Local Wildlife Sites under threat nationally.

Posted on 07/01/2015 by jonathanrooks1@outlook.com

A report by the Wildlife Trusts nationally warns that Local Wildlife Sites not protected by statute are being ruined by development.

A 10th damaged or lost in the last five years. Identified as crucial in their own right or as acting as corridors and links between other habitats, they are important for protecting our environment.

As they are not protected by statute, national planning rules require local authorities to identify sites locally and provide for their protection.

With further budget cuts being imposed by Bexley councillors and development rather than protection of our environment being the driving force in many local planning applications, we must worry what is happening to sites in Bexley.

 

Download the PDF file .

 

Wildlife Trust reports in full available at: http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/localwildlifesites

Posted in Bexley Council, Open spaces, Planning | Leave a comment

Crib – possible answers to other budget questions with environmental implications

Posted on 01/01/2015 by Chris Rose

Our followers will know that we are encouraging people to vote ‘disagree’ to Question 22 in the Council’s budget consultation, which closes on January 9th.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/strategy2018

But there are several other questions with environmental implications that may cause people to get a bit bamboozled and feel they can’t do a proper job of responding unless they have an answer for them all , and then give up. Here are the answers I gave to these questions, in case that helps others. Note that these are entirely personal views and do not represent the collective opinion of any group I belong to. You will see I was in two minds about some of them because of various imponderables and caveats about possible contexts and outcomes.

You don’t have to have a firm opinion on every question (there are several about healthcare, for example, that I didn’t know enough about to give an informed view upon) , and you can vote ‘neither agree nor disagree’ instead. Although the system doesn’t say you have to, I did vote ‘agree’, ‘disagree’ or ‘neither agree nor disagree’ for EVERY question just in case failure to do so would lead to my submission being rejected as a whole.

8. Street Cleansing: A reduction in street cleansing frequencies and standards by reducing the number of ‘stand down’ operatives in Bexleyheath shopping area from six to five; and removing the litter patrols on all main distributor roads e.g. North Cray Road, Thames Road (Total saving over four years = £256,000)

Neither agree or disagree

Comment: Not clear whether this means no litter removal on Thames Rd etc. at all. As it is a lot of litter gets chucked or is blown over the fence onto Thames Road Wetland that I manage, and I repeatedly clear it up for free.

9. Grounds maintenance – parks including allotments: Grass would be cut less frequently and standards of general grounds maintenance would be lower with fewer maintenance visits. Reductions in reactive maintenance in stages of 33% (2015/16) then 55% (2016/17). Sport and playgrounds would be unaffected. (Total saving over four years = £805,000)

Agree

This could be beneficial for biodiversity and bioabundance, but please consult with local wildlife experts first and check the SINC review citations. There are a few sites where closely cut grass is necessary to maintain rare plant species in the sward.

11. Re-use and Recycle Centres: Partial closure of Thames Road Re-use and Recycling Centre and/or further partial closure of Foots Cray site by closing on certain weekdays (Total saving over four years = £175,000)

Disagree

We should be seeking to increase recycling rates even further. 54% or whatever it is now means 46% still thrown away. There is also a big danger that the saving will be offset by an increase in fly-tipping.

12. Grounds maintenance of highways, verges and shrub beds: Cutting of highways verges would be reduced and hard edging removed, reactive grounds maintenance reduced to meet health and safety needs only. (Total saving over four years = £264,000)

Agree

Quite a lot of the maintenance is inept e.g. cutting Forsythias in parks right back in spring just as they are about to flower, and excessive hacking back of roadside shrubs, thereby reducing bird habitat. If this is stopped it will be an improvement. What should not happen is that some outfit then comes along every 5 years and razes everything to the ground instead.

13. Increased on and off street parking charges: This proposal would increase car park charges in Bexley for the first time in three years. (Total saving over four years = £800,000)

Neither agree nor disagree.

In principle I agree, as cars are a major cause of inefficient land use, but I am concerned that in practice this would simply result in even more people despoiling the borough by trashing their front gardens for car parking.

15. Parking charges at Hall Place and Danson Park: Introduce daily parking charges at Hall Place and formalise charging (including daily charges) in Danson Park (Total saving over four years = £240,000)

Agree

The council should promote arrival by foot, bike or public transport anyway. The SINC review threatened removal of a further area of Danson from within the SINC boundary due to repeated damage from car parking, so perhaps charges are too low anyway.

