24/12/10: Danson Park Shoveler surprise

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.

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

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

26/4/10 Gravel Hill, Hall Place and south of the Dartford Loop Line

A male Chaffinch was seen at the Erith Rd edge of Bursted Wood.

Some Brooms were in flower on the south-facing railway embankment just west of the Erith Rd bridge over the railway line.

A Red-tailed Bumblebee was the only insect around a strip of flowering Berberis darwinii at the junction of Highland Rd and Albion Rd, Bexleyheath.

A rather wayward pair of Mallard came down on a grass verge in Rossland Close, at the junction with Gravel Hill.

A Green Woodpecker was feeding along the shrub line at the top of the hill at Hall Place North (the parkland on the east side of Gravel Hill). At the bottom of the hill, near Bourne Rd, Thyme-leaved Speedwell - just coming into flower - was intermingled with Germander Speedwell. There was also some Slender Speedwell nearby.

In the newish shrub beds at the south east corner of the extended Hall Place car park parallel to Bourne Rd, there were 12 Common Fumitory growing up through the bark mulch, and not quite in flower yet. As far as I have been able to determine so far, this is a very infrequent plant, in the east of the Borough at any rate. No way were they going to overwhelm or inhibit the shrub planting, but it wasn't long before someone weeded them all out anyway...... A typicallly unintelligent, unimaginative and inflexible approach to vegetation management.

An attempt has been made to 'soften' the appalling car park recently built by the east side of the walled garden, and running right down to the river, with a couple of bits of ditch and an over-densely planted jumble of shrubs, full of natives, but some of them not indigenous to the local area. Is the assumption that half of them will die off?

Apart from the litter that had inevitably been blown - or thrown - into the ditches, and left there, there was a Grey Wagtail in one of them (and a Pied Wagtail on the roof of a building in the walled garden). Also several Celery-leaved Crowfoot just above the rather low water line. Here also, presumably brought in on the tyres of digging machinery, was a single plant of Shining Cranesbill (Geranium lucidum), my first record of it in Bexley, indeed in London south of the Thames.

Finds in the scrubby area (called The Old Orchard on one map I have) that is immediatly south of the railway opposite Hall Place, and on the east side of the A2, included the following (I haven't been here since I was a teenager in the 70s. My recollection - I have photos somewhere - is that is was then much more open, and people used to dig a Victorian (?) rubbish tip there for old bottles):

Rabbits
Dunnock
Long-tailed Tit
Pink-flowered, purplish-leaved Cherry (derived from garden cultivar)
Gorse
Broom
Marjoram
Hemlock
Ground Ivy
Hop

6/3/10: Erith School to Erith Quarry

22 Starlings over Northumberland Way.

1 Goldfinch in a tall tree in the grounds of my old school - Erith School - on the Ramsden Rd. boundary.

15 House Sparrows seen (and others heard) in the hedge around the school on the Ramsden Rd. corner, and part way along Avenue Rd.

Erith Quarry:

1 Robin
27 Wood Pigeon
Magpie
1 Jay
Blue Tit
Long-tailed Tit
2 Great Tit
Blackbird

Great views of a Kestrel hovering over the site.

2 Foxes.


3 patches of Common Reed (Phragmites australis) on 'dry ground', as above.

Large patch of Fennel plants found.

Some Japanese Knotweed.

Looked at north-west corner this time. Delighted to find another bit of 'heathland' (hurrah).




Several large Gorse - but some have suffered relatively recent and heavy vehicle damage, as in the lower picture.


A number of native Broom plants (above) in several locations nearby.


Also this substantial young Pine that looked self-seeded. Some Poplars. Plus 2 Cotoneaster.


Several clumps of Sedum (probably reflexum) found (pictured above) in the foreground of the following view.

7/1/10: Lengthening bird list is pain in neck

Spent the afternoon wandering round Martens Grove and Barnehurst Golf Course in the snow, and am beginning to think I'm getting a grip on this birdwatching malarky.

It was all very pretty, but I hadn't expected to get so engrossed, so had no gloves which eventually made focussing the binoculars in a hurry and writing notes a bit difficult, as my fingers kept getting rather numb.

Also, standing in a wood and repeatedly tilting ones head back 45 degrees for extended periods of time, so as to try and see the bird you can hear is up in the tree above, but is somehow remaining out of sight despite the lack of leaves, gets a bit uncomfortable. As opposed, say, to staring at the ground looking for obscure plants .........

On the way, 10 (+?) Redwings had shot out of a Holly in a front garden on Barnehurst Rd as I approached. The plant was narrow and only about 12 feet tall. One bird had stayed behind and carried on eating the berries.

A number of 'usual suspect' species were seen at both sites - Wood Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Ring-necked Parakeet, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Long-tailed Tit. Plus lots of Grey Squirrels.

The highlights in Martens Grove were:

A Treecreeper. This was spotted near the Stephen Rd. entrance, and good views of it were had working its way up the trunks of mature trees next to gardens on that road. If I've seen this species before it was a very long time ago, and I don't remember doing so. If I have, I doubt it was in the Barnehurst/Bexleyheath area.

