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

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

30/1/10: Frost, Bittern

Another early start for a London Natural History Society meeting, this time the destination was the Lee Valley Country Park at Cheshunt, a range of flooded pits by the canal and bits of the original river Lee/Lea. The ground was covered with a mix of frost and a thin layer of snow when I left the house, and the final leg was a replacement bus service due to rail engineering work. But it turned out to be very well worth while. I saw 48 species. There were a few more that others saw but I missed.

The leader, Roy Woodward, did an excellent job of trying to make sure everyone saw everything, and gave a good commentary on the key distinguishing features of the species we were observing. Both he and others generously invited participants that didn't have them to take a look through their telescopes for a better view.

Mainly due to other's expertise I got to see several species I'd never seen before, or had only seen rarely a very long time ago. I was impressed by some people's ability to identify a black speck in the sky miles away that I couldn't even see well before thay swung their bins and telescopes into use!

The absolute highlight was a fantastic view of a Bittern, very close to the Bittern Information Point hide on Seventy Acre Lake. For a long time it was lurking in the Phragmites bed where it was extremely well camouflaged, and several folk in the hide just couldn't pick it up however well those that had it in their sights tried to describe where it was in relation to a still-green patch of sedges. When it did move it could be seen turning its head to one side low to water to cut out the effect of ripples and reflections, but it didn't catch anything.

At one point I had what might best be described as a 50% view, with the complete outline visible, but half the bird obscured by reed stems. I expected that to be as good as it would get. But after a patient wait by the assembled throng it finally came out in the open, stood by an old door in the water

[there's a picture part way down this page
http://www.elbf.co.uk/gallery/thumbnails/2010/birdphotos2010h.htm of bird at exactly the same spot a few days previously entitled 'Bittern - Seventy Acres Lake - 28th January - Tony Coombs']

and stood, a golden tan in the low sun, facing the hide, and ruffled its wings. The camera shutters were going like crazy and it felt as if there was about to be a spontaneous round of applause. Someone said out-loud exactly what I was thinking, that they were tempted to clap.

I've never seen a Bittern before - it's very rare but gradually recovering in numbers due to active conservation efforts. Also, according to the 24th January Observer 'This winter's bitter cold has seen record numbers of bitterns fly to Britain from northern Europe and has led ­others to adopt unusual feeding grounds.' Some of the experienced birders in the hide said it was the best view of one they'd ever had.

Neither words, nor probably photographs can adequately convey the subtlety of the darker markings and effectiveness of the camouflage of this bird. Stunning. Fantastic.

The Bittern rather eclipsed the equally good view of 2 Water Rail right up near the hide. Reed Bunting were also active in the Phragmites beds here.


Views from the Bittern Information Point hide. Water Rail were observed crossing the channels cut in the reeds, and the Bittern stood briefly out in the open in the mouth of the channel on the left of the top picture.

Elsewhere I had a telescope view of a Snipe. Several Goldeneye were seen, Wigeon, 2 Little Grebes and male and female or immature (red-headed) Smew.

Water birds were rounded off in style with great views of a flotilla of 8 Goosander, both male and female, in the late evening sun, with others flying in. Around 17 were counted at this first location, with a few more scattered around the area. On the same body of water was a female Red-crested Pochard, not a native species.

1 Barnacle Goose was spotted in a flock of Canada Geese in a field

Several Siskin were observed feeding in Alder. A few Redpoll were seen and I had a very good view of 1 of them. A distant sight of a female Bullfinch was had.

On the raptor front we saw at least 4 different Buzzards, including two circling together, high overhead in the clear blue sky. Also 1 Sparrowhawk and 1 Kestrel.

All in all a superb outing.