16. Charging for garden waste collection: Implement a scheme to charge for the collection of garden waste to recover collection costs. (Total saving over four years = £1,900,000)

Neither agree nor disagree

If you look out of train windows into Bexley back gardens you do not see a lot of compost bins, so a lot more material could and should be composted on site, which would also cut carbon emissions. On balance I would support this if the Council had a big push on the virtues and simplicity of home composting. The danger is fly-tipping, plus lazy people just covering their gardens with plastic or paving to avoid the charge, with further detriment to wildlife.

22. Parks: Bexley has 106 parks and open spaces plus numerous pieces of ‘green’ highway land across the borough. Disposal of 27 of these sites would generate receipts which would reduce the financing costs on the Council’s capital programme. Half the saving would be generated through the disposal of half of one site.This proposal is the disposal of 27 out of 106 open spaces or pieces of ‘green’ highway land (Total savings over four years = £1,620,000)

Disagree

Since you will not treat us like adults, and have refused several requests for the list of sites, including under an FOI request, giving woeful and anti-democratic excuses. I therefore have to vote disagree because any site in the Borough could be on that list. It also sets a bad precedent. It is one-off income. Once lost to concrete those areas are gone. There is no guarantee that the income would be ring-fenced for the open spaces left, so that they could soon be under the same threat. Bexley claims it can cover the borough with more ‘development’ whilst protecting what we value. This proposal says otherwise. I want more open space, more nature and less concrete.

40. Please use this space to make any general comments or suggestions about the proposals and the Council’s budget.

I repeat the proposal I made at the last budget consultation regarding the large savings that it would appear from other parts of the country could be made by reducing and dimming lighting, and the opportunity this also presents to improve the environment for nocturnal animals and for cutting carbon emissions. This should be in addition to replacing lights with more energy efficient (and bat-friendly) lighting equipment. I understand that Bexley has been put off by data suggesting a possible small increase in accidents, but any such probability could easily be counteracted by 20 mph speed limits and a rigorous traffic reduction strategy.

Chris Rose.

Posted in Bexley Council, Budget, Consultations | Leave a comment

Braeburn park bird walks

Posted on 01/01/2015 by Chris Rose

Peter Beckenham, of the London Wildlife Trust, has planned a couple of guided bird walks at Braeburn Park, the Trust’s new reserve in Crayford – on the south side of the railway line opposite Hall Place – for January and February to kick start the new year. See the poster below for the one on Saturday 24th Jan. The second walk will be on Wednesday 4th February, for which the meeting place and time will be the same. He says ‘Conditions under foot are a little muddy but largely easy going. Recent sightings have included sparrowhawk, kestrel and redwing whilst bullfinch and mistle thrush are seen daily. ‘ Ffi contact Peter (after January 20th) at:<pbeckenham@wildlondon.org.uk> / Mobile: 07772323946

Other upcoming ornithological events in this vicinity are a Hall Place and Crayford Rough bird walk on 13th January, led by Ralph and Brenda Todd, meeting 09.30 at the Hall Place sports pavilion, and a Bird Garden Birdwatch from the Hall Place bird hide, with Bexley RSPB members on hand with telescopes and ID advice, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday 25th January (more details on the BW website calendar).

http://www.bexleywildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/BraeburnBirdWalk2015.pdf

Posted in Bird watching, Braeburn Park, Hall Place, RSPB | Leave a comment

Open spaces sell-off – Council refuses FOI request to release list

Posted on 31/12/2014 by Chris Rose

Bexley Council is proposing to ‘dispose of’ 27 open spaces, which it has admitted includes some parkland, in the period to 2018, and is consulting on doing so in its current budget questionnaire. It has declined several written requests to provide a list of the sites concerned, so that we can make a more informed decision. Mandy Stevens of FoTS therefore  submitted a freedom of Information request. The response is set out in full below. The Council is still arguing that releasing the information would ‘bias’ the outcome of the consultation, and is claiming that it is entitled to keep it under wraps as it is only being used for the purpose of ‘policy formulation’.

