30/5/10: Lesnes Abbey, Erith marshes, Franks Park - plants, damselflies, birds and bats

Red Campion and Yellow Rattle were in flower on the Lesser Calamint bank at Lesnes Abbey. Fellow Lesnes Abbey conservation Volunteer Tristan showed me the Crosswort he had found deep in the grass here, which was in flower. I had never seen this species before.

Common Blue Damselflies were by the ponds here, on the west side of the Abbey, close to Abbey Rd.

Yellow Archangel was in flower in the wood.

In the afternoon I walked out to the sea wall at Crossness.

On the 'southern marsh' part of Erith marshes, south of Eastern Way, 1 Whitethroat was seen, 2 Swift, a Heron and a flock of 30 Starlings. There was a male Azure Damselfly along shrubbery at the foot of the road bank.

There were around 17 individual plants of this showy, possibly non-native, Spurge which I have yet to identify, close to where the footpath passes comes out onto Eastern Way.

On banking along Eastern Way itself, towards the junction with Yarnton Way, was this splendid show of Common Poppy (Papaver rhoeas), some with very strong black basal blotches, others with none.

And this superb display of Ox-Eye Daisy flowers.

The new Crossness Sewage works in the distance, beyond Flag Iris and Reeds.

Only my second record of Shining Crane's-bill (Geranium lucidum) in Bexley Borough. Several plants were found on the river side of the hedge between the sea wall and the golf driving range just west of the old Crossness works.

Birds along the foreshore included 7 (possibly 9) Common (probably) Terns, 50 starlings, 38 Shelduck oppositte new Crossness, about 8 Gadwall in the outfall area and 2 Greenfinch in Elder. A Fox was seen towards the incinerator.

Heading back towards Belvedere a Kestrel was seen near an old factory.

There were two young Foxes at dusk on Halt Robin Lane.

Cutting across Franks Park, heading towardd Brook Street, there were 2 small Bats towards the Fox House Rd exit onto Erith Rd, and another near the exit itself.

6/9/09: Lesnes Abbey to Erith (part 1 - Thamesmead and Erith Marshes south of Eastern Way)

There was lots of Dwarf Mallow by the Green Chain Walk through Thamesmead.

A few interesting plants were growing on a somewhat bare, 'weedy' corner by Wolvercote Way near the aerial walkway, including Sun Spurge, a young Cucurbit plant of some sort and this possible Scotch Thistle seedling.



There were a lot of Marsh Yellow Cress plants growing on the walkway itself, with small auricles at the leaf bases.

A Black Knapweed and some Silverweed were noted by paths towards a field of horses - in which there were some 57 Carrion Crows and a Kestrel overhead - just west of Southmere Lake.

A solitary male Common Blue Damselfly was seen in a dry ditch.

This Wild Parsnip was pictured near the base of the Green Chain Walk signpost.

Red Clover clumps, tending to have stronger leaf markings than is sometimes the case, dotted a strip of land cut for hay, immediatly south of Eastern Way.

There were lots of Wild Roses sporting quite a lot of Robin's Pincushions, caused by a Gall Wasp (Diplolepis rosae).

Rose, looking west back towards Thamesmead



Hawthorn fruits and Rose with Robin's Pincushion gall

A Viper's Bugloss (or possibly two), just about still in flower, was spotted in a tangle of vegetation on the road embankment just west of the overhead power lines. 46 Canada Geese were in a field here.