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: Uncategorized
Bexley Natural Environment Forum responds to Parks and open Spaces consult
Whilst Bexley Council’s consultation on the value and use of our parks and open spaces was primarily aimed at individual residents, Bexley Natural Environment Forum has taken the opportunity to submit a group response (below), addressing the issues of management … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged BAP, Bexley Council, Bexley nature, Bexley parks and open spaces consultation, Bexley wildlife
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Bexley RSPB walk report – Foots Cray Meadows – Upper College Farm – Five Arches, Tuesday 20th March 2018
Kingfisher, Skylark and an unusual concentration of Jays were highlights of this post-snow walk to the west of Bexley village. Full report from Ralph and Brenda Todd: Download the PDF file .
Posted in Bird watching, Uncategorized
Tagged Foots Cray Meadows, Jay, Kingfisher, Little Egret, Skylark, Upper College Farm
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Deadline for ‘London Plan’ responses is 2nd March. Here are suggestions for comments.
The Mayor’s London Plan sets out the framework within which Boroughs are supposed to operate. It is a driver for Bexley’s massive proposed increase in house-building, ‘densification’ and further loss of green space, including designated wildlife sites – though in … Continue reading
Free public lecture series on fungi
The Birkbeck College, University of London, Free Lecture Series this Spring is on fungi. The college is close to tube stations. The programme may be of interest to some followers of ‘Bexley Wildlife’, so details are provided below: The World … Continue reading
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Bexley RSPB’s 19th September Crayford Marshes bird walk report
Avocet, Wheatear and Marsh Harrier were amongst the species seen on this well-attended Crayford Marshes bird walk organised by Bexley RSPB, a report of which appears below, thanks to leader Ralph Todd. Download the PDF file .
Posted in Bird watching, Uncategorized
Tagged Avocet, Crayford Marshes, Marsh Harrier, Roxhill railfreight depot, Wheatear
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‘Birds and us’ – free lecture series, Birkbeck, University of London
The following free lectures, organised by the Ecology and Conservation Studies Society, covering bird conservation, research on birds and birds in human culture, may be of interest to ‘Bexley Wildlife’ followers. They are being held at Birkbeck, University of London, across … Continue reading
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Cory/Borax fields found to be of regional, possibly national, importance for invertebrates (post outline planning permission …..). Campaigner pressure appears to be paying dividends.
Further wildlife survey work, required by Bexley Council as part of its granting of outline planning permission for the building by Cory of large data centres on open fields next to Crossness Nature Reserve, has revealed them to be of … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley Council, BNEF, Crossness, Crossness Nature Reserve, Demonstration, development threat, Erith Marshes, Uncategorized
Tagged Bexley Council, Bexley Council planning committee, Bexley Natural Environment Forum, Borax, Cory, Cory/Borax fields, Crossness, Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve, invertebrates, open mosaic habitat, planning, Shrill Carder Bee, Thames Gateway
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Bexley ‘Growth Strategy’ claims sustainability but knows no bounds. Suggestions for comments. Deadline (now changed to) Friday 28th July 5p.m.
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 28th JULY – so you might now be able to read it and comment. You don’t have to say something about every aspect, but just the ones that bother you the most. The more people criticise various … Continue reading
Bexley Council plans by-pass across Crayford Marshes. Proposal buried in 117 page ‘Growth Strategy’. More potential damage to SSSI contender. Relevant to, but not mentioned at railfreight depot planning meeting.
Bexley Council is proposing further major damage to one of the Borough’s best wildlife areas, one that is of London-wide and potentially national importance and has often been mentioned as a potential Site of Special Scientific Interest. Detailed examination of … Continue reading
Dragonfly and damselfly survey events in Bexley – no previous experience needed to get involved!
As part of its Water for Wildlife programme, London Wildlife Trust is surveying a number of sites from July into September 2017 to record Dragonfly and Damselfly species and numbers . No particular prior knowledge is required to join in. … Continue reading