bent (in the foreground)

View of the Thames looking north-west (upriver)

In a depression between some banking were Common Fleabane in flower, Hairy Tare and Common Toadflax.

Common Fleabane (foreground) with the Thames and Essex coast beyond

A lot of Coltsfoot was sprouting from several incongruous mounds of sand

The botanical highlight was the huge amount of Sea Holly. I haven't been able to resist including several pictures of it .....

A long strip behind the beach in a fenced-off area contained a phenomenal number of plants - it was as if a farmer had deliberately sown a field of them stretching into the distance. Neither Mervyn nor I had ever seen the species growing at this sort of density before.

Other coastal plants included Sea Purslane and lots of Sea Sandwort.

Insects seen included Common Blue Damselflies, good close-up views of my first definite Ruddy Darters, Common Blue butterflies, a Small Copper, a Red Admiral and Gatekeepers.

I thought I'd seen something a bit different earlier on, but when I called out to Mervyn 'It's a Wall Brown!' he didn't quite believe me. It was very obliging and we both took several pictures - even though it flew up a couple of times, it kept coming back to a nearby spot and opening its wings. I used to get Wall Browns on the Buddleia in my front garden in Barnehurst (and no Speckled Woods). Without hunting out my old records my guess is that the last one I saw was in my garden in around 1980-1982, more than half a life-time ago now. The Wall Brown disappeared from much of its range for unknown reasons, but for a long time now I have had Speckled Woods.

Long time no see - a Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) by the Thames, just west of Grain village, on the Isle of Grain, Kent

31/7/10: Bushy Park: Beewolf, Wasp Spider and Mistletoe (bugs)

2010-07-31T23:10:00.006+02:00

A London Natural History Society field trip with a largely entomological bent.

On the way down I noted quite a lot of White-flowered Buddleia beside the railway, especially just south of Wimbledon. (The other place where this is/was the case is between the tracks not far from Paddington station).

In Hampton Wick High Street there were a few Tree of Heaven saplings, Ground Elder, Ivy-leaved Toadflax, a Galinsoga sp. and Greater Celandine. There was a nice vertical run of Hart's-tongue Fern in an alcove on the railway bridge over Seymour Rd. A couple of 'escaped' Papaver (probably rupifragum) were also spotted.

Bushy Park, general view

The best area in Bushy Park for general invertebrates was one fenced off from the deer, allowing the grass to grow. Here were found:

- several Gatekeepers
- a Small Heath
- a copulating pair of Common Blues
- Silver Y
- Cinnabar Moth caterpillars
- lots of Burnet Moths

- 3 female Wasp Spiders, one with a male in its web

- Roesel's Bush Cricket

- Birch Catkin Bug
- Parent Bug (on Birch, sitting over its eggs)

There were a significant number of Hawthorns with Mistletoe on them, with a lot of these trees looking in a bad way. There was a bit on a Willow as well. After much persistence with a sweep net - and makeshift handle extension - LNHS bug expert Dr. Tristan Bantock managed to catch all four Bug species specific to Mistletoe, including Anthocoris visci, Hypseloecus visci and Pinalitus viscicola, as well as the Mistletoe pysllid (Cacopsylla visci).

Tristan Bantock poised to hunt Mistletoe bugs

Mistletoe on Hawthorn in Bushy Park

Elsewhere an Oak Bush Cricket and a Purple Hairstreak were swept.

On a compacted path we came across the nest holes of Philanthus triangulum, the Beewolf (the name of which put me in mind of films about WW2 U-boats ...) and saw several provisioning them with their paralysed bee prey. I had a great close-up view when a bee-laden female decided to land on my arm. Good photo of this species here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tristanba/4854994906/

There are a number of water courses and artificial lakes across the site.

Odonata seen were
- a Brown Hawker
- a Common Darter
- a Common Blue Damselfly
- Blue-tailed Damselflies
- a large number of (Large) Red-eyed Damselflies

3 small Common Toads were found in various places away from the water.

Plants included a lot of Skullcap at the water's edge, a single Trifid Bur-marigold, Greater Duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza) and the non-native floating Water Fern (Azolla filiculoides).

Greater Duckweed (the larger floating discs) amongst a smaller species

Birds here included a number of Egyptian Geese (one pictured below, with Canada Goose in the background).

