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Recent Posts
- Help check river pollution with the Cray/Shuttle Outflow Safari
- Bexley RSPB Group Walk: Crossness Nature Reserve, Tuesday 31st May 2022
- Bexley RSPB – report of March bird/nature walk, Southmere Lake, Thamesmead former Golf Course and Thames Foreshore
- Report of Bexley RSPB KWT Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve and Bough Beech Reservoir walks, February 15th.
- Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve bird walk report, 22nd November 2021
Our Facebook Posts
19 hours ago
BOOK NOW FOR BEXLEY RSPB'S OUTDOOR WINTER EVENTS (non-members welcome, but advance booking is essential for anyone who wishes to attend as numbers are limited):The group's December/January walks and make-your-own-way-there car trips, plus a coach trip, are as below. There are currently spaces on each, so please email Ralph Todd on <rbtodd@btinternet.com> to reserve a spot.5 December - Sidcup Place 14 December - Rainham Marshes21 December - Wallasea Island9 January - Lamorbey Park11 January - Cliffe Pools18 January - Sevenoaks Wildlife reserve25 January - Big Garden Birdwatch - Hall Place (no booking required for this one) 26 January - Titchwell COACH TRIP - please email Deborah on deborahfrances@aol.com (cost £23 pp) For more details and a full list of events through to March 23rd 2025, please go to:group.rspb.org.uk/bexley/news-blogs/blog/upcoming-events-october-2024-march-2025/No booking required for indoor meetings - just show up. Refreshments available. Non-members again welcome but pay a slightly higher entrance fee of £5.Upcoming Events October 2024 - March 2025 - Bexley Local Group
Please note that booking is required on all our guided walks, car trips and coach trips. Please refer to the below for how to book a place. No booking is needed for our indoor meeting. To book a place...20 hours ago
VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT FOR MINK MONITORING SCHEME AT THAMES ROAD WETLAND - help protect rare local wildlife from Mink predation !A nationwide scheme to locate and eradicate non-native American Mink (Neogale [formerley Mustela] vison), which have contributed to the parlous state of Water Voles in the UK, as well as attacking other species, is now being rolled out along the River Cray by the Waterlife Recovery Trust.Thames21 has agreed to install a Mink trap at Thames Road Wetland (TRW), where there is an important population of Water Voles, along with one of only a very few Harvest Mouse colonies in London. North West Kent Countryside Partnership (NWKCP) will be doing likewise at Ruxley Gravel Pits Nature Reserve. It is hoped that traps can be installed elsewhere on the Cray in due course.If triggered, the trap automatically transmits an alert, with the role of volunteers being to go and check it if this happens. A WhatsApp group will be used for co-ordination purposes so that only one person out of those available at the time needs to go out. The design of the traps ensures that waterbirds rarely enter them. The species most likely to be caught are Water Voles, which will be released, and Brown Rats, which the TRW team has agreed should also be let loose. There is no evidence they are harming Water Voles, and there are so many in the wider landscape that any removed will quickly be replaced by others. Should a Mink be caught then there will be designated people to contact who will kill the animal humanely.We do not think that there are any Mink at or in the vicinity of TRW at the moment, or that here have been any in the past, but with Mink known to be present on the River Darent, we don't want to take any unnecessary risks.Ruxley already has enough volunteers, but we need a longer list of people for TRW to make sure that we can cover every alert in reasonable time, for animal welfare reasons. To volunteer for trap-checking at TRW, please contact Michael at<michael.oneill@thames21.org.uk> Ffi about the scheme as a whole, see: ... See MoreSee LessWaterlife Recovery Trust - Saving our native wildlife from the introduced American Mink
Have you seen or caught an American Mink? Please let us know Report Sighting Report Capture Seeking volunteers to host a smart mink raft If you live in Essex, London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire,2 days ago
DOUBLE DOSE OF FRIENDS OF THE CRAY AT CRAYFORD Due to the amount of rubbish dumped along the river below Crayford, there are two upcoming opportunities to join the friends group in clearing up the resultant mess. 29th November - removing litter from Footpath 106 (not done last month as we were working on 105)6th December - tackling the fly-tipping at the Maiden Lane end of By-way 105 by the bridge over the Cray, which has long been a favoured location for criminals to dump garbage. Arrangements have been made for the council to take the extracted material away.Both events will start at the group's usual rendezvous point, which is the junction of Footpath 106 and Barnes Cray Road (see graphic below) as it is easier to park the vehicle carrying the equipment at this location.All welcome, no particular skills needed. The necessary equipment will be provided. Wear appropriate clothing for being out in the open and avoiding stings and scratches from Brambles and Nettles, and bring something to drink.Best wishesSarah ... See MoreSee Less2 days ago
