The calling Cuckoo reported at Crossness by a number of BexleyWildlife readers has now been photographed and appears in this week’s News Shopper.
http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/11237633.Rare_sighting_of_cuckoo_in_Erith_Marshes/
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Friends of the Cray at Crayford, Friday 6th March.Clearing litter along the river, downstream of Crayford town centre, before the vegetation gets going again and hides it in the undergrowth.
Meet junction of Barnes Cray Rd and Footpath 106, 10 a.m.
Wear work clothes and bring any refreshments required.
Native Daffodil season underway at Lesnes ...........www.facebook.com/lesnesabbey/posts/pfbid0fkHcv1FKyNY2UTSKw2TyCMk9BXBJGfAP56tMPj9w9HqyQCptStki3ZWU...
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NEXT THAMES ROAD WETLAND STAFF-SUPPORTED HABITAT MANAGEMENT SESSION - Friday 13th March.Book here: book.plinth.org.uk/e/LFbuahHJmCpxSAcd1D3J
Samantha Dhedhi will be back with the van full of equipment for one last 'big bang' winter period event ahead of the nesting season for Reedbed birds. This will focus on cutting more stands of dead Reed stems and removing previously cut material. This will enable us to quickly and easily access and cut down re-growth with a handful of people later in the year, keeping some areas of water open for Dragonflies, Damselflies and other species.
No particular skills needed. Kit and basic refreshments provided. Loos nearby.
The predicted rain held off for our previous staffed session on 13th February, and we had 8 volunteers who did 31 person-hours 49m work (thanks to Rowan, Ashton, Ian W, Jim S, Tom B, Pamela Z and myself, all of whom have been before, plus wholly new person
Alex).
Sam was joined by Simon Phillips (Head of Engagement and Learning at Thames21 HQ) and they put in 8h 30m of staff time onsite.
Jim shifted one of the piles of cut Reed opposite the 'crap trap' and
spread the material over the Cray end Nettle beds which will soon grow up and hide it. Ian and Ashton did more ditch clearance work. Everyone else re-pollarded some of the Sallows in shallow water at the sewer bank end of the lake to keep two sides of it reasonably open and make it easier for wintering ducks to fly in and out, as well as to reduce sumer drying of this area. Most branches hanging over open water at a low angle are left as potential Willow Emerald Damselfly egg-laying sites.
Four more Mottled Shieldbugs were found, making six in the last couple of months, this time under the bark of a fire-damaged Elder. A Cormorant flew over. As did 2 Canada Geese. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard. There were at least 2 Cetti's Warblers on the site and 3 Water Rails. A Water Vole latrine and feeding station were found. Jelly Ear fungus was growing on another Elder. Some early Blackthorn flowers were out.
Chris Rose. Volunteer Site Manager.
BEE SURVEYS KICK OFF AGAIN AT WOODLANDS FARM, SHOOTERS HILL.We'll soon be starting our monthly Bee walks/surveys again. The dates for the first 3 walks of the year are as below. They will all start at 2pm. Please let me know if you will be able to attend.
Monday 16th March
Monday 13th April
Monday 11th May
We hope to see you then.
Hannah Ricketts, Education Officer
<education@thewoodlandsfarmtrust.org>
The Woodlands Farm Trust
331 Shooters Hill
Welling
Kent
DA16 3RP
Tel: 020 8319 8900
NORTH WEST KENT COUNTRYSIDE PARTNERSHIP look after the churchyard at St. Mary's, Old Bexley, with wildlife conservation in mind. Their next session there is:Wednesday 11th March. Meet 10 a.m. St Mary’s Churchyard, Manor Road, Bexley, DA5 3LY (black gates at end of Manor Road, there is limited parking on site).
We will be moving piles of wood chip onto the paths and maintaining pathway access by selectively cutting back vegetation.
Led by: Lucy Sawyer-Boyd (07809334071)
There are no facilities on site. Please enquiry with Lucy as to whether she can provide a lift from Hall Place or not.
goo.gl/maps/2Czb3X9qMs6KcPLg9
What3words: Meeting point = ///sheep.buzz.codes
Entrance gate = ///sushi.mole.washed
Any volunteers who plan to meet us on site should let the member of staff leading the task know as soon as possible so that they can pack the correct number of tools and inform them of any task changes/delays that may occur.
Please remember to bring with you; suitable clothes for the weather conditions, a packed lunch and suitable footwear (we insist working boots with steel toecap and mid sole are worn at all times to comply with health and safety and insurance considerations). We will supply all other equipment, gloves and safety equipment and also hot drinks and biscuits throughout the day.
Each project will be led by a NWKCP member of staff who will be more than happy to answer any questions that you have throughout the day. A health and safety talk will also be given at the beginning of each project.
We write a risk assessment for each task day, and a copy of this will be brought to the site and available for you to read if you wish.
51°26'24.4"N 0°09'16.5"E · 51.440111, 0.154583
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