We continue to strongly urge residents to vote ‘disagree’ to the following question in the budget consult here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/strategy2018

to which responses must be submitted by 9 January 2015.

22. Parks: Bexley has 106 parks and open spaces plus numerous pieces of ‘green’ highway land across the borough. Disposal of 27 of these sites would generate receipts which would reduce the financing costs on the Council’s capital programme. Half the saving would be generated through the disposal of half of one site.This proposal is the disposal of 27 out of 106 open spaces or pieces of ‘green’ highway land (Total savings over four years = £1,620,000) current budget

* Since the Council will not say what sites are on the list, any sites could be on it. There is no guarantee that the ‘secret’ list won’t be changed if there is an ‘agree’ majority. Nor is the council going to promise that this will be the end of it. If given an ‘agree’ in principle, this could be used to justify more sell-offs in the future without prior consultation on the underlying assumptions.

* The Council has said that the list includes some parkland.

* Despite arguments about cutting maintenance costs by disposal, there is no promise to ring-fence the sales income for other open spaces, leaving them open to attack on the same grounds in future.

* Once given the ‘go ahead’ in principle, there is a high probability that Council will press ahead with selling off at least some sites irrespective of any opposition over particular ones. Given the revenue implications, and the fact that the Council is dancing around on a pin-head over how to squeeze its five-fold hike of housing numbers to 22,000 by 2030 into the Borough, larger sites with greater building potential – which would likely be of more importance to wildlife – could be at risk.  The Council’s dystopian ‘vision’ for ‘growth’ claims it can deliver large amounts of extra ‘development’ whilst ‘protecting’ what we ‘value’ about the Borough. To many of us, what is valued is the amount of greenspace.  We ask: what does the Council leadership ‘value’, and will they tell us?

* The best way to try and avoid having to go through the slog of fighting off site-by-site sell-off and planning proposals later is to get a heavy ‘disagree’ vote now.

* We actually think less ‘maintenance’ could be far better for wildlife if done in an informed way. The Council has a policy of enhancing biodiversity in parks and open spaces that is not fully implemented yet.

* In our view the Council should have sought public involvement to help cut management costs. It must know that the reality is that a lot of people will only get engaged when there is an immediate threat outside their front door, so it should have treated us like adults, published the list and invited volunteers to come forward before moving to the sell-off consultation stage. We now have to hope that once the list is brought out of the hat, the Council will allow proper time for discussion of alternative ways to cut costs without sell-offs.

* Land sales produce one-off income, not ongoing revenue.

Public opposition kept the Local History Archive in the Borough. Let’s stop open spaces sales ………..

Mandy commented “Some fairly dismaying statements in the letter.  The Council believes that at this stage:  ‘‎that‎ only those residents living in closed proximity to the potential green sites would participate and therefore the Council would not receive a wider response from residents in other parts of the Borough’ – i.e. we are all NIMBYs with no wider environmental concerns.  It also believes  it is entitled to develop policy and reach decisions ‘away from external interference and distraction’ – or local democracy as it’s also known!!

IMG07289-20140530-2037

More of Bexley’s green spaces disappear – here further former marshland at ‘Belvedere Park’ is being lost to ‘development’. (Photo: Chris Rose)

BEXLEY COUNCIL’S RESPONSE TO THE FOI REQUEST FOR THE LIST OF GREEN SPACES IDENTIFIED FOR POSSIBLE SELL-OFF

Dear Ms Stevens,

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Information Request
Further to our acknowledgement of your request dated 5 December, I am now able to provide you with a response on the following question: “I ‎would ‎like ‎to ‎make ‎a ‎formal ‎request ‎under ‎the ‎Freedom‎ of ‎Information ‎Act ‎2000 ‎for ‎a copy of the list of green spaces‎ that ‎you ‎have ‎identified ‎for ‎possible ‎disposal.”‎

Firstly, as your request for information relates to land it needs to be considered under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, as opposed to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

As indicated to you in previous correspondence on this matter I can reconfirm that at this time ‎the ‎Council ‎is ‎currently‎ consulting ‎publically ‎on ‎only ‎the ‎“principle”‎ of ‎releasing ‎from current use a comparatively small total area of park and highway land as an alternative to making significant reductions to the grounds maintenance work undertaken in the Council’s ‎106 ‎parks ‎and ‎open ‎spaces. ‎‎Consequently ‎at ‎this ‎early‎ stage ‎it ‎is ‎believed‎ that‎
only those residents living in closed proximity to the potential green sites would participate and therefore the Council would not receive a wider response from residents in other parts of the Borough.

