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THAMES ROAD WETLAND (Inner Crayford Marshes) - THE WORK GOES ON.Our last report was way back on 12th April. We're usually out every Friday, but tiredness and a loss of motivation from yours truly, plus some rainy days, have reduced our levels of activity over the last quarter.
Repeat summer cutting of areas of Reed we are trying to supress has continued. Where this has got taller than we'd hoped, we have watched and listened first to ensure no Reed Warbler usage. We have been able to cut some patches often enough for there to be no danger of nesting birds using them.
Dates, work done and selected wildlife sightings have been as follows:
19/4 - Re-pollarded small Sallows. Dug out road run-off muck from 'crap-trap'. Path work. Slender Thistles outside fenceline in flower. Bur-chervil in flower. Red Admiral, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Small White. Large Red Damselfly, Reed Warblers back.
17/5 - Re-packed Bug Hotels with dead hollow plant stems. Re-cutting main path. Litter removal. In flower: swathe of Wild Clary (Salvia verbenaca), Bee Orchid, Brookweed, Flag Iris, Early Forget-me-Not, Hound's-tongue. Adult Cinnabar Moth, Ashy Mining Bee. 1 x Painted Lady, Peacock, Red Admiral, 2 Holly Blue, single Small Heath. Lizards. 1 Greenfinch heard. Chiffchaff.
14/6 - Re-cutting area of Reed at foot of Thames Road bank with brushcutter, and Reed at west end by scythe. Raking and stacking silt and cut material. Cutting off Giant Hogweed flower heads. Re-cutting sections of main path. Selective cutting back of vegetation where now shading reptile basking sites. Pyramidal Orchids in flower. 18 plants with 23 flower spikes (vz 7 with 12 on 17/6/23). Lots of Hemlock Water Dropwort in flower and one Monkey Flower (Mimulus guttatus). Banded Demoiselle and Azure Damselfly.
28/6 - Reed cutting. Path work. Wild Carrots and Hop Sedges in flower. Small Tortoiseshell, 1st Gatekeeper of season. A few Lizards. Water Rail heard, suggesting possible breeding.
12/7 - Re-cut Reed at west end with brushcutter and by hand with scythes. Some path and Lizard basking site work. More Giant Hogweed beheaded (The fire of 2022 caused a few new ones to come up. Since all the Cray area plants appear to flower once and die, they usually think their job is done if you cut off the flowerhead even though the seeds haven't ripened, and they therefore die without reproducing). First Marsh Sow-thistle flowers of season out. Marsh Woundwort in flower. Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, a few Gatekeepers. 3 or 4 Blue-tailed Damselflies. A few Lizards out.
A complaint has been submitted to the Council about the large amount of litter / fragmented plastics along the Thames Road site fence that never seem to get cleared up, and that fact that a strimmer gang recently went over it all, unhelpfully chopping up the material into even smaller pieces.
For assistance during this period I thank fellow volunteers Ray, Pamela, Clare, Elio, Ian, Alex, Sarah, Lee, Verity and Rory. There was Thames21 staff support from Michael O'Neill on 14/6 and 12/7.
Chris Rose. Volunteer Site Manager.
WOODLANDS FARM (SHOOTERS HILL) BAT SURVEY DATE CONFIRMED.Thank you to everyone who got back to me to confirm which date they could do for the Bat Survey. I can confirm that we shall be sticking with the original date of Thursday 25th July. Meeting in the yard at 9.15pm. So hope to see you there, please bring a bat detector if you have one, and a torch.
Also a reminder that the Big Butterfly Count season has started until beginning of August. So why not pop down to the farm on a sunny day (if we have any!) and record what butterflies you see for 15 minutes. Then either write in the Bird Book in Mess or send me the info. All the information and ID sheets are available from the
Butterfly Conservation Trust bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/
Hannah Ricketts
Education Officer
The Woodlands Farm Trust
331 Shooters Hill
Welling
Kent
DA16 3RP
Tel: 0208 3198900
Website: www.thewoodlandsfarmtrust.org
NORTH AMERICAN VAGRANT SPOTTED AT CROSSNESS.A Franklin's Gull was found at Crossness yesterday (13/7/2024) by Conrad Ellam, a member of the Friends Group. Thanks to @stormcabbirds for permission to reproduce his 'X' post with photos here.
