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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 Marshes
21 December - Wallasea Island
9 January - Lamorbey Park
11 January - Cliffe Pools
18 January - Sevenoaks Wildlife reserve
25 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
group.rspb.org.uk
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...
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:
Waterlife Recovery Trust - Saving our native wildlife from the introduced American Mink
www.waterliferecoverytrust.org.uk
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,
DOUBLE DOSE OF FRIENDS OF THE CRAY AT CRAYFORDDue 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 wishes
Sarah
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 3HY
We 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/S2NBZUfT2mTkbgX17
What3words:
Entrance: ///noises.sheet.reject
Parking: ///hopes.gender.gums
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.
51°24'41.7"N 0°07'10.5"E · 51.411583, 0.119583
goo.gl
Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
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.
Front gardens on the frontline - CPRE London - Tickets
cpre-london.eventcube.io
Front gardens on the frontline at Tickets and Information
Category Archives: Invertebrates
Lesnes Spider ID day a success
Fourteen people attended the Field Studies Council spider identification workshop led by Edward Milner at Lesnes Abbey Woods back on 24th April. 30 species from 18 families of spider were found, including 7 new site records. The lists of records … Continue reading
Recording Stag Beetles this summer
Stag beetle in Sidcup May 2017. Always important to share records of Stag Beetles with organisations conducting surveys. An important survey at this link: https://ptes.org/get-involved/surveys/garden/great-stag-hunt/stag-hunt-survey/ How we can help Stag Beetles in our gardens. http://www.bexleywildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Build-a-log-pile-for-stag-beetles.pdf Link for above pdf. Build-a-log-pile-for-stag-beetles … Continue reading
Posted in Beetles, Biodiversity Action Plan, Invertebrates
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Bexley butterfly highlights of 2016
A round-up of key butterfly observations in the London Borough of Bexley during 2016 Principal contributors – Steve Carter, Joe Johnson, Mike Robinson, Chris Rose and Purnendu Roy. Summary: As envisaged in the 2015 report, White Admiral was confirmed as a Bexley … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley, Butterflies, Crayford, Crayford Marshes, Crayford Rough, Crossness, Crossness Nature Reserve, East Wickham Open Space, Erith Marshes, Hall Place, Hollyhill open space, Invertebrates, Joydens Wood, Lesnes Abbey Woods, London Wildlife Trust, Martens Grove, Parish Wood Park, Recording, River Cray, Thames Road Wetland, Uncategorized
Tagged Bexley butterflies, Bexley Butterfly and Moth Group, Brown Argus, Clouded Yellow, East Wickham Open Space, Green Hairstreak, Marbled White, Painted Lady, Ringlet, Silver-washed Fritillary, Small Copper, Small Heath, Small Tortoiseshell, White Admiral
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Braeburn Park (LWT) to Churchfield Wood and St. Mary’s Churchyard. Some plants and insects seen on 16th August.
On a warm sunny day at London Wildlife Trust’s Braeburn Park reserve there were fair numbers of butterflies about. Holly Blues were seen across the site. Some male (mostly) and female Common Blues were on the large grassy/scrubby bund to west … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley, Butterflies, Churchfield Wood, Invasive species, Invertebrates, London Wildlife Trust, Plants in Bexley, Recording, vegetation management, Volunteering, wild flowers
Tagged Braeburn Park, Brown Argus, Churchfield wood, Hare's-foot Clover, Harebell, Hazel coppice, Jersey Tiger moth, London Wildlife Trust, Marjoram, Old Bexley, Small Heath, Southern Hawker, St. Mary's churchyard, Tansy, Tree of Heaven, Upright Hedge-parsley, Wasp Spider, Wild Basil
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Wasp Spider boom at Thames Road Wetland
There is an unusually large number of Wasp Spiders (Argiope bruennichi) at Thames Road Wetland this year, something first noticed by Jason Steel a week ago when he counted 32. Yesterday I managed 38, though I wouldn’t say this was … Continue reading
Posted in Invertebrates, Recording, Thames Road Wetland
Tagged Argiope bruennichi, Thames Road Wetland, Wasp Spider
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New rarity – Britain’s ‘largest’ fly, the Hornet Robber – found at Thames Road Wetland
Jason Steel, a leading local wildlife photographer, has captured a picture of the rare Hornet Robber Fly (Asilus crabroniformis), at Thames Road Wetland. According to Buglife, this predatory species, which protects itself by resembling a Hornet, is thought to now … Continue reading
Braeburn Park (LWT) holds first public ‘open day’
London Wildlife Trust held a first public ‘open day’ at its Braeburn Park reserve in Crayford, on July 10th. The weather started off overcast but brightened up. Bexley Council’s new Mayor put in an appearance. Bird walks took place, and … Continue reading
Online Borax Fields petition launched as Friends of Crossness NR and BNEF slam Cory claim that the rarer something is in Bexley, the less important it is to protect it.
Following a second, but still grossly inadequate ‘ecology report’ from Cory ‘Environmental’s Riverside Resource Recovery arm – that once again misses out red-listed breeding birds, and offers no credible onsite ‘mitigation’ or creation of off-site ‘compensatory’ habitat for the losses … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley Council, Biodiversity Action Plan, Bird watching, BNEF, Crayford Marshes, Crossness Nature Reserve, development threat, Erith Marshes, Extinction, Invertebrates, Planning, SINC, Sustainability
Tagged Bexley Natural Environment Forum, Borax fields, Chris Rose, Cory 'Environmental', Crossness, Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve, petition, Ralph Todd, Ringed Plover, Riverside Resource Recovery Ltd, Save our Skylarks, Skylark, sustainability
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Braeburn Park (LWT reserve): report of November 13th workday
Seven volunteers faced a massive task, heavy showers and sunny spells and a huge 50′ x 4′ high pile of brush to burn through; as well as opening up of the south facing sloping banks, to allow in good sunlight … Continue reading
LNHS experts have identified 132 species of invertebrate on Southern Marsh, including several scarcities
We have just received the final list of invertebrate species found on the southern part of Crossness at Erith Marshes at the joint meeting with Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve on 4th July, compiled by London Natural History Society experts … Continue reading