31/7/10: Barnehurst Bastard Cabbage

2010-07-31T22:57:00.000+02:00

Fewer than normal of the infrequently found, non-native, Bastard Cabbage (Rapistrum rugosum) behind the 'up' (London-bound) platform at Barnehurst station this year, but this one has made a fine specimen and the conditions today were well suited to the limitations of my mobile phone cam (which over-exposes white or yellow flowers in brighter light):

29/7/10: Broadway, Hall Place North, Shenstone Park and Martens Grove

2010-07-29T23:13:00.001+02:00

Late decision to go into Bexleyheath, so left home in a rush forgetting to take mobile phone (aka digital camera) with me, hence the lack of pictures in this posting.

There were about 50 Starlings on the roof of The Mall on the Broadway.

At Hall Place North a (probable Hawker) Dragonfly circled round several times, but was against the light and would not settle for identification.

There were groups of juvenile Blue Tits and a couple of definite Greenfinches (which flew off in a flock of 12 birds which may have been con-specifics).

A Red-tailed Bee and a Carder Bee were feeding on one of the Bird's-foot Trefoil patches in the close-mown turf. There were quite a number of Red Tails on the good stand of Black Knapweed that was flowering in one of the unmown areas.

Butterflies were few in number, with only a white, a Meadow Brown or two and a Gatekeeper seen.

Clematis vitalba was in the Old Road/London Rd triangle where the Gas Holders are, and Ash was becoming prevalent here.

Moving into Shenstone Park, which I haven't been through since my running days back in the 80's, I suspect, were a lot of the usual plants of mown and unmown grass for this neck of the woods. The large number of Limes and Ash were notable features, and I was interested to see a couple of Walnut trees and some nice 'specimen' Hornbeams.

Green Woodpeckers were heard and seen - there may have been 2 or 3 different individuals.

Heading into Martens Grove a number of Elm were noted and a good view of a Wren was had. Field Maple, Hornbeam and a Beech were noted. There was a run of Swine Cress (Coronopus squamatus) by the path near the St Stephen's Rd entrance.

13 Starlings were over the south end of Barnehurst Rd, and 35(+) over the junction of Bexley Rd and Brook St.

A result of this peregrination is that I have identified 3 more areas that look promising for White-letter Hairstreak butterflies, though it's getting a bit late in the season now to have the best chance of checking for presence.

28/7/10: Sevenoaks and KWT urban greenspaces day

2010-07-28T21:04:00.000+02:00

Down to Sevenoaks today for a Kent Wildlife Trust teach-in on the 'Living Landscapes' project, creating green corridors and enhancing urban greenspaces for people and wildlife. To be honest it turned out to be a little too basic for me in most respects. I was really after more depth on management for various species, more detail on dealing with various conflicting demands and how to resolve these, especially 'excuses' involving inertia, inflexibility and claims that we 'can't afford it' from Councils and various utilities.

Nevertheless, some useful stuff was picked up as a result, including an actual site-specific management plan for allotment wildlife, which I've not had a chance to read yet, but may be a help 'back home' in trying the establish the principle. My own Council hasn't even started the species recording process on its wildlife sites - 6 years after the target completion date - yet fills LDFs and BAPs with worthy pronouncements about protecting and increasing biodiversity in open spaces, including allotments, that it seems disinclined to act upon, data or otherwise.

The afternoon included a visit to a very large allotment site off Kennedy Gardens, with fine views northwards (below):

I only looked at a few plots, but there were some interesting 'weed' species, including Papaver rhoeas, 4 Fool's Parsley, Galinsoga (possibly Gallant Soldier), several Bugloss and Common Fumitory.

The streets I traversed in the area had a similar 'weed' flora to that in my part of Bexley, though Ivy-leaved Toadflax seemed more prevalant here.

Highlights were a couple of Hare's-foot Clover in the line of a recently planted hedge in Hollybush Lane Sports Ground, 5 Pyramidal Orchids in a front garden lawn on Vine Court Rd (next to, rather inevitably, a garden covered in a skip and gravel ....) and 15 or more Papaver (probably) rupifragum along the roadside boundary of The Vine cricket ground on Dartford Rd.

