Sidcup Garden Project dates for the rest of 2015

Posted on 12/10/2015 by jonathanrooks1@outlook.com

Rob Leitch writes of Saturday’s session in the Garden and future plans.

Thanks to all those who were able to join the Sidcup Garden Project yesterday morning – it was another successful session.

As has been previously mentioned, correspondence for the project will now be sent from this e-mail address, sidcupgardenproject@gmail.com, and e-mails will be shared with fellow volunteers. Should you wish to remove your e-mail address from public display, please do let me know. You can continue to contact me directly on rob.leitch@bexley.gov.uk should you wish to discuss any matters individually.

Please find attached some minutes from yesterday’s post-action meeting. A big thank you to Sarah Witney (our Group Secretary) who has typed up the minutes.

In terms of future dates, please see the schedule below:

– Tuesday 27th October (10am)

– Saturday 14th November (1pm-4pm)

– Saturday 12th December ( 9.30am-12.30pm)

As you can see, we are trying to offer a combination of weekday/weekend, and differing times in order to be as flexible as possible to volunteers, some of whom cannot always do Saturday mornings.

Thank you again for all of your continuing support. Without the dedication and commitment of our volunteers, this community project would be impossible.

Best wishes,

Rob Leitch

http://www.bexleywildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Minutes-of-Garden-Project-10-October.pdf

Posted in Parks, Sidcup Place Garden | Leave a comment

Nearly 350 Parakeets heading for Danson in Bexley Park Woods area

Posted on 10/10/2015 by Chris Rose

It’s that time of year when Ring-necked Parakeet counting comes to the fore again. On the way home from Sidcup on 9th October I got to Bexley Park Wood at 18.08. Some 349 birds were counted heading north-west towards the night-time roost at Danson Park. A number appeared to come out of the wood, but the largest groups, seen from the north end of Elmwood Drive (around 70, 50 and 25 individuals), were already flying north of Bridgen Road, and may have come from the north-east corner of the wood or, perhaps, from further afield at Churchfield Wood or the Dartford Heath area. This is something locals might like to try and pin down by watching from the Camden Road/Bridgen Road junction at appropriate times.

The last birds seen flying by were at 18.20, so it is likely given past experience that the first 10-20 minutes of movements had been missed by the time I got there.

Chris Rose      

Posted in Bexley Woods, Bird watching, Danson Park, Ring-necked Parakeet | Leave a comment

Voles the highlight of allotment wildlife survey visit

Posted on 10/10/2015 by Chris Rose

Four Field Voles (Microtus agrestis) were found on Harland Avenue allotments on Friday October 9th, in the course of ongoing wildlife survey work across all of Bexley’s allotment sites that I am doing as the Bexley Federation of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners’ Biodiversity Officer. The survey is primarily concerned with reptiles and amphibians, but all identifiable species have been noted. There was also a report of a live Hedgehog from the last fortnight, and mention of the remains of  a dead one last year.

This was my second visit here, and I am grateful to the site’s own Biodiversity person, Tim Alderman, who gave up his time to come round with me.

The Voles were found in pairs under various items on the ground, along with basic cup-shaped nests.  Of the first two, one pretty much stayed put in plain sight, giving time for a proper assessment. The relative tail-to-body length, greyish rather than red-brown fur colour and habitat said Field rather than Bank Vole.

A couple of adult Frogs were seen, and a conversation with a plot-holder provided another suggestion that Slow Worm may occasionally be found on this very large site. I turned over tens of items on my last visit and could find none, even though the conditions look suitable, and the adjacent railway line provides a convenient habitat corridor. Two adult Frogs were seen, and Smooth Newts are here, but otherwise it’s something of an ‘under-performing’ location on the reptile and amphibian front compared to many of the smaller sites across the Borough.

Self Heal, Thyme-leaved Speedwell, Annual Nettle and Meadow Vetchling may, from memory, be additions to the wild plant roster here, but I would have to dig out my previous records to be sure.

Tim aims to interest other tenants in wildlife recording here, will be taking a closer look at the plants next year, and hopes to organise some Bat recording sessions at the site.

A Sparrowhawk had been seen flying near the entrance to the site on my arrival, and was later seen over King George’s Recreation Ground on my way back to Sidcup town centre.

