11/5/10: River Cray / Thames Road Wetland

Another river clean-up bash today.

4 Chiffchaffs heard along By-way 105. A male Blackcap later seen by the Willow Carr here, and a Wren on the north bank of the river.

The crucifer Barbarea sp. (above) in flower here (and another by Footpath 106)


2 Caper Spurge (Euphorbia lathyris) in flower on the river bank by Footpath 106

Thames Road Wetland (TRW) looking north

TRW site species noted today included:

A pair of Dunnock
2 Coot and 2 young
Good (and first) views of Reed (or Sedge) Warbler here, amongst the Reedmace. Have got a sound recording which I need to run past an expert for a definitive ID .....
Harlequin Ladybird
Water Figwort
Lots of Slender Thistle
Bird's-foot Trefoil in flower
The poppy Papaver rhoeas (white sap)
Buck's-horn Plantain
Geranium rotundifolium
Weld seedlings

On the Sewer Embankment:

Lilac in flower
Vervain
Common Stork's-bill

and this Greater Celandine in flower .......

4, 9 and 10/3/10: Cray and Thames Road wetland work

Out with the Cray Riverkeeper Volunteers (we had a decent splash in the hard copy and on-line News Shopper last week - http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/5032210.THAMES21__The_volunteers_who_don_t_mind_getting_their_feet_wet/ )
On the 4th we were picking litter from the river and banks just downstream of Crayford Town centre.

On the 9th there were only three of us, including 'Boss' Ashe Hurst. We were cutting Common Reed and Great Reedmace in the Thames Rd wetland site.

Thames Road wetland panorama

This should have been done last year really, not least because the Reedmace seed heads were now disintegrating, and the tiny 'feathered' seed was getting in our hair, up our noses and in our mouths - even when trying to work 'upwind' of the stems! The ground, Teasel and Burdock heads up on the sewer bank have been covered in this 'grey snow' for days now.

Great Reedmace seeding - this stuff has been used in bouyancy devices .....

I also managed to lose my concentration for a fraction of a second, lost my balance and got a load of water down one side of my chest-waders. Fortunately I had fleece-lined footwear with me, so was able to walk home without the wet sock on and without my foot getting frozen.

On the 10th I was the only volunteer to turn out and Ashe had to go into central London to pick up some kit. I spent several hours carting dumped tyres and rubble from the shady side of the sewer pipe bank round to the south-facing Thames Rd side, then digging them into the slope to make reptile cover/basking sites, as pictured below. In the process I inadvertently disturbed a small (less than 1 year old) hibernating Smooth Newt, which I put into one of the tyre set-ups for safety.

Recycling for reptiles - dumped tyres and rubble used to make cover/basking sites. Common Lizards, in particular, like to bask on tyres, as they warm up quickly.

21/2/10: Cray and Thames Rd wetland birds include 'white heron'

Out with the Thames21 Cray Riverkeepers today. Got wetter walking there in the rain than while clearing litter from the banks and the water by Maxim Rd, Crayford, since it stopped once we'd arrived. The usual lamentable array of plastic bags, bits of polystyrene and drinks cans, plus a chair and some dumped doors.

There were half a dozen or more House Sparrows in a bramble and rose thicket by disused factory premises on the south side of the river. Two Goldfinches landed briefly on shrubs outside the flats.

I noted the following birds along the Cray between Maiden Lane and Thames Rd:

4 Redwing
2 Ring-necked Parakeets
1 Moorhen
2 Great-spotted Woodpeckers chasing each other through a large Willow tree
2 Blue Tits
1 Magpie nest building
3 Mute Swan
3 Mallard

1 Rabbit was also seen.

I wanted to see what was using the Thames Rd wetland (a field deliberately flooded as part of a mitigation scheme for development elsewhere).

Thames Rd wetland looking south to sewer embankment and beyond

Thames Rd wetland looking east towards railway bridge

Walking along the sewer embankment the first birds spotted were 2 Chaffinches flocking with 6 Goldfinch.

There were 2 Coot on the water, a 'normal' pair of Mallard and a normal male and dark companion with a white breast. On the open water at the east end of the site, a male Shoveler floated into view. At one point there were 28 Black-headed Gulls, flown in from the Council dump site over the road, here. A lone Little Egret was spotted foraging for food, with apparent success. It took flight, but came back a short while later, a clear view being afforded for some time.