Time was then spent over a couple of pints in a local hostelry discussing ways to bring about a more radical approach to enhancing biodiversity, and maximising the amount of wildlife in Bexley, with a recent contact who has long been pushing for such improvements in the Borough.

21/7/10: Least Carpet in the house

2010-07-21T23:43:00.004+02:00

Least Carpet Moth, Barnehurst, photo taken under artificial light

This small moth is said to be restricted to the south-eastern counties of England, with the larvae feeding on Ivy and Traveller's Joy among other plants.

21/7/2010: Barnehurst and Crayford miscellany

2010-07-21T22:29:00.002+02:00

To the River Cray via Barnehurst Golf Course, Perry Street roundabout and Thames Rd., back later via the pub and Thames Road Wetland (TRW).

There was a Small Copper butterfly on the grass at the golf course as I headed up the hill by Taunton Close, and near the summit a Speckled Wood.

In the Perry Street/Wyatt Rd section of rough ground were 2 Fennel plants, Gatekeeper butterflies and a Latticed Heath Moth. In the Thames Rd/Gascoyne Drive part were Wild Carrot and 3 White Melilot.

Along Footpath 106 by the Cray were 2 or 3 female Banded Demoiselle and a male, plus several Blue-tailed Damselflies.

A Comma was seen. 3 Gatekeepers were feeding on Common Ragwort flowers. A Red Admiral flitted through the Riverkeepers' yard.

Later in the garden of the Bear and Ragged Staff in Crayford town centre a Holly Blue fluttered over an ivy-clad wall and a Comma landed nearby. A male Blackbird was eating fallen cherries.

On the way home along By-way 105 I passed this clump of Galingale (Cyperus longus), a distinctive and attractive native sedge, often planted, so it may not be 'indigenous' to the area. There was also some along Footpath 106. Another Red Admiral was seen along the By-way.

For some time now there have been large numbers of Grasshoppers along the Thames Rd side of the TRW. Now they are getting to adulthood and I had my Grasshopper ID book with me. A few were carefully caught, one at a time in a clear plastic bag, and identified as Lesser Marsh Grasshoppers (Chorthippus albomarginatus), adding another species to the roster here. It is said to be increasing its range and is no longer confined to damp habitats. As the light began to fail I also found Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus) on the site.

Around 12 Swifts were over the Mayplace Av./Thames Rd junction.

Closer to home a patch of the white-flowered Soapwort was in bloom in the corner of the Perry Street Farm field by the caged ball-playing area on Gascoyne Drive. There was a Meadow Cranesbill (Geranium pratense) just about in flower in the roadside grass verge, having been 'dwarfed' by the mowing regime. In the next field along, towards Wyatt Rd, the lack of grazing had contributed to a good show of White Campion in flower, and Wild Carrot too.

20/7/10: Another new White-letter Hairstreak colony in Bexley

2010-07-20T23:30:00.004+02:00

Following on from my White-letter Hairstreak butterfly find at Crayford Marshes (see 2/7/10 posting), late this afternoon I checked Barnehurst Golf Course for the presence of White-letter Hairstreak for the second time in a fortnight.

I had had a possible 4 sightings on 6th July, 3 along the fairly substantial strip of English Elm along the western margin of the site bordering Manor Way, and 1 at the eastern end parallel to Perry St, where there is another reasonable amount of Elm. All were briefly in flight and I could not see where they settled to get a proper view and confirm presence.

Today, besides a possible sighting at the Perry Street end, I obtained a definite identification by the Old Manor Way entrance at the west end of the site (TQ 506 760). I had been pondering the dearth of suitable nectar sources in the immediate area when I saw a small brown butterfly land on a cluster of the few Bramble flowers not yet setting fruit, just as I was about to exit the Golf Course and head for home. I swung my binoculars onto it just in case it wasn't another Gatekeeper, and because I'd seen a possible White-letter Hairstreak on an Elm 'bush' here two weeks ago. And lo, and behold, a W-LHS it was! Cue a bit of fist-pumping, but not too obviously in case any passers-by thought I was some kind of nutter ..... The insect was about 8' from me and only a few yards from gardens and houses on either side. The time was 18.17 and it was a warm, sunny afternoon with a slight breeze. The area where it was feeding was still getting some sun from the west at this time.