This is an uncommon species from Canada and the northern USA, which migrates to South America, occasionally showing up in western Europe.
There is currently some debate as to whether it's the third, or possibly second record for London. It is certainly the second for Crossness, since one was also seen here in April 2000.
State of the UK's Invertebrates Virtual SymposiumHugely important subject.
Online event.
Friday, July 19 · 10am - 1pm
Non-professional attendees asked to pay what you can afford (minimum fee of £1, recommended donation £10)
State of the UK's Invertebrates Virtual Symposium
www.eventbrite.co.uk
Join us for a knowledge-sharing event about the state of the UK's invertebrate populations.
Author Archives: jonathanrooks1@outlook.com
Friends of The Shuttle events – March 2014
Dear Friends of the Shuttle volunteers and supporters, February saw a very successful event on the River Shuttle with a brilliant turn out of volunteers, a film crew and the removal of 15 bags of rubbish along with a bike, … Continue reading
Posted in Rivers, Volunteering
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Bexley Flood Risk
Interesting searchable map produced by Friends of The Earth. Enter your postcode to see your risk of flooding as climate weirding continues to get worse. http://www.foe.co.uk/get_involved/page_41807.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=wallpost&utm_campaign=flood_map_feb26
Last chance to comment on HS2
The HS2 environmental consultation closes on Thursday. Although not directly affecting Bexley, this proposal is impacting on homes in London and on important conservation sites throughout its route. It is important that major projects (particularly if of dubious value) don’t … Continue reading
London wide tree and woodland survey.
An opportunity to volunteer (and get training) for a London wide tree and woodland survey. Any volunteers in Bexley? Introducing the London i-Tree Eco Project, which is taking place from April this year. This project aims to evaluate the ecosystem services provided … Continue reading
Posted in Trees, Volunteering
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Final BNEF submission to SINC review
Final version of submission by Bexley Natural Environment Forum to Bexley Council’s Sites of Importance to Nature Conservation Review. https://app.box.com/s/dnhzbwshrljez50gm4er Having said it is the final version, the following was added as an addendum just in time regarding Stoneham Park. … Continue reading
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Bird watching at Woodlands Farm
Woodlands Farm Trust on Shooters Hill has just published its Autumn 2013 bird report: Most notable records were a Water Rail heard mid-September with a Snipe, a number of Hobbies and a Common Buzzard also seen that month. December brought … Continue reading
Posted in Bird watching, Woodlands Farm
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Local conservation features in The Ecologist
Local work to reintroduce an endangered plant reported in The Ecologist. The Marsh sow-thistle, officially extinct in London, is having a revival after being reintroduced to the Thames Road wetland site and nurtured back to strength. http://www.theecologist.org/magazine/features/2271955/ghost_tour.html The flowers of … Continue reading
Posted in Thames Road Wetland
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BNEF comments on Bexley SINCs Review
Chris Rose has made a comprehensive set of comments on behalf of the Bexley Natural Environment Forum on the Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation Review documentation which can be read here: https://app.box.com/s/57zt4arfeek3zpwr93w0. There are a disturbing number of cases … Continue reading
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New park for Crayford.
New open space and nature conservation area for Crayford. Bexley Council announces the resolution of a longstanding planning issue which will see the creation of a new open space and nature conservation area at Braeburn Park, Crayford. The London … Continue reading
Posted in Crayford
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SINC papers available in libraries
The Council’s documentation about the SINC review is now available in hard copy in all of Bexley’s Libraries in case you cannot access on line. It’s a big document!
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