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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
2 weeks ago
FRIENDS OF THE CRAY AT CRAYFORDLitter removal and selective vegetation managment along Footpath 106 or By-way 105.
Next session Friday 2nd August.
Meet 10 am, corner of Barnes Cray Road and Footpath 106 (see graphic attached).
Equipment provided. Wear appropriate clothing for being out in the open, avoiding scratches and stings and excessive sun exposure, and bring something to drink.
Best wishes
Sarah
2 weeks ago
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. ... See MoreSee Less
2 weeks ago
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 ... See MoreSee Less
2 weeks ago
Report from Bexley RSPB Danson Park Nature Walk, Sunday 7 July 2024 ... See MoreSee Less2 weeks ago
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. ... See MoreSee Less
Recent 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: Crossness Nature Reserve
Cory Environmental Trust declines to answer awkward questions over Borax fields ‘hypocrisy’
As part of the ongoing ‘Save our Skylarks’ campaign, the Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve recently wrote to the head of the Cory Environmental Trust, the body that dispenses grants from the company’s landfill tax breaks for, amongst other things, … Continue reading
London butterfly project set up to produce new distribution atlas. Bexley butterfly and moth Facebook page launched.
The London Natural History Society is calling on existing and potential new recorders to help produce a new butterfly distribution atlas for Greater London, the results of which will be compared with the last LNHS survey which was in 1980-86. Much has … Continue reading
Battle of Borax fields – Save our Plovers (and Skylarks)
The red-listed Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula), a species of the highest national conservation concern, is again breeding on the Borax fields next to Crossness Nature Reserve. Skylark, also red-listed, is thought to be doing likewise, and Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley Council, Bird watching, BNEF, brownfield, Crossness, Crossness Nature Reserve, development threat, Erith Marshes
Tagged Bexley Natural Environment Forum, Cory 'Environmental', Cory 'Environmental'? Pull the Plover one!, Donna Zimmer, Little-ringed Plover, open mosaic habitat, Ringed Plover, Skylark
2 Comments
Spring migration at Crossness and birdwalk 24th April
http://www.bexleywildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Dear-Friends-of-Crossness-Nature-Reserve.pdf
Book early for Crossness spring bird walk!
With the Spring migration getting underway there will be a Bird Walk at Crossness at 9am on Sunday 24th April. PLACES ARE LIMITED, SO BOOK NOW! Ralph and Brenda Todd will be leading the walk for us, and we are proposing … Continue reading
Spring migration underway at Crossness, one of London’s top bird sites
Spring migration is underway at the Erith Marshes Crossness Nature Reserve site, with Sunday 3rd April seeing some early migrants. Our first, and earliest, Sedge Warbler, was captured as part of the Dartford Ringing Group’s bird monitoring activities for the national BTO scheme. … Continue reading
Save our Skylarks! More than 50 protest at Cory plan to kick birds in conservation danger off Erith marshes and out of Bexley
Forty-six adults and eight children turned out for today’s ‘Save our Skylarks’ demonstration at Erith marshes, organised by members of Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve, at which our new campaign banner was unveiled and kites were flown with cut-out Skylarks … Continue reading
Posted in Bird watching, Crossness, Crossness Nature Reserve, Demonstration, development threat, Erith Marshes, Planning
Tagged Bexley Council, Cory 'Environmental', Crossness Nature Reserve, demo, Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve, Little-ringed Plover, planning policy, protest, Ringed Plover, Skylark
1 Comment
Cory ‘Environmental’ doesn’t believe its own propaganda
Cory ‘Environmental’, the company that has submitted to Bexley Council – in the name of its Belvedere incinerator arm – a plan for two four-storey buildings to cover most of the former Borax fields next to Crossness Nature Reserve, has not … Continue reading
Posted in Belvedere, Bexley Council, BNEF, Crossness Nature Reserve, development threat, Erith Marshes, Grass Snake, Mammals, Planning, Reptiles and Amphibians, Uncategorized
Tagged Belvedere incinerator, Bexley Council, Cory 'Environmental', Crossness Nature Reserve, ecological survey, Erith Marshes, Great Crested Newt, reptiles, Water Shrew
4 Comments
David Lindo, the ‘Urban Birder’, backs campaign to save Skylark fields at Crossness
David Lindo, TV personality and conservationist, who has come to prominence as ‘The Urban Birder’, and fronted the recent poll to select Britain’s ‘national bird’, has spoken out about the poor signal building on important wildlife habitat adjacent to the … Continue reading