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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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Category Archives: Raptors
Harvest Mice – first images of this London rarity in Bexley
Nests of of Harvest Mice (Micronomys minutus) , the UK’s smallest rodent, were first found at Thames Road Wetland in 2014, when 7 were discovered in the course of vegetation management work. None were located in 2015, but another three … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley, Biodiversity Action Plan, Harvest Mouse, Mammals, Raptors, Recording, Reedbeds, SINC, Thames Road Wetland, Thames21
Tagged Bexley, Biodiversity Action Plan, Brown Rat, Harvest Mouse, Micronomys minutus, Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, Thames Road Wetland, Thames21, trail camera, Wood Mouse
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Absence makes the heart grow fonder – Little Egret shows up at Thames Road Wetland
The first Little Egret ‘on the deck’ at Thames Road Wetland since winter 2014/15 was seen in the ‘west pool’ on the 30th March. This apparent absence (though for much of the time the site is unmonitored) is perplexing given … Continue reading
81 bird species recorded in Bexley on October 2nd
Sightings by Ian Stewart and Eric Brown, noted on the London Bird Club wiki, reveal a wealth of avifauna across the Borough’s open spaces as a one-day total of 81 bird species is achieved. How much higher might the 24 … Continue reading
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
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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Crossness Kestrels star on Newsshopper website
The pair of Kestrels breeding at Crossness, which recently featured on ‘BW’, have now made it onto the News Shopper website, complete with further fabulous photos taken by Richard Spink, following some media work by Site Manager Karen Sutton. http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/13354210.PICTURED__Kestrels_have_returned_to_Crossness_nature_reserve__Bexley/ It’s … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley, Bird watching, Crossness Nature Reserve, Raptors
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Some Shuttle wildlife observations, June 4th – another Hairy Dragonfly range expansion?
Call it a bit mercenary, but I helped out on the BETHs stretch clean-up so I could cover a part of the river I’d not done before for the Water Vole survey I’m leading, without having to make special arrangements … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley, Bexley Woods, Bird watching, Butterflies, Crossness, Dragonflies and Damselflies, Friends of the Shuttle, Hollyoak Wood Park, Lamorbey, Marlborough Park, Parish Wood Park, Parks, Plants in Bexley, Raptors, Recording, Reptiles and Amphibians, River Shuttle, Rivers, Sidcup Golf Course, Uncategorized, vegetation management
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Kestrel pair caught on camera at Crossness des res
Site manager Karen Sutton writes: Kestrels have returned to breed once again at Crossness! A pair bred in 2010 in the upper compartment of a Barn Owl nest box. Barn owls were breeding in the main compartment, whilst Kestrels took … Continue reading
Posted in Bird watching, Crossness, Crossness Nature Reserve, Erith Marshes, Raptors
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Bexley RSPB see wealth of birdlife at threatened Swanscombe marshes
RSPB Bexley Group, Field trip to Swanscombe Marshes. Report by Ralph and Brenda Todd Saturday 2nd May 2015. Yet another dull, cool, windy morning but that didn’t deter 15 members joining Brenda and I and our relief guide Andy Lawson … Continue reading
Big turnout at Crossness bird walk on good day for raptor sightings
Crossness Reserve Manager Karen Sutton writes: 32 attendees braved the cold and wind today (March 21st), to join the Bexley RSPB Crossness Nature Reserve bird trip. The trip was led by Stuart Banks and George Kalli. Included among attendees were … Continue reading