On my way to the Bexley Park Woods event meeting point yesterday (March 12th) there was a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly on the Shuttle riverbank just to the west of the tree line. Afterwards another was seen by the river at Riverdale Road, and 2 more just upstream of Penhill Road. This fits with nationwide intel that suggests the species may be making a modest recovery in the south after its major population crash. It also emphasises the importance of retaining the beds of nettles, on which the caterpillars feed, in these locations.
I was actually on the lookout for any more Mistletoe to add to the three plants on Poplar at the west edge of Bexley Park Woods that I only noticed some weeks ago. And lo and behold , there were four more in Hollyoak Wood Park – two on a Poplar by gardens near the west entrance, and one on each of two adjacent Poplar trees by gardens on the northern margin of this open space (of which one was a female with some berries still present).
Poplars hosting two of the four Mistletoe plants at Hollyoak Wood Park (Photo: Chris Rose)
Mistletoe is an obligate hemiparasite. This means it can manufacture some of its own food, but cannot survive independently of a host tree. It is infrequent in London and therefore the subject of a Species Action Plan. The Poplars it is found on in Bexley (including by Maiden Lane and at Thames Road Wetland in Barnes Cray) are ‘normal’-looking trees, and it does not occur on the columnar type of Poplars found elsewhere along the Shuttle.
A couple of Grey Wagtails were seen on the Shuttle at the west end of Marlborough Park. Interestingly I spotted 10 Redwing on the grass amongst the trees between Burnt Oak Lane and Sidcup Golf Course. This species is a winter visitor to the UK from Scandinavia but there have been very few this year due to the mild conditions.
The newish pond at Parish Wood park had large amounts of frogspawn in it, and paired Frogs. Much soft croaking could be heard from amongst the Reedmace bed.
The pond at Parish Wood Park – an example of a good piece of work for wildlife by Bexley Council and others. (Photo: Chris Rose).
On the way home Arum italicum subsp. italicum‘Marmoratum’, a non-native relative of our Lords and Ladies/Cuckoo Pint was spotted part hidden amongst trees by the Shuttle opposite Love Lane allotments. It seems likely it got there as a seed.
Alien Aroid – a clump of Arum italicum subsp. italicum ‘Marmoratum’ has established itself by the Shuttle. (Photo: Chris Rose)
Chris Rose.