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Free webinar on improving Bee 'hotel' design with Prof Dave Gouslon.Tuesday, April 22 · 1 - 2pm
Improving Bee Hotel Design: The Big Bee Hotel Experiment
www.eventbrite.co.uk
Join Prof Dave Gouslon to hear about how the Buzz Club are investigating the effectiveness of different bee hotels for UK bees.
CROSSNESS NATURE RESERVE - PROTECTED AREA CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO BREAK-INApologies for the inconvenience that this may cause, but we have experienced another break-in to the Protected Area of the nature reserve and the area is subsequently closed until repairs are made and we are able to open again.
Best wishes
Karen Sutton
Crossness Nature Reserve Manager
HALL PLACE WEIR AND EEL PASS WORK WITH THE NORTH WEST KENT COUNTRYSIDE PARTNERSHIPWednesday 14th May – Hall Place and Gardens, Bourne Road, Bexley, DA5 1PQ
We will be replacing the stop plank in the weir at Hall Place (River Cray) to help prevent flooding. We will also be managing the vegetation on the walls of the structure to prevent damage to the historic brickwork and improve flows through the eel pass.
Led by: Mark Gallant (07740185228)
Meeting Time and Place: 10am in the yard at Hall Place.
Just 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.
SOMETHING EVERYONE IN BEXLEY CAN DO TO HELP SWIFTSPlease write to your MP and ask them to sign Early Day Motion 1065, calling on the government to make Swift nest bricks a legal requirement in new domestic buildings.
Daniel Francis - MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford
Email daniel.francis.mp@parliament.uk
Abena Oppong Asare - MP for Erith and Thamesmead
Email Abena.oppongasare.mp@parliament.uk
Mr Louie French - MP for Old Bexley & Sidcup
Email louie.french.mp@parliament.uk
An EDM is a sort of petition for MPs, designed to generate debate and get things higher up the agenda.
The breeding population of Swifts in the UK has dropped by 60% since 1995. and the species is now red-listed. Loss of nesting sites through building 'modernisation' is thought to be a factor. The number of Swift nesting areas and number of birds in Bexley appears to be stable, but some only have a couple of pairs of birds and it would be good to increase their numbers.
So far the government has only talked about making changes to the planning process. This is likely to be ineffective as companies often fail to act on the conditions attached to planning permissions, and local councils struggle to check compliance and achieve enforcement when this happens.
Key points to make are:
i) Swifts are in serious decline in the UK. Swift nest bricks would help tackle one of the likely reasons for this. Some nesting areas in Bexley only have a couple of pairs of birds, so are at risk of being lost. A number of new buildings have gone up near existing nesting zones in the Borough in recent years, but they lack this key, simple, feature.
ii) The cost would be so small as to be irrelevant.
iii) Making them a straightforward legal requirement will be more effective than relying on the wider planning process, where local authorities already struggle to enforce 'add-on' conditions.
iv) Swifts are an iconic feature of the Bristish summer that everyone should be able to enjoy seeing and hearing, increasing engagement with nature, including in urban areas.
v) Such bricks can be used by other cavity-nesting species..
Swifts will be returning to Bexley from Africa in just over 2 weeks' time. Let's help make sure this continues for years to come .....
Full EDM text here:
edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/63437
At the time of writing (14/4/25) none of the Bexley MPs have signed it.
Chris Rose
edm.parliament.uk
This House notes with concern the dramatic decline in the breeding population of swifts whose numbers have dropped by 60% since 1995; recognises that the loss of natural nesting habitat for swifts and...
THAMES ROAD WETLAND VOLUNTEERS DONATE 568 PERSON-HOURS (living wage rate monetary equivalent £6,498) TO BEXLEY COUNCIL IN LAST SIX MONTHSTwenty two people have volunteered at the various Thames Road Wetland habitat management sessions over the last six months (October-March). These have taken place most Fridays, with Thames21's Michael O'Neill bringing down a van full of equipment once a month, enabling us to get more people into waders and out into the Reed/Reedmace beds for much-needed cutting back in order to maintain areas of open water and floral diversity.
We have now had an electric brushcutter for a year, and this has proved invaluable in getting our small band on top of rampant Reed growth which will otherwise completely dominate and lead to drying out, and also in selective Bramble work.
Whilst four of us have had the luxury of being able to donate a collective 366h 32m onsite, plus 91h 55m of admin time (record-keeping, research, correspondence, planning, reports, managing the site photograph collection, social media work/event promotion) it is important to note that without the combined contribution of the other eighteen people who got involved (109h 30m) 20% of the work would not have got done. So we are always keen to welcome new recruits, whether they can come once, a few times or regularly.
For the past six months, thanks are due to:
Ray, Pamela, Elio, Clare, Ian, Lee, Jim, Ronn, Jonathan, Rachel, Phil, Jonah, Riley, Gavin, Trev and 6 Chinese students from Goldsmith's College.
Taking the National Living Wage rate for the period, Bexley Council, which owns the site, has been the beneficiary of £6,497.92 (568 x £11.44) worth of free labour, although strictly very slightly less, as up to 7 of the volunteers may have been under 21. There is also a considerable amount of experience and expertise involved, which cannot readily be given a financial value.
Total volunteer time is slightly up on the 563h 49m for the seasonally corresponding period of 1/10/23-31/3/24. However, it is significantly higher than for the immediately previous period of 1/4/2024-30/9/2024 when it was 443h 5m. This is a reflection of the greater amount of work done in the winter period to avoid unduly disturbing the wildlfe.
Recent advances include now having a better birder on board, someone doing systematic reptile surveying and a couple of people about to start more regular monitoring of Water Vole occupancy at the site.
Chris Rose. Volunteer Site Manager.
Category Archives: Erith Marshes
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 – 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
Revised checklist of Dragonflies and Damselflies in Bexley published
As the new Odonata (Dragonfly and Damselfly) season gets underway, the checklist of these species in Bexley, first produced by Chris Rose a year ago, has been revised and updated by the author to include new records, and has been … 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
Swanscombe marshes threatened by ‘theme park’ bulldozers
Peter Beckenham of Braeburn Park/LWT fame has asked us to put up something about the Swanscombe marshes/peninsula, which we have in fact been meaning to do for some time. What does this have to do with Bexley? Well, the Swanscombe … Continue reading
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
Provisional checklist and account of Bexley mammals published at ‘Bexley Wildlife’ website
Mammals as a group are poorly recorded in London and their distribution is not well understood, partly because many species are small and largely nocturnal. Information about the status of mammal species in Bexley is limited and widely scattered. In … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley, Biodiversity Action Plan, Bursted Woods, Crayford Marshes, Crossness, Danson Park, East Wickham Open Space, Erith Marshes, Erith Quarry, Extinction, Foots Cray Meadows, Friends of the Shuttle, Gardens, Hall Place, Harvest Mouse, London Wildlife Trust, Mammals, Martens Grove, Recording, River Cray, River Shuttle, River Thames, Ruxley Gravel Pits, Thamesmead, Woodlands Farm, Wyncham Stream
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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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Little wind in the Willows as Crossness team stem reedbed tree encroachment
There was a good turnout at Crossness today (Jan 23rd) on a frosty, but sunny and largely wind-chill-free morning, in order to take some willows out of the protected area scrape reedbed, so as to prevent it becoming Willow carr. … Continue reading