A White-letter Hairstreak was seen feeding on Bramble flowers here at the 'stub end' of Old Manor Way, by the entrance to Barnehurst Golf course, early this evening. Dead, ivy-clad Elm to the left, live Elm centre, Pedunculate Oak right. Swathe of Bramble, Stinging Nettle and Mugwort in the foreground.

A bit of subtle management to improve W-LHS habitat would probably be useful here. The Elm is reaching a decent height before succumbing, but there is relatively little coming through in the way of mid-height (or even small) suckers. This is because a considerable number of dead Elm have been left in situ and are covered in Ivy, shading and swamping out new growth. Several medium-sized Sycamores are taking up space that Elm could colonise. And in one area a Russian Vine from a neighbouring garden is covering an increasingly large area within the Elm zone whilst a dense swathe of bordering nettles is hindering any Elm colonisation along the margins of its present extent.

At any rate, the fact that I've trebled the apparently 'known' number of W-LHS sites in the Borough in 2 weeks rather supports other people's theories that the species is under-recorded - it's not the sort of thing that one is necessarily going to find on the basis of a few cursory glances up at a bunch of Elm trees. Indeed the LNHS butterfly recorder tells me it has already shown a very large increase in records between the 1980s and 1990s - the second-highest of any butterfly species in London - which suggests better recording rather than a massive population increase and spread.

Elsewhere on the Golf Course today, Essex Skipper, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Holly Blue, Small Copper and Red Admiral were seen. The usefulness of the oft-maligned Common Ragwort as a nectar source for several of these butterflies, at a time when not much else is available in such grassland, was especially evident.

19/7/10: Barnehurst butterflies

2010-07-19T23:23:00.000+02:00

A couple of Gatekeepers in the garden, plus a Meadow Brown feeding on Allium sphaerocephalon and Black Knapweed. The very dry conditions of recent months, and repeated shoot-tip damage from small caterpillars, has delayed the flowering of the Marjoram, the favourite nectaring foodplant of these species here. Later a Holly Blue was seen. A late-flying Essex Skipper was on Grasmere allotments in the evening.

17/7/10: Southwark's London Bridge back streets

2010-07-17T23:29:00.000+02:00

After today's LNHS meeting, I walked from Liverpool Street station to London Bridge, then botanised some of Southwark's back streets hereabouts.

Species on a vacant lot on Newcomen St., opposite Kipling St., included three dead Papaver rhoeas, several young Verbascum - and one in flower, identified as thapsus - Black Horehound, Prickly Lettuce, Buddleia, Great Willowherb, Black Medick and a Tree of Heaven sapling.

Guy Street Park (Guy Street/Weston Street junction) plants included Pellitory-of-the-Wall, Yarrow, Ribwort Plantain, several Buck's-horn Plantain, Common Mallow, Dwarf Mallow, White Clover, White Bryony and Lesser Swine Cress. Adult Rosemary Beetles were on planted Rosemary in a shrub bed.

Those in Leathermarket gardens, a little further down the road, included some of the above, plus 5 Common Stork's-bill, Bristly Ox-tongue, Common Cat's-ear, Pineapple Mayweed, 2 Ox-eye Daisies, Field Bindweed, Mugwort, Knotted Hedge Parsley and Annual Mercury.

There were several Black Nighshade in Tanner Street park, and several Tree of Heaven seedlings.

On Morocco Street were several Shaggy Soldier in the crack between the foot of the wall of newish flats and the pavement, along with the following :-

Eleven Wall Lettuce (above) in a squalid space between buildings

This Nicotiana likewise (garden escape)

This Tomato plant in the street gutter

And this Tagetes (marigold) seedling, also in the crack between the foot of the wall of newish flats and the pavement

A vacant lot car park on St. Thomas St, between Snowsfields and Fenning St, by London Bridge station, yielded the fruiting Deadly Nightshade pictured above, and a small Common Fleabane (which doesn't seem at all common in London) just about in flower - in both cases these were only my second records for the capital. Also Woody Nightshade, 3 Tree of Heaven saplings, Herb Robert and Hoary Willowherb.

The growing Shard looms over London Bridge and its plants.

17/7/10: Lee Valley Park, Amwell - more 'firsts' in Odonata and plants

2010-07-17T22:45:00.005+02:00

Up at half past six (groan) to get to St. Margaret's station in Hertfordshire for a London Natural History Society field trip to Amwell in the Lee Valley Park.