NORTH WEST KENT COUNTRYSIDE PARTNERSHIP - DECEMBER CONSERVATION EVENTS AT RUXLEY GRAVEL PITS NATURE RESERVE.The reserve is a SSSI on the Bexley-Bromley border, and normally off-limits to the general public, so besides helping out, this is an opporunity to visit somewhere you may not have seen before.Wednesday 4th, Thursday 4th and Saturday 14th– Ruxley Gravel Pits, Edgington Way, Orpington, BR5 3HYWe will be clearing scrub and burning the arisings on a bonfire. Led by: Lucy Sawyer-Boyd (07809 334071)Meeting Time and Place: 10am at the site (lifts from Hall Place not currently available due to the group's vehicle being under repair). The gate must be kept locked, if there is no-one there to open it, please call Lucy’s mobile. Follow the track and park underneath the A20. Plenty of parking. Toilets are available at the local Tesco (but it is far from site). On Saturday 14th we will be working with Kent Wildlife Trust volunteers. Please bring your own refreshments if joining on this day. On this occasion there will be a portaloo on site. LOCATION:goo.gl/maps/S2NBZUfT2mTkbgX17What3words:Entrance: ///noises.sheet.rejectParking: ///hopes.gender.gumsJust a quick reminder that any volunteers who plan to meet us on site should let the member of staff leading the task know as soon as possible so that they can pack the correct number of tools and inform them of any task changes/delays that may occur. If there are any updates or changes with the programme, we will update it regularly on the volunteer page on our website (www.nwkcp.org ). We will also contact the regular volunteers by phone if any last-minute changes to the location of the task happen.Please remember to bring with you; suitable clothes for the weather conditions, a packed lunch and suitable footwear (we insist working boots with steel toecap and mid sole are worn at all times to comply with health and safety and insurance considerations). We will supply all other equipment, gloves and safety equipment and also hot drinks and biscuits throughout the day.Each project will be led by a NWKCP member of staff who will be more than happy to answer any questions that you have throughout the day. A health and safety talk will also be given at the beginning of each project. If you are planning to come out on a project for the first time this month then please let us know beforehand which day that will be.We write a risk assessment for each task day, and a copy of this will be brought to the site and available for you to read if you wish. ... See MoreSee Less51°24'41.7"N 0°07'10.5"E · 51.411583, 0.119583
Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.2 weeks ago
If the council said it was going to concrete/tarmac/pave over Danson Park, there would be uproar. But vastly more greenspace/wildlife habitat in the Borough has been lost to cars in recent years. Why the loss of front gardens matters - to cut flood risk, reduce health-harming heat, restore our depleted nature, and raise resilience.Lunchtime online discussion on Thurs 14 Nov. FREE. ... See MoreSee LessFront gardens on the frontline - CPRE London - Tickets
Front gardens on the frontline at Tickets and InformationRecent Comments
- Bursted Wood Plans on Bursted Woods – some general views and ground flora photos, spring 2018
- Bursted Wood Plans on Bursted Woods – some general views and ground flora photos, spring 2018
- jonathanrooks1@outlook.com on Over 2,000 Ring-necked Parakeets at Danson roost again
- Jeanne on Over 2,000 Ring-necked Parakeets at Danson roost again
- jonathanrooks1@outlook.com on Tree Preservation Order – Bexley Street Index
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Category Archives: Bird watching
Abbey Wood ‘eyesore’ provides a home and food for declining House Sparrows and a recovering Moth species
Tiny brownfield site is oasis for nature The site of the long-demolished ‘Harrow’ pub at the junction of Knee Hill and Abbey Road, labelled in the local media as a dangerous and untidy eyesore by some, was on the sunny … Continue reading
Danson Bird Reports July 2015
John Turner’s records from Danson Park for July 2015. John comments “Both the little grebe nest (disappeared) and great crested grebe nest (abandoned) have failed it seems. The garden warbler was a quick glimpse of a brown warbler! Thus the ? The … Continue reading
Posted in Bird watching, Danson Park
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Danson Ringneck Parakeet roost.
Ralph Todd’s video of the birds at their Danson roost.
Posted in Bird watching, Danson Park
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Please support battle to save Swanscombe Marshes from ghastly ‘theme park’
Swanscombe marshes is threatened by a giant theme park, supported by local Councils mesmerised, as usual, by the prospects of money, jobs and ‘growth’ at any cost, and with about as much understanding of the importance of wildlife and wild … Continue reading
Fears for Bexley’s iconic summer birds – House Martin survey underway
Can you help conserve Swifts and House Martins? Following on from the piece about Swift’s in this week’s News Shopper, Ralph Todd has submitted the following piece to the paper. If you know of Swift aggregations or House Martin nesting … Continue reading
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Bexley birds maintain media profile
Crossness Kestrels in hardcopy ‘News Shopper’ two editions running. Joined by Swifts this week. The Kestrel family at Crossness Nature Reserve on Erith Marshes was splashed across the top of the front page in last week’s ‘News Shopper’, so it … Continue reading
Posted in Belvedere, Bird watching, BNEF, Crossness, Crossness Nature Reserve, Environment, Erith Marshes, Raptors
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Birder gets on his bike to study other species
Plants, Odonata and fish photographed. From Bexley Bird Report author, Ralph Todd. Mid June-Mid July are relatively quiet times for active birdwatchers so I often pursue other avenues of natural history but keep with the flying beasties as much as possible but … Continue reading
Danson: lack of algal mats hits Red Eyes
There was an almost complete lack of floating algal mats at Danson lake on 29th June. I had gone to check on Himalayan Balsam eradication efforts, but also to see if both species of Red Eyed Damselfly were now on … Continue reading
Bryony Ladybird reaches Crossness
The Bryony Ladybird (Henosepilachna argus) has been found at Crossness by Chris Rose. The GiGL dataset, and Site Manager Karen Sutton having been consulted, it appears to be a new site record for the species, which was first recorded in … Continue reading
‘Conservation grazing’ at Thames Road Wetland
It’s been a while since the local ponies were on the site when I was around, but last week (June 23rd) I was intently studying the spread of the rare Brookweed when there was a quiet rustling right behind me. … Continue reading