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THAMES ROAD WETLAND HITS 20 SPECIES OF ODONATAThames Road Wetland, managed by Thames21 volunteers, has seen an increase of 6 species of Odonata in the last 12 months, adding a couple of the newer arrivals in the UK that have been present at other sites in the Borough for a while now and two undergoing general range expansion. This is likely to be due to increased observer effort, with a helper who lives fairly close now visiting the site 2 or 3 times a week.
Autumn 2025 saw the addition of Scarce Chaser.
A Four-spotted Chaser was photographed on 5th June 2026, a Norfolk Hawker on 1st July, a pair of copulating Southern Migrant Hawkers on July 22nd and a Southern Hawker on 21st August.
A Lesser Emperor was also seen.
Although only 2ha in area, the site benefits from a large expanse of floodplain land to the south and west, and the Outer Crayford Marshes and Dartford Marshes stretching down to the Thames to the north of Thames Road.
The full list of species is currently:
Damselflies (6) - Azure, Banded Demoiselle, Blue-tailed, Common Blue, Large Red, Willow Emerald.
Dragonflies (14) - Hairy, Brown Hawker, Migrant Hawker, Norfolk (Green-eyed) Hawker, Southern Hawker, Southern Migrant Hawker, Emperor, Lesser Emperor, Broad-bodied Chaser, Four-spotted Chaser, Scarce Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, Common Darter, Ruddy Darter.
Thanks to Jim and Tom for photos.
Chris Rose, Volunteer Site Manager
UPCOMING LONDON NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY EVENTS AT BEXLEY SITESNon-members welcome on a 'taster' basis. To join: www.lnhs.org.uk/index.php/join-now (£20 p.a., under 18/students £5)
Great for beginners as well as the more experienced.
Sat Nov 7th. 2026. 10.00-14.00. London Bird Club section of the LNHS. Danson Park. Meet Welling station. Leader Bexley RSPB's very own Harry Halstead.
Sat Nov 21st. 2026. 10.00-14.00. LBC. Meet Belvedere station 10.00. Leader George Kalli.
Sat 16th Jan. 2027. 10.00-14.00. LBC. Crayford Marshes. Meet Slade Green station 10.00. Leader Harry Halstead.
Sat 6th Feb 2027. 10.00-14.00. LBC. Crayford Rough and Hall Place Gardens. Leader Harry Halstead.
For full list of events across London, covering a wide variety of wildlife topics, see:
www.lnhs.org.uk/index.php/activities/full-programme
JOIN A WETLAND HABITAT WORK SESSION AT CRAYFORD MARSHES ......The next Thames21 staff-supported event at Thames Road Wetland, an important wildlife site on the Inner Crayford Marshes, will be on Friday 11th September.
We will be clearing cut Reed to retain open pools, digging out Reed rootmat to 'recover' open water areas for Dragonflies and Water Voles and clearing out more of the road run-off trap so that it has plenty of capacity once the autumn rains kick in.
Samantha Dhedhi will be bringing all equipment provided. No sophisticated skills needed. A chance to meet new people and get close to wildlife.
Basic refreshments available. Loos available at the nearby council depot.
Ffi/to book:
book.plinth.org.uk/e/0WCJmk9xkzaAmCNTk2TC
Looking for a career in environment/wildlife conservation?LONDON WILDLIFE TRUST - Green careers showcase event ..........
www.facebook.com/LondonWildlifeTrust/posts/pfbid0sx533b2dpvpBAVtfA8MiqqZrdxHRBuVnLR97cuL82USNpJSP...
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Category Archives: Crossness
Ralph Todd’s Bexley Bird Report for January – June 2015 published
This latest edition of Ralph’s invaluable six monthly Bexley bird reports, covering the period January – June 2015, is now available, having been delayed whilst he works on the massive job – with volunteer assistance – of digitising older Bexley bird … Continue reading
Crossness – it doesn’t have to be rare or hard to identify to be a new site record
Two new species were added to the Crossness/Erith Marshes list last weekend (23rd August), neither especially rare in the south of England. The presence of the picture-winged fly Urophora cardui was detected by the presence of a few swollen stem galls … Continue reading
Posted in Bird watching, Crossness, Erith Marshes, Swift
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‘Bexley Wildlife’ social, August 18th: reminder and ‘programme’
The ‘Bexley Wildlife’ team, a web platform collaboration between Bexley Natural Environment Forum and the Greener Bexley Charity, invites ‘followers’ and other interested people to join us at a social event on Tuesday August 18th from 7p.m. at Bexley Village … Continue reading
Crossness makes belated claim to ‘first’ Bexley Marbled White
The date of the first Marbled White butterfly (Melanargia galathea) record we know of in Bexley has just been pushed back five years, following this week’s discovery that one was seen by John Archer on 7th July 2010, on the … Continue reading
Thamesmead Youth Voice group picks environment projects and visits Crossness
Karen Sutton writes: On 23rd July I gave members of the Thamesmead Youth Voice (TYV) Group a tour around Crossness Nature Reserve and Crossness Southern Marsh. TYV is a youth group run by Trust Thamesmead who have a dedicated youth facility known as The … Continue reading
More Crossness butterfly and moth marvels from Mike …….
Clouded Yellow, Painted Lady pictured at Crossness Mike Robinson has been out and about photographing butterflies and day-flying moths across the Borough lately, but spends much of his time at Crossness on Erith Marshes. Here are a selection of his … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley, Butterflies, Crossness, Erith Marshes, Recording
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Sun shines (intermittently) on Crossness butterfly event
Karen Sutton, Biodiversity Team Manager at Crossness Nature Reserve on Erith Marshes, reports on the Wednesday 15th July butterfly identification event. We held a butterfly identification walk on Crossness Nature Reserve just before the launch of Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count … Continue reading
Bexley Council has no management plan for 80% of SINCS it wholly or partly owns, reveals FOI request
80% of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation wholly or partly owned by Bexley Council have no management plan (i.e. only 1 in 5 does), and 3 of the 6 plans that do exist expired more than 7 years ago. … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley Council, Bexley Woods, Biodiversity Action Plan, BNEF, Braeburn Park, Bursted Woods, Chalk Wood, coppicing, Crayford Rough, Crossness, Danson Park, East Wickham Open Space, Environment, Erith Marshes, Hollyhill open space, Joydens Wood, Lesnes Abbey Woods, London Wildlife Trust, Martens Grove, Open spaces, Parish Wood Park, Parks, River Cray, River Shuttle, SINC, Thames Road Wetland, Woodlands Farm
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Some people pictures from last Saturday’s Crossness invertebrates event
As previously reported there was an excellent turnout of 27 – mainly locals – for last weekend’s (July 4th) London Natural History Society-led event at Crossness Southern Marsh on Erith Marshes, looking at lesser-known invertebrates. The area is part of … Continue reading
Bexley birds maintain media profile
Crossness Kestrels in hardcopy ‘News Shopper’ two editions running. Joined by Swifts this week. The Kestrel family at Crossness Nature Reserve on Erith Marshes was splashed across the top of the front page in last week’s ‘News Shopper’, so it … Continue reading
Posted in Belvedere, Bird watching, BNEF, Crossness, Crossness Nature Reserve, Environment, Erith Marshes, Raptors
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