Chris Rose

Posted in Allotments, Recording, Reptiles and Amphibians, Slow Worm | 2 Comments

Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae) confirmed in Bexley – King George’s Rec., Lamorbey, Burnt Oak Lane

Posted on 10/10/2015 by Chris Rose

The Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae), identified as a new species as recently as 1993, and new to Britain in 2001  – initially in Dorset and Devon – was found in three locations around Sidcup on October 9th by Chris Rose. Although the national distribution map for the species suggests it might now be found across much of the capital, the London records centre holds no previous sightings of this species in Bexley.

C. hederae looks very similar to C. succinctus and C. halophilus, but the three species are ecologically distinct. The former times emergence to feed on Ivy flowers and the second specialises on Heather. The third utilises Sea Aster flowers and was recorded along the Cray in 2007.

I did have a half-hearted look for Ivy Bee last year and may have seen it, but was not sure of the distinguishing features. It also looks superficially similar to the Honey Bee, particularly in size. However, the yellow bands are paler, more uniform in width, approach the tip of the abdomen and run round onto the underside of the insect.

On a sunny afternoon in Sidcup a few individuals (probably at least 8) were feeding on various flowering Ivy plants growing up the railway fence-line in King George’s Recreation Ground. A couple more were on a sunbathed Ivy near the end of Lamorbey lake, and one or two were seen on each of several Ivy plants along Burnt Oak Lane, wherever the sun, now low in the sky (it was getting on for 5 p.m.), broke through between the houses on the other side of the road. All the individuals I saw appeared to be males.

Whilst Wasps were seen to continue foraging on Ivy flowers that were now in the shade, the Colletes were only noted on those still in the sun.

From memory, David Rea of Ruxley Beekeepers said last year that he’d seen Colletes hederae in the Borough, but couldn’t recall exactly where, and I think someone mentioned seeing it at Braeburn Park. It seems likely that it’s quite widespread here by now, so do look out for it ….

For more information see:

http://www.bwars.com/sites/www.bwars.com/files/info_sheets/01_Colletes_hederae_20100908.pdf

 

Posted in Bees, Recording | 1 Comment

Version 3 of Bexley mammal report now available at ‘BW’

Posted on 03/10/2015 by Chris Rose

The PROVISIONAL CHECKLIST AND ACCOUNT OF THE MAMMALS OF THE LONDON BOROUGH OF BEXLEY has now been updated to version 3.

https://app.box.com/shared/static/092kil6b4uy79khnzyl1kc057ixjvko0.doc

The revision includes several Hedgehog records for 2015, and Seal records and photographs from this year. There is an addition to the Borough list in the form of the credible sighting in Sidcup of a Muntjac deer. ‘Bexley Wildlife’ recently received from Joe Johnson a photograph lately taken by a contact of his of a deer in the Goldie Leigh hospital grounds, just over the border from Bexley, which looks as if it may be this species. This in turn gives some credence to a claim made that a deer had been seen in nearby Lesnes Abbey Woods in 2014.

Fox asleep in a Barnehurst garden, August 2015. (Photo: Chris Rose)

Fox asleep in a Barnehurst garden, August 2015. (Photo: Chris Rose)

In addition, the new south-east mammal atlas, which covers Bexley, is now available for download here:

http://www.mammal.org.uk/mawse

 

Chris Rose

 

Posted in Mammals, Recording | Leave a comment

Part-time job with River Cray project available

Posted on 03/10/2015 by Chris Rose

Assistant River Cray Project Officer

Salary £21,000 per annum (pro rata)

Part time – 3 days per week (21hrs)

Contract length – fixed term until 31st March 2016

We require an enthusiastic and committed individual to support the Cray Project Officer with delivery of Thames21 activities within the Cray Catchment in the London Borough of Bexley. Particular emphasis will be on the Thames Road Wetland Enhancement & Engagement Project and to bring together stakeholders at local level to develop and deliver this and other projects working as a team with Thames21 Staff, volunteers and other partner groups. Thames21 have worked on this catchment since 2003 and due to the expanding project require an additional Thames21 team member to continue to deliver a strong, sustainable and increasingly healthy River Cray.

