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
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