The‎ information ‎you ‎are ‎requesting ‎is ‎held ‎by ‎the ‎Council ‎as ‎“internal‎ communication” which is being used to inform the formulation of Council policy in accordance with regulation 12(4)(e) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. At this early
stage of policy development the Council believes it is entitled to space to develop ideas, debate live issues, and reach decisions away from external interference and distraction. It also believes that disclosure of the identity of these sites would inhibit free and frank discussions in the future, and that the loss of frankness and candour would damage the quality of advice and lead to poorer decision making.

Subject‎ to ‎the ‎outcome ‎of ‎the ‎“in ‎principle” ‎consultation ‎and ‎any ‎decision ‎by ‎Council ‎to proceed with the release of some or all of the provisional sites, all residents of the borough would be consulted on the proposal. Any intention to dispose of each site will be subject to the placing of a public notice within a local newspaper for two consecutive weeks.

Unresolved ‎objections ‎would ‎be ‎referred ‎to ‎the ‎Council’s‎ General ‎Purposes ‎Committee for determination. Any subsequent decision to develop one of these sites would then also be subject to more localised public consultation through the Planning process.

In reaching the decision not to provide this information to you at this stage, consideration has been given as to whether or not there is an overriding public interest that means the information should nevertheless be disclosed. The conclusion has been drawn that,
given that the disclosure of information as to the potential sites for disposal to the public at this stage might impact adversely upon effective public participation, it is not considered to be in the public interest to disclose the identity of the green spaces to you
at this time.

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can make a complaint and request a review by writing to:
Complaint and Freedom of Information Officer
London Borough of Bexley
Civic Offices
2 Watling Street
Bexleyheath
Kent
DA6 7AT
Or by email to foi@bexley.gov.uk
Yours sincerely
Colin Rowland
Head of Park and Open Spaces

Posted in Bexley, Bexley Council, Consultations, Housing targets, Land sales, Open spaces, Parks, Planning, Volunteering | 3 Comments

Danson is new Ring-neck roost destination

Posted on 23/12/2014 by Chris Rose

One of the great, albeit ‘exotic’, wildlife spectacles in Bexley in recent years has been the sight and sound of Ring-necked Parakeets (Psittacula krameri) flying in successive groups out of various sites in Bexley towards their final night time roost sites, over a short period of time before dusk, especially in winter.

I have made significant counts at Bexley Park Woods, Bursted Woods, Martens Grove, Lamorbey Park (where one can get the closest views)  and Loring Hall (Footscray Meadows).  Birds have headed in a west/south-west direction, suggesting that the final destination is the Hither Green Cemetery roost where 5,800 birds were counted on the 10th of October 2010 (Ralph Todd, July-Oct 2010 Bexley Bird Report).  Other south/south-east London roosts have been Sutcliffe Park and Brockwell Park.

The parakeets are known to gather in staging posts before the last leg of their journey, and the counts from the sites mentioned above have almost certainly included birds from further afield, such as those at Crayford Marshes and Franks Park. Danson Park has been a major aggregation point in Bexley for birds leaving together for the communal roosts further into south-east London, and has produced by far the highest counts of all the Bexley sites mentioned.

The question in my mind has been, at what point do numbers become large enough at aggregation points for new roosts to be formed? I was at Danson this afternoon (23rd December), and positioned myself at the west end of the park ready to do my first count  for a long time. But there wasn’t the usual amount of noise, and a measly total of just 13 birds flew out over the school field, heading south, at 16.13. Where were the rest, given previous counts in the hundreds?

The answer turned out to be in two tall adjacent Poplars on the north side of the lake, and two 30-35′ trees between them. My estimated count of the birds in silhouette and amongst fairly dense branches (it now being quite dark), was about 940. It was clear they were staying put for the night.

So is this is a new phenomenon, or something I’d missed in the past, and how do the numbers relate to what has happened before?