T21 General Information_2015    T21 Application Form    River Cray JD

Closing date for completed application forms Friday 23rd October 2015

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

81 bird species recorded in Bexley on October 2nd

Posted on 02/10/2015 by Chris Rose

Sightings by Ian Stewart and Eric Brown, noted on the London Bird Club wiki, reveal a wealth of avifauna across the Borough’s open spaces as a one-day total of 81 bird species is achieved.

How much higher might the 24 hour total be if we could pool data from a greater number of Bexley’s hundreds of ‘signed-up’ bird enthusiasts?

October 2nd:

Sidcup DA15 (York Avenue): Common Buzzard SE mobbed by crows 17.00, Meadow Pipit over early pm, Kestrel, Peregrine, singing Chiffchaff in garden, 1-2 Goldcrest (Ian Stewart)

October 1st:

Crayford Marshes: Avocet, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit at Darent mouth, Spotted Redshank flew east from saltings as tide rose, 5 Wigeon, Common Buzzard, 2 Sparrowhawk, 2-4 Kestrel, Hobby, c20 Ringed Plover, c20 Golden Plover, c40 Lapwing, 25+ Dunlin, Green Sandpiper, c40 Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 16 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Snipe, Yellow-legged Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 4+ Skylark, 2+ House Martin, 10+ Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Blackcap, 3 Cetti’s Warbler, 2+ Chiffchaff, 2+ Goldcrest, 3-4 Jay, Jackdaw, 3 Reed Bunting (Ian Stewart)

Danson Park: 4+ Egyptian Goose, pair Gadwall, male Shoveler, 3 Little Grebe, 3+ Great Crested Grebe, adult Yellow-legged Gull, Chiffchaff (Ian Stewart)

Foots Cray Meadows: Cetti’s Warbler still present 18.40, Little Grebe, Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Water Rail, 300+ Black-headed Gull NE towards Thames area roosts, Kingfisher or 2, Grey Wagtail, 6+ Chiffchaff, 6+ Goldcrest (Ian Stewart)

Kingfisher (Photo: Richard Spink)

Kingfisher (Photo: Richard Spink)

Lamorbey Park, Sidcup: 2 Mute Swan, 2 Egyptian Geese, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Grey Heron, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, 3 Jay, Magpie, Gt Spotted Woodpecker, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Moorhen, Coot, Ring Necked Parakeet, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, House Sparrow, Starling, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Wren, 2 Goldcrest, Peregrine. 26 species in one hour.(Eric Brown). 3 Egyptian Geese c16.00, Little Grebe (Ian Stewart)

Sidcup DA15 (York Avenue): Hobby S c9am, Tawny Owl heard 00.35, 1-2 Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Kestrel, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Coal Tit (Ian Stewart). Total of 81 species in London Borough of Bexley today.

Kestrel (Photo: Richard Spink)

Kestrel (Photo: Richard Spink)

Posted in Bexley, Bird watching, Crayford Marshes, Danson Park, Foots Cray Meadows, Lamorbey, Raptors, Recording, River Cray | Leave a comment

Ruxley working group numbers grow – 14 help at September 27th event

Posted on 27/09/2015 by Chris Rose

Sunday 27th of September saw a glorious Indian summer day for the Ruxley Gravel Pits Nature Reserve [RGPNR] working party crew. Participation had increased to 14 people, who got stuck into the season’s regrowth of plants that would gradually shade or dry out parts of the site too much if left unchecked. 

With all the disturbance from hacking, sawing and the bonfire there was little to see except a pair of Mute Swans and the cygnets. We also heard a Water Rail.

There was a good turnout at today's Ruxley Gravel Pits Nature Reserve habitat management event.

There was a good turnout at today’s Ruxley Gravel Pits Nature Reserve habitat management event.

Family of Swans at Ruxley Gravel Pits.

Family of Swans at Ruxley Gravel Pits.

Lunch break.

Lunch break.

Taking out unwanted trees at Ruxley Gravel Pits

Taking out unwanted trees at Ruxley Gravel Pits

The next working party is on Sunday 18th October (see the ‘BW’ calendar for details).

