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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
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.
Category Archives: Crossness Nature Reserve
Getting to grips with plant characteristics at Crossness
Yesterday (May 20th) , Tony Wileman, from the London Wildlife Trust, came to Crossness Nature Reserve to educate us on the wonderful world of wildflower identification. Twelve people braved the dark skies and unexpected showers and learned tonnes by doing … Continue reading
Swooping Swifts and dancing Damselflies at Crossness
Despite yesterday’s (May 20th) changeable weather, there were some periods of warm sun following the well attended botany meeting (report of that to follow) and 9 Swifts were zooming around over the Southern Marsh wader scrape at just above head … Continue reading
Crossness boss hopes for patter of tiny Pochard feet
Karen Sutton, Crossness Nature Reserve Site Manager and Thames Water Biodiversity Team Leader is hoping Pochard ducklings will be amongst the new arrivals at the site this spring, after Richard Spink took an excellent photo of a pair of these … Continue reading
Posted in Bird watching, Crossness Nature Reserve, RSPB
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Crossness – latest newsletter highlights massive importance of this jewel in Bexley’s wildlife crown
Karen Sutton, Nature Reserve Manager and Thames Water Biodiversity Team Leader says …. I am pleased to make available our latest Friends of Crossness newsletter, packed full of great wildlife information and photos from the site – at the foot … Continue reading
CROSSNESS – exciting range of educational wildlife events announced for the summer
From Karen Sutton – Biodiversity Team Manager, Thames Water Crossness Nature Reserve. I have arranged a diverse series of events through to September, both to showcase the fabulous range of wildlife on the site, and to provide an introduction to … Continue reading
Cuckoos in Bexley
With two reports of cuckoos so far in Bexley, readers might be interested in the British Trust for Ornithology’s tracking scheme. Over 50% of cuckoos in Britain have been lost in the last 20 years, so research and records are important … Continue reading
Posted in Bird watching, Crossness Nature Reserve
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Big turnout at Crossness bird walk on good day for raptor sightings
Crossness Reserve Manager Karen Sutton writes: 32 attendees braved the cold and wind today (March 21st), to join the Bexley RSPB Crossness Nature Reserve bird trip. The trip was led by Stuart Banks and George Kalli. Included among attendees were … Continue reading
Crossness team clear major roadside eyesore
Today (Feb 27th), despite a cold and frosty start, the sun shone on 9 of us as we undertook a major litter pick adjacent the Crossness Southern Marsh. Some recent illegal grazing under the flyover next to the southern marsh, … Continue reading
Friends of Crossness reserve clear litter eyesores
Crossness Nature Reserve Manager, Karen Sutton writes: The public footpath that runs along the bottom of the Crossness Nature Reserve, is a pleasant wooded path with plenty of Ash, Hazel and scrub. Unfortunately however, the path gets heavily littered with … Continue reading
Posted in Crossness Nature Reserve, Erith Marshes, Litter, Volunteering
Tagged Southern Marsh
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Marsh Harrier drops in for Crossness briefing
Crossness showed with impeccable timing, just what makes it one of the very best wildlife sites in Bexley today, as Karen Sutton – recently promoted to Biodiversity Team Manager for Thames Water – showed two new members of her team … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley, Bird watching, Crossness, Crossness Nature Reserve, Erith Marshes, Raptors, Reedbeds
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