Also a Nuthatch calling from the top of a big tree. Had a lot of trouble getting a clear view of this one - and I'm no good at identifying birds from their song yet. This is another species I've not seen in these parts before, at least since I picked up my wildlife recording baton again about 5 years ago - so making use of winter conditions to look out for birds properly is starting to pay dividends.

Martens Grove near the Stephen Rd. entrance

A couple of Oaks still had a lot of leaves attached

Footpath along the north side of Martens Grove

The uncommon Butcher's Broom near houses by the above-mentioned footpath. Possibly a garden escape, this is the only specimen I've found on this site, and the only other 'wild' one I know of in Bexley at present is in Lesnes Abbey Woods

The highlight of Barnehurst Golf Course was the Green Woodpecker that flew up from the rough 'wildlife area' on the north side of the site. A Wren was also feeding on the ground here.

The 'classic' view at the Barnehurst Golf Course site, looking north to the Cedar, Taunton Close and the railway line

Wildlife area looking east towards the Thames and Essex

There are two Gorse bushes here, one in a shady spot, and this superbly dome-shaped specimen out in the open and already in full flower

Gorse (one of my favourite native plants) in flower in the snow

Another indicator of the heathland 'heritage' / potential of the area: these are some of a handful of young Broom plants along the tree line at the foot of the bank to one side of the hole 3/12 fairway

Handsome specimen tree at Barnehurst Golf Course

19/8/09: Mining Bees and new Broom at Bursted Wood, Martens Grove fruitfulness

I counted in excess of 300 nests of what appear to be solitary mining bees on the sunny, shallowly sloping bank between Erith Rd and Bursted Wood. The pale, sandy, excavated soil shows up strongly against the short turf. Despite watching carefully I only saw one bee enter and exit its single entrance hole, and it looked like a slightly over-sized Honeybee.

Mining Bee nests on bank between Erith Rd and Bursted Wood

Closer view showing single entrance holes

Being a fan of heathland and heathland plants I was pleased to count 13 young Broom plants (some pictured above) by the slip road to the hospital site. There had been 3 larger plants here, but these suddenly died a couple of years ago after some idiot agency killed off a wide strip of vegetation up to the wood margin. Quite why is beyond me, as being on the outside of the bend it wasn't impeding driver sight lines. I guess trimming back the bramble shoots now and again was just too much bother ........

A closer examination of a weedy corner on the Long Lane Texaco forecourt revealed three plants of Catmint (Nepeta cataria), rather than the one reported in a previous posting.

There were 2 Painted Lady butterflies flitting around the car park behind the Naval Volunteer pub on Queens Rd, Bexleyheath.

I cut back to Barnehurst via Martens Grove, where good crops of Blackberry, Rose, Dogwood and Sloe fruits were in evidence, along with a Speckled Wood and a Meadow Brown butterfly.

Dogwood fruit, Martens Grove

Sloe fruit, Martens Grove

6/7/09: Through Bexleyheath and Martens Grove

There was a very late flower head of Alexanders at the top of the railway cutting by the path from Bursted Woods past the hospital site. All other specimens have died right back.

The Hare's-foot Clover by the end of Albion Road is doing well:


I get the distinct impression that Starlings have been making a bit of a comeback in these parts in the last couple of years. I counted (fairly accurately) 132 on the 'central tower' and 'netting' on the roof of The Mall, Broadway.

There were tens of adult Rosemary Beetles on Rosemary plants by the former Woolwich Building Society premises on Watling Street. These alien beetles also chew up Lavender, and are now frequent in the area.

A single specimen of Aaron's Rod (Verbascum thapsus) was noted behind the fence round a disused car park past the 'Coach House' pub. I've seen the odd specimen here and there in Barnehurst, but it's not common hereabouts.

Buck's-horn Plantain was in the grass outside flats at 74 Watling St.

Martens Grove:

I hadn't been here for years, never mind botanised the place. In fact the last time I passed through, I was out on a long run - more than 15 years ago.

There was a large amount of Lesser Swine Cress in the gutter of the approach path opposite Park Grove.

Good variety of trees, some no doubt planted, including Pedunculate Oak, Sessile Oak, Silver Birch, Cherry, Hornbeam, Sweet Chestnut, Ash and Spindle.

I was pleased to find a heathy ridge with several Broom, Bracken and Silver Birch.


This bank, where there has been some slippage, shows the thin layer of organic matter overlying sand that is a common feature of the area, including my garden, and the large number of rounded stones in the ground. Some Wood Sage was growing above.


The most interesting species finds were:


Common Calamint (Clinopodium ascendens), a new Bexley record for me, mainly growing in and at the foot of a substantial retaining wall. Said to be locally frequent in the south of England, rare to the north.


Butcher's Broom (Ruscus aculeatus). Uncommon, though these days quite often seen in amenity plantings. No way of knowing if this got here 'naturally' or is a garden escape. There were no other specimens around, but it wasn't far from some gardens. What appear to be leaves are, in fact, flattened stems.

There was also a modest patch of Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica), with its pungent, somewhat unpleasant leaf scent, and light beetroot-purple flowers. This was a bit of a weed on one of my Bristol allotments, but seems fairly infrequent in these parts. I've also found a small amount of it behind the 'up' platform at Barnehurst railway station.