My previous Danson ‘departure-to-roost’ counts were as follows:

22/10/2012 – 91

3/1/2013 – 255

18/3/2013 – 301

18/11/2013 – 292

24/12/2013 – 339 (may have missed some)

6/1/2014 – 479

3/2/2014 – 442

21/2/2014 – 228

Since there were large departures both before and after Christmas, it is unlikely that once in a while the birds decided to spend the night at Danson during these periods.  Something has triggered them to do so now.  In fact I had noticed last winter that a handful of birds were staying put in Poplars, albeit still being fairly active rather than roosting, quite some time after the great majority of birds had left and when it was quite dark. Perhaps that was the beginning of the change? The internet at least does not suggest any felling of roost trees at Hither Green, and my own recent visit to Sutcliffe Park indicated no such changes there.

What of the numbers? It may be noted that the figure of 940 is higher than the highest previous departure counts I have for Danson, and higher than the Danson figure plus those for birds from further east in Bursted (most recent count 144) and Martens Grove, even if they hadn’t previously aggregated at Danson themselves, so birds from multiple sites are likely to be involved.

One web briefing says that birds are reluctant to fly beyond commuting range of a roost (15km/approximately 9 miles – though it is unclear whether this means both ways, or the one way distance), so this new roost site may be something associated with an eastwards range expansion.

It will be interesting to see whether this behaviour persists, whether the roost size grows, and at what rate. Tall trees are known to be favoured for roosting, and those used at Hither Green are also Poplars. There were some tall Poplars very close by at Danson that were not being used this evening, and if they were to be, 2,000 birds could probably be accommodated with ease.

The next thing to do is to get an accurate count of the birds flying into this new roost, and to get some idea of the compass points they appear to be coming from. Any volunteers?

(Chris Rose)

Posted in Bexley, Bexley Woods, Bird watching, Bursted Woods, Foots Cray Meadows, Ring-necked Parakeet, roost site, Trees | Leave a comment

Birds in a Bexleyheath garden

Posted on 20/12/2014 by Chris Rose

John Arnold writes: ‘Dunnock  and Robin …..  always at war with one another around the feeders. The Robin always starts the trouble but does not always win the battles ………….. and then the Starlings arrive and nothing else gets a look in.

The unassuming Dunnock or Hedge Sparrow - a bird easily overlooked in the garden, but worth watching out for. (Photo: John Arnold)

The unassuming Dunnock or Hedge Sparrow – a bird easily overlooked in the garden, but worth watching out for. (Photo: John Arnold)

The Dunnock has rather interesting ‘domestic arrangements’ that can be read about here:  http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=1047

Robin (Photo: John Arnold)

Robin (Photo: John Arnold)

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Crossness reed bed work exhibits ‘green gym’ credentials

Posted on 19/12/2014 by Chris Rose

Seven volunteers worked up a sweat on one of the Crossness Nature Reserve Reed beds today, helping to rake up and burn mountains of reed, including Manager Karen Sutton’s regular team of Reg and Roger who had previously done all the cutting.

Volunteer at work o the 'ridge and furrow' reed bed (Photo: Karen Sutton)

Volunteers at work on the ‘ridge and furrow’ reed bed on what turned into a bright sunny day (Photo: Karen Sutton)

The purpose of the operation, which is part of a rotational cutting programme, is to always have a mix of ‘young’ and more ‘mature’ reedbeds on site, so as to encourage a wider variety of species. The latter will contain denser stands and more plant litter from previous seasons, but if left too long this piles up and causes the reedbed to dry up and become less suitable for its specialist wildlife.

Numerous piles of reed were generated during the 3 hour session. (Photo: Karen Sutton)

Numerous piles of reed were generated during the 3 hour session (Photo: Karen Sutton)

Some of the cut reed and fringing grass was piled up and left for invertebrates that like decomposing vegetation, and for Grass Snakes to lay their eggs in over the summer. As the mounds rot down the heat generated will incubate any snake’s eggs.

The smouldering pile of burning reed produced this atmospheric effect against the winter sun (Photo: Karen Sutton)

The smouldering pile of burning reed produced an atmospheric effect against the winter sun (Photo: Karen Sutton)

If you want to help wildlife, meet new people, get fitter and discover muscles you never knew you had, do get involved in one of the many habitat management events around the Borough that will be continuing during the winter period ( including at Crossness, where each session has the added bonus of concluding with free food and drink ……..). See http://www.bexleywildlife.org/calendar/      for details.

