Our Facebook Posts
Guided Bat walk, Danson Park. 10/5/24.www.facebook.com/FriendsofDansonPark/posts/pfbid02ry29xhKQNrwbjv8mrLjYzpY99N4L61446BrL5nsF6vnAR1e...Our next guided bat walk is open for bookings.
Friday 10 May at 8 pm at Danson Stables carpark
Adults £5
Accompanied children free
These are normally oversubscribed, so please email friendsofdansonpark@gmail.com or text 07596 657763 to book your place.
RECYCLING FOR CHARITY EVENTby Wasteless Market.
Wednesday 15th May, 13.00-15.00
Bexleyheath Library, Townley Road, Bexleyheath
We will be collecting hard-to recycle packaging in aid of charity as part of the Eco-Library tour - a monthly drop-in session where you can discuss and get ideas for sustainable living.
Please check the list of acceptable items below, as these do change. All packaging must be flat, empty and sorted into the categories shown.
For every kg collected £1 is donated to charity (apart from the blister packs). Charities supported are: Kent & London Air Ambulance; Pathfinder Guide Dogs; Against Breast Cancer and Mind in Bexley.
Biscuit, cake & cracker packets
Bras - any condition
Bread & bakery product wrappers - only plastic
Cheese packets - clean & dry please
Dishwasher tablet pouches & household wipe packaging (no other types of wipe please)
Broken Food storage boxes & reusable plastic drinking bottles
Laundry pod pouches
Medicine blister packs
Plastic Milk bottle tops (washed and dried please)
Used postage stamps
Pringles tubes - no lids - squashed flat please
Printer cartridges (inkjet only)
Medicine blister pack recycling incurs a cost for us - if you would like to support us with the cost of this scheme, or to make a donation towards our work, please visit our localgiving page at localgiving.org/charity/Wasteless-market/
Thank you!
Wasteless Community Hub Ltd | Localgiving
localgiving.org
We believe that local is better. By connecting grassroots organisations with donations, fundraising and grants plus resources and support, we are proud to help thousands of UK community groups do amaz...
THAMES21 - TARGETED HIMALAYAN BALSAM ERADICATION PROGRAMME ON RIVER CRAY.** Revised schedule with date changes**
A couple of the proposed Friday sessions have now been changed to Saturdays, which will hopefully enable people to join in who are not able to make weekdays.
Past attempts to tackle the plentiful Himalayan Balsam on the Cray have jumped around from one location to another, with no sustained effort working from upstream downward. Consequently, plants removed from lower down the river can simply be replaced by seed washed down from further up. Balsam seed only remains viable for a couple of years, so a more disciplined approach could start to clear the river of it.
Michael O'Neill will be leading 6 events in total over this spring and summer period, 3 on the upper stretch of the affected Cray, 3 on the next stretch down.
The upper stretch being from Water Lane off North Cray Road, down to Old Bexley Village, the lower stretch being from Old Bexley Village to the confluence of the river Shuttle, next to Dartfordians Rugby Club.
Dates and links are given below for both the Thames21 website (which carries background details) and for the Plinth event sign up pages.
Please send these dates on to your contacts if you think they would be interested in getting involved, either as a volunteer or to coordinate control works on the Cray river. Any questions, please do let me know.
Here are the links:
Booking:
2nd event - Friday 03/5/24
book.plinth.org.uk/e/m2F8e62NkwUwurdy4diJ
3rd event - NOW Saturday 25/5/24
book.plinth.org.uk/e/i0JY9SORp1q0JstoVRTF
4th event - NOW Saturday 1/6/24
book.plinth.org.uk/e/gpVVKbNti5oxiuP8lmZg
5th event (London Rivers Week) Friday 21/6/24
book.plinth.org.uk/e/S1vEqb7sJoztovKqWxvg
6th event - Friday 5/7/24
book.plinth.org.uk/e/04q3NEldqncXlKLf5H1K
Further info:
www.thames21.org.uk/event/cray-river-balsam-blitz-2/
(2nd Event) - same background details apply to 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th events.
Kind regards
Michael O'Neill
Engagement Officer
M +44 (0)7597584363 www.thames21.org.uk
BARNEHURST SWIFT NESTING AREA - earliest recorded return date.Four, possibly six Swfts were over the area tonight (1/5), between 19.30 and 20.15, my earliest recorded date here. None were seen during an hour of circuits at the same time on 30/4.