 

Albert Watson, Linda Graham and Martin Watts

Posted in Ruxley Gravel Pits, vegetation management, Volunteering | Leave a comment

Friends of the Shuttle – expanded and altered programme of events

Posted on 27/09/2015 by Chris Rose

Friends of the Shuttle, the hands-on environmental group working along the River Shuttle, Wyncham Stream and in Danson Park, has announced changed and additional dates in its increasingly busy schedule.

Note that the previously touted date for the big Danson Lake event – essential given the amount of historic plastic bags, bottle and cans still submerged in the lake despite two previous major clean-ups, and the usual array of fresh floating litter – may be changed from November 5th to Saturday 14th November in order that more people can participate. Details will be confirmed shortly. Danson lake drains into the Shuttle in Bexley Park Woods.

Malcolm and Ron home in on more rubbish

Clearing rubbish from Danson lake at a previous FotS-led event.

The remaining dates are split between two work streams:

Danson Old English Garden. Help maintain this pollinator-friendly public garden, which Friends of the Shuttle has taken on so the Council doesn’t grass it over to save money. Meet 10a.m. at the garden. It helps them provide sufficient tools and plan the work if you can contact “Friends of the Shuttle” friends.of.the.shuttle@gmail.com us in advance about attending.

River Shuttle clean-ups and habitat work. The location can be subject to late change due to river conditions or sudden littering problems, so again please contact FotS in advance about attending. They will also need your shoe size so they can bring the right sets of waders where these may be needed.

All dates are Thursdays apart from the possible day of the Danson lake clean-up.

1st October – Danson Old English Garden.

8th October Parish Wood Park, Berwick Crescent, Sidcup, DA15 8HR. Friends of the Shuttle/Thames21 joint habitat management work on the pond and wetland. 10:30 – 2:30.

15th October  – Danson Old English Garden.

22nd October – River Shuttle work.

29th October – Danson Old English Garden.

5th November – River Shuttle work.

12th November – Danson Old English Garden.

14th November, Saturday – Danson Lake litter pick (tbc)

19th November – River Shuttle work.

26th November – Danson Old English Garden.

There was a great turnout at the event, and FoTS aims to further improve the wildlife value of the garden. (Photo: Mandy Stevens)

FotS members at work in the Danson Old English Garden. (Photo: Mandy Stevens)

Note also that there is a bird walk at Danson on October 20th, and a River Shuttle/Bexley Park Woods one on November 5th, both organised by Bexley RSPB – see the ‘BW’ calendar for details.

____

 

Posted in Danson Park, Environment, Friends of the Shuttle, Litter, River Shuttle, Rivers | Leave a comment

River Cray project work for October – new volunteers welcome!

Posted on 26/09/2015 by Chris Rose

The Thames21 London waterways charity’s River Cray project officer Michael Heath has announced the following public events for October.

Joanne Bradley chats with River Cray Project Officer Michael Heath at the Danson event (picture by Chris Rose)

Joanne Bradley and Cray Project Officer Michael Heath with the Thames21 van (Photo: Chris Rose)

Tuesday 6th October 2015 Chalk Stream River Cray Habitat Enhancements at Foots Cray Meadows. Some of the riverbank restoration work needs further attention. We will be on site from 1030 to 1530. Come along and join in.  Meet at the Leafield Lane Gate, Leafield Lane DA14 5EB.

Thursday 8th October Parish Wood Park Berwick Crescent, Sidcup, DA15 8HR. Four years on from extensive development of the park following funding from the GLA the pond and wetland need some attention including repairs to the duck Island. As a part of our partnership with the London Borough of Bexley the River Cray Project is teaming up with ‘The Friends of the Shuttle’ to deliver some maintenance to this valuable habitat. Meet at the Duck Pond (Berwick Crescent Side) 1030 – 1400.

In addition there will be invitation-only habitat management work at Thames Road Wetland with local sixth-formers, a clean-up with young people of Streamway (Bedons Brook) and an educational field trip for students at Foots Cray Meadows.

Ffi: Michael Heath, River Cray Project Officer, Thames21. Bringing Londons Waterways to Life. Mobile 07968805751E mail michael.heath@thames21.org.uk

 

Posted in Cray Riverkeepers, Foots Cray Meadows, Friends of the Shuttle, Parish Wood Park, River Cray, River Shuttle, Rivers, Thames21, Volunteering | Leave a comment