Posted in Crossness, Crossness Nature Reserve, Erith Marshes, Reedbeds, vegetation management, Volunteering | Leave a comment

Latest outbreak of excessive ‘vegetation management’ sparks ‘Key habitat features’ list move

Posted on 19/12/2014 by Chris Rose

Several complaints about  a ‘scorched earth’ approach to vegetation management along the River Shuttle over the past couple of weeks, have been relayed to noted local bird recorder Ralph Todd of Bexley RSPB, and further dismay was expressed by a volunteer at today’s Crossness event, who has witnessed the damage first hand and suggested that the Environment Agent may have had a hand in this under the guise of ‘flood control’ measures (water levels in the Shuttle can rise swiftly and it is seen as a flood risk).

Ralph has contacted Bexley Council about this matter and his report on the issue appears below. The Council’s response doesn’t really clarify who is responsible. But in any case, the important thing now is for us all to take the initiative and help work on a list of ‘key habitat features’ that are important for wildlife that we can lobby the Council with, such as hedges used by significant numbers of House Sparrows, road verges with particularly good flora etc. that have been, or appear to be at risk of poor management for biodiversity. These can be on Council land, school grounds and private land, though the latter may be harder to sort out. The idea is to get ahead of the game and set an agenda regarding management, rather than being left complaining after the event.  The fact that the Council is supposed to be  saving money, which suggests it will have to ‘manage’ vegetation less, ought to be to our advantage in this. GPS and other technology should make it possible to ensure that operatives know where to cut and where not to, without being wildlife experts. Please use the ‘Leave comments’ feature here, or in the ‘Comments’ box on the equivalent Facebook post – identifying such places and saying how the current management regime should be changed and why – to get the ball rolling ….. Do include features within designated ‘Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation’ as well. The Shuttle is one such, but this hasn’t in itself prevented damaging errors in the past either.

Starting new Friends Groups for open spaces that don’t have them is another way we can influence the management regime to the greater benefit of wildlife. Most parks and open spaces don’t have one at the moment ……

Ralph writes:

“Over the past couple of weeks it has been brought to our attention that the contractors working on behalf of Bexley Council Grounds Maintenance are grubbing out a lot of excellent wildlife habitat – often bramble and other scrub (e.g. Sidcup Place, Penhill Park, Marlborough Park School, Haddon Grove/Hollyoak Wood Park).

Whilst it is comforting to know that people care enough to mention it, by that time it is too late to save the habitat. The only thing we can recommend in the short term is to write to your local Councillors and bring it to their attention,  telling them that with budget savings required this seems an unnecessary operation and harmful to wildlife.

The Council have responded to our questions relating to the operation with the following statement “grounds maintenance do all but emergency work for shrub and scrub maintenance between September to late Feb,  so it will seem that a lot of this work is ongoing at the moment; many of the bramble areas are actually grass that has, over several years been let go by mowers not covering the full areas they should and every now and then Grounds Maintenance try to reclaim these areas back.

It may be that before the next large budget cut hit in March that Grounds staff are trying to get as much down as possible while they still have a budget. Last year they trimmed all the shrubs in the highways etc. over winter rather than just those scheduled for that year, as that budget was to be cut the following spring.”

Whilst it might be too late for this year, some future budget cuts could be turned to the advantage of wildlife if implemented in an appropriate manner. So now is the time to start developing a list of particular areas that are good for wildlife, including small and ‘scruffy’ ones that may get overlooked, and let us, the Council (and your Councillors) know in advance. This way we can provide a positive service to the Council when it is consulting on budget cuts and grounds maintenance matters, instead of just complaining when things go wrong.”

Post your suggestions using ‘Leave a comment’ at the foot of this post, or  in the Facebook ‘Comments’ box  and we will collate a list and use it in the ongoing discussions we have with the Council about wildlife issues in Bexley. 

The River Shuttle above Penhill Road on a gloomy 15th September 2011. (Photo: Chris Rose)

The River Shuttle above Penhill Road on a gloomy 15th September 2011. (Photo: Chris Rose)

 

 

Posted in Bexley Council, Consultations, Environment, key habitat features, Open spaces, Parks, River Shuttle, RSPB, SINC, vegetation management | Leave a comment

FotS it all about ? – a brief history of looking after Bexley’s little river.