The first two spotted were over the Westfield/Midfield junction, flying towards Hillingdon, then again a bit later. Four were observed coming off Barnehurst Golf Course and over Beverley/Northall, two of which appeared to dive down towards a roof on Northall Rd (in the vicinity of a known nesting building), after which no more were seen.
Using data posted to londonbirders.fandom.com/wiki/April_2024
the first Swift seen over London was at the London Wetland Centre on 12th April. There were scattered sightings until 20th April when one was at Rainham Marshes, over the river from Crayford Marshes. Conrad Ellam saw 2 over Southmere Lake on April 21st, with more than 20 at Rainham the same day, 40+here on 23/4 and 100 on 27/4.
2 Swifts were seen from Erith Pier by Tim Rymer on 28/4. There are at least two nest sites nearby, one on Manor Rd. A swift was reported over a known Lewisham nesting area on 29/4 on the Lewisham Swifts Facebook page.
Previous first sightings for the Barnehurst colony were:
2023 - 2/5. My first check of the year so they may have arrived earlier. One reported at Crossness 28/4
2022 -8/5 (checked from 28/4)
2021 - 6/5 (had last checked 3/5)
2020 - 2/5 (first date checked)
2019 - didn't monitor
2018 - 7/5 (had checked every evening starting 1/5)
2017 - 4/5 (no prior daily checks)
2016 - 4/5 (no prior daily checks)
2015 - 6/5 (no prior daily checks)
Worryingly, despite a few visits, no Swifts were seen at two of the very small colonies in Bexley during 2023. One was seen flying away from the Mill Rd (North Heath) site one evening, but that was it, and none were at Silverdale Rd (Bexleyheath. Although the adults may have died, there should still be juveniles out there that were hatched at these locations, so they will be checked again this season.
Chris Rose
Crossness River Action Group's latest haul .......www.facebook.com/groups/crossnessriveraction/posts/1141568633854019/
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Category Archives: Thames21
‘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
QWAG members enjoy ‘back to nature’ experience at Thames Road Wetland
Seven members of the Quaggy Waterways Action Group, a river restoration organisation, and the Secretary of Friends of Sutcliffe Park, all from Lewisham, visited Thames Road Wetland on Saturday July 18th to learn more about the possibilities for enhancing wetland in … Continue reading
‘Conservation grazing’ at Thames Road Wetland
It’s been a while since the local ponies were on the site when I was around, but last week (June 23rd) I was intently studying the spread of the rare Brookweed when there was a quiet rustling right behind me. … Continue reading
A Fond Farewell to St Paul’s Academy after three years loyal service with Thames21
Michael Heath writes of the latest session with St Paul’s Academy on the River Cray Project in his Thames21 blog. Posted on June 24, 2015 Dear All The team rallied to my request to help the event at Erith with … Continue reading
Posted in River Cray, Thames21
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Spring into summer at Thames Road Wetland
Things were hotting up at Thames Road Wetland on Tuesday (June 16th). Reed Bunting bred on site in 2013, but last year the male seemed to spend most of the summer singing, with no apparent success. Now he is back … Continue reading
Thames Road Wetland management work latest
I managed to squeeze in about four and a half hours of work at Thames Road Wetland on Tuesday June 9th, though I was unable to get there until 17.45, by which time it was predominantly cloudy with only the … Continue reading
Friends of the Shuttle takes another step forward
Friends of the Shuttle was set up on the 9 May 2013 to protect and enhance the ecology and biodiversity of the River Shuttle. This was made possible thanks to very generous financial help from Thames 21 which enabled the group to buy … Continue reading
Cray Riverkeepers to launch boat blitz on lower Cray wash-out litter problem
As previously reported on BW, the lower Cray beyond Maiden Lane bridge is suffering from the large amounts of litter that gets washed into it as a result of the bankside undergrowth in which it was trapped dying back during … Continue reading
Posted in Cray Riverkeepers, Environment, Fish, Litter, River Cray, River Thames, Rivers, Thames21, Volunteering
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Thames21 River Cray Project announces forthcoming events
Michael Heath, River Cray Project Officer for Thames21, has published the following series of events. To get involved or for more information, contact him at michael.heath@thames21.org.uk or ph: 07968 805751. Events during March Thursday 5th March 2015 Assessment and repairs to the damaged … Continue reading
The River Cray project helps deliver Thames foreshore clean-up
Last week’s event at Erith (Feb 19th) in support of the Thames River watch Big Count clean-up was a great success for the Cray project thanks to all those attending and the team from the Erith Depot of Select Plant … Continue reading