Several Skullcap along the canal further confirmed this species' prediliction for such habitats. There was a bit of Help Agrimony and Brandybottle (Nuphar lutea).

Other plants included a first for me - Small Teasel (Dipsacus pilosus), pictured below, of which there were quite a number, also the waterlily Nymphaea alba, a couple of Common Fleabane, a couple of Musk Mallow and a nice patch of Tufted Vetch.

Small Teasel (Dipsacus pilosus), Amwell, Hertfordshire

Butterflies seen around the canal, gravel pits and reserve were:

Green-veined White

Large White

Small White

A few Red Admiral

Speckled Wood

Gatekeeper

Meadow Brown

A single Ringlet

A single Common Blue

Odonata seen were:

Common Blue Damselfly (large numbers)

Azure Damselfly

Several Large Red-eyed Damselfly on water lily pads

A single Small Red-eyed Damselfly ditto (first time I've seen this species - thanks to sharp-eyed leader Roy Woodward for clocking this and getting his telescope on it for us)

Male and female Banded Demoiselles

Several Brown Hawkers

A few Emperor Dragonfly

1 x Four-spotted Chaser Dragonfly (first time I've seen this species)

Birds included:

Close views of a juvenile Green Woodpecker

A Kingfisher

2 Little Egret

Greylag geese

Common Tern

3 Buzzards circling together high overhead

2 Hobby dashing about over distant woodland

1 Kestrel

Great Crested Grebe

A Reed Warbler feeding 2 fledglings

3 Goldfinches feeding on Creeping Thistle seeds

15+16/7/10: In my Barnehurst garden

2010-07-16T22:42:00.001+02:00

Gatekeepers
Meadow Browns
Speckled Wood chasing a Gatekeeper
A Wood Mouse disturbed during daylight hours
A Wren

13/7/10: Brookweed and Little Grebe amongst new records on Thames Road Wetland

2010-07-13T23:49:00.001+02:00

More recording either side of some Cray Riverkeepers work.

On the way down to the Cray an adult Asparagus Beetle was seen on Asparagus in Eversley Avenue, and larvae on Parkside Rd.

A clump of Tansy was noted on the 'rough' off Perry St. roundabout, in the Thames Rd/Gascoyne Drive section, a new record for me here.

22 Starlings were seen on roofs on Barnes Cray Rd.

Dace and Chubb were seen in the River Cray by Footpath 106. Amongst the marginal plants recorded were Branched Bur-reed (Sparganium erectum), Reed Sweet Grass and Reed Canary Grass in flower.

Insects about along FP106 and By-way 105 included a couple of Red Admiral, Gatekeepers, Banded Demoiselles, lots of Blue-tailed Damselflies and also a Large Red Damselfly ovipositing.

Next stop was the Thames Road Wetland (TRW). On the western section of the Sewer Embankment was a Black Knapweed, which I don't recall seeing here before (but I may be wrong - I'm way behind on spreadsheeting my records to make them quickly accessible ..... ). There were Cinnabar Moth caterpillars on Common Ragwort. A Large White Butterfly was seen further along, and 2 adult and 2 juvenile Goldfinches flew onto a shrub.

Black Knapweed and Common Ragwort on the Sewer Embankment by the TRW

The TRW is glimpsed over a clump of the uncommon plant Dittander (Lepidium latifolium), a mass of which were pouring forth their frothy white flowers along the Sewer Embankment

Looking out over the Thames Road Wetland, birds on the 'lake' (the deeper, open water at the eastern end of the flooded area west of the Wansunt) were 2 adult and a couple of juvenile Coot and a new record for me on the site of Little Grebe (Dabchick), of which there were 2 adults and 3 small young.

A couple of the mildew-feeding 22-spot Ladybird species down in the TRW 'bowl' were also a new record here.

At one point I was trying to get close to a flying Dragonfly, in order to get an ID, when it was grabbed from among the Reedmace by a House Sparrow which disappeared into the Thames Rd shrub beds with it.

From this side of the site I was able to pick out 4 Gadwall somewhat hidden on a small grassy 'island'.