Posted on 17/12/2014 by Chris Rose

Friends of the Shuttle (FotS) was formed in March 2013. For two years previous to this, dedicated volunteers had been working hard to keep the River Shuttle free of litter as part of a Thames21 project that was funded by Cory Environmental Trust.

When the funding for this project, led by T21 riverkeeper, Joanne Bradley came to an end, the volunteers were determined to carry on caring for Bexley’s little river. Joanne encouraged four of these volunteers to take Thames21 training to learn how to lead a waterway clean up and sourced some kit for the volunteers to carry on their good work on the river.

And so Friends of the Shuttle was born! A group of volunteers, led by volunteers, keen to conserve and promote the wildlife and biodiversity of the River Shuttle and to give people a chance to get involved in some good work in their local community.

FotS volunteers meet twice a month at various points along the river to clear litter from the channel and keep it clear for wildlife and for those who enjoy walking along its banks. But FotS are involved in more than just litter picking. Their important work also includes river enhancements, wildlife walks and surveying, removal of invasive species and talking to the general public about what the River Shuttle has to offer.

The outcome of River Shuttle habitat enhancements can be seen in Marlborough Park. (Photo: Chris Rose)

The outcome of River Shuttle habitat enhancements can be seen in Marlborough Park. (Photo: Chris Rose)

Volunteers are able to learn new practical skills, see a part of Bexley borough that they may not have yet discovered, enjoy some fresh air and exercise, and all in the company of very friendly, like-minded people. There is of course always the promise of tea and biscuits at the end of every event, an essential element of all conservation work.

For more information and to sign up to one of our events please contact us at friends.of.the.shuttle@gmail.com

Purple Loosestrife, Gypsywort, grasses and sedges fringe the Shuttle in Marlborough Park (Photo: Chris Rose)

Purple Loosestrife, Gypsywort, grasses and sedges fringe the Shuttle in Marlborough Park (Photo: Chris Rose)

 

Posted in Bexley, Friends of the Shuttle, River Shuttle, SINC, Thames21, Volunteering | Leave a comment

Danson bird records November 2014

Posted on 13/12/2014 by jonathanrooks1@outlook.com

Mediterranean Gull rare record for Danson Park.

Mediterranean Gull (not the bird at Danson park though)

Mediterranean Gull (not the bird at Danson park though!)

 

05/11/2014 12/11/2014 24/28/11/2014
a.m. a.m. p.m.
Great-crested Grebe 3 3 1
Little Grebe 4 4 2
Cormorant 4 4 5
Heron 4 4 1
Little Egret
Mute Swan 5 5 5
Canada Geese 49 49 44
 Grey Lag Goose 1 1
Egyptian Goose 3 8 5
Mallard 111 123 124
Teal 1
Tufted Duck
Kestrel
Sparrow Hawk 1 1
Moorhen 16 12 13
Coot 130 113 141
Black-headed Gull 180+ 200+ 200+
Common Gull 16 15 15
Lesser Black Backed Gull 2 1
Herring Gull 10 5 4
Yellow-legged gulll 1
Wood Pigeon 30 12 8
Stock Dove 1 4 2
Collared Dove
Ring-necked Parakeet 13 5 8
Kingfisher
Green Woodpecker
Greater-spotted Woodpecker 2 1
Nuthatch 1
Pied Wagtail
Grey Wagtail 1 1
Wren 1
Dunnock
Robin 11 3 3
Blackbird 5 1 1
Mistle Thrush 1
Song Thrush
Blue Tit 2 1 2
Great Tit 4 2
Coal Tit
Long-tailed Tit 4 4
Starling
Jay
Magpie 4 1 1
Crow 67 42 46
Jackdaw 2
House Sparrow
Chaffinch 1
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Goldcrest 1
Siskin 4
Mediterranean Gull 1 – 28/11
Grey Squirrel 12 6 6
Brown Rat 2 2 3
Fox 1

We are grateful to John Turner for providing us with his regular records. If you cover a particular patch in Bexley Borough, we would be pleased to get your records too.

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