Wild Mignonette (Reseda lutea) was in flower on the flat, dry, ground up next to the Thames Rd fence.

Next I checked out that part of the site to the east of the River Wansunt. There were a few Purple Loosestrife in flower here, some Gypsywort and 8 Celery-leaved Crowfoot (Ranunculus sceleratus) in flower in the damp margins of the drying pool.

Dittander is now down in the bowl proper, on a corner of the easternmost pool, next to Branched Bur-reed which only seems to be at this end of the site so far, and is a new record for the 'bowl'.

Branched Bur-reed in flower on the TRW

A further new record for the site was a single Greek Dock which, oddly, was growing in the water.

A Goat's-Rue was also found down in the bowl.

The pool on the eastern fringe of the flooded area, east of the Wansunt, is shallow, its winter extent shown by the thin Rushes in the picture above

In the drying, but still quite damp mud here (with water pooling in old horse hoof-prints), yet another new site record was obtained in the shape of 15 flowering plants of Brookweed (Samolus valerandi). This is a member of the Primula family and has small, white flowers, with notched petals. This is the first time I've come across this species anywhere. It is reported to now have a rather restricted distribution in the UK, so this is a good find.

Brookweed (Samolus valerandi) on the TRW - a species completely new to me

2/7/10: New White-letter Hairstreak colony in Bexley

2010-07-02T22:41:00.001+02:00

The LNHS Horsenden Hill meeting, which was the first time I'd seen White-letter Hairstreaks, was a useful event for getting my 'eye in' and was absolutely instrumental in enabling me to find the species along Moat Lane on Crayford Marshes today. I was also spurred on by Tristan Bantock having said he also thought there was a good chance of it being there when we were making our way along the lane towards Slade Green aftera bug-hunt earlier in June.

Moat Lane, Crayford Marshes, on a sunny evening back on the 23rd April 2010. The substantial English Elm 'hedge' where the White-letter Hairstreaks were found is on the left (south) side, here catching the evening sun from the west.

The lane has longish stretches of English Elm 'monoculture' to about 18-20' tall along the south side, and a few rather smaller ones on the north side. Horses are pastured on the rough grazing adjacent to the hedge. I saw between 7 and 9 likely different individuals, two of which I got side-on good binocular views of and so can be absolutely certain of the ID. They appeared to only be using the (south side) Elm some way along the lane at present (around TQ 530 767), and not that near the Slade Green station end or opposite the moat of Howbury Grange.

The weather was hot and sunny, with some blustery breezes and the odd dark cloud blotting out the sun for short periods. The observations were made between 11.40 a.m. to around 13.30.

The White-letter Hairstreak is a UK and London Borough of Bexley Council BAP priority species, and the Council's website says the only place it occurs in the Borough is in a wood at Foot's Cray Meadows.

Other species seen along the lane today were:

Probable Holly Blue
Common Blue
Large Skipper
Small Skipper
Small White
Meadow Brown
Comma

and a couple of female Broad-bodied Chasers and Darter species.

There were 4 Swallows (probably fledglings) sitting on the barbed wire fence of the field around the moat, and a few Swifts overhead.

Coming hard on the heels of the W-LHS find, a little further along the lane towards the River Darent were 2 or 3 clumps of Crown Vetch, my second find of it in the Borough - the other also having been on the Marshes, in that case away to the west near Crossness.

Out by the river were a Small Heath, 2 Common Blues, a Kestrel and Tufted Vetch.

26/6/10: Horsenden Hill - White-letter Hairstreak

2010-06-26T23:32:00.000+02:00

A 'holding' catch-up posting so that some more recent ones will make sense ....

LNHS meeting, Horsenden Hill, Perivale, for White-letter Hairstreak butterflies (Satyrium w-album), which were duly observed in their favoured Elm tree habitat. This is was the first time I'd seen the species, and was the main reason for attending this event.

9/6/10: Forgotten Roses brighten old industrial site

2010-06-09T23:15:00.001+02:00

These roses were a pleasing sight on the derelict industrial site opposite, and festooningh the bridge over the Cray by, Maxim Road in Crayford. Would it be too much to ask that these are not destroyed in any redevelopment? One can live in hope. Fortunately two are on a narrow strip of ground between a pathway and the river, up close to river defence pilings, which might just help them avoid the chop ......