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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: River Thames
Seals take shine to Bexley foreshore
Repeated observations hint at rise in numbers on our ‘coast’. Ralph Todd writes: Occasional sightings of seals are reported from the Thames, though I haven’t seen much sign until recently. One of my local birding walks is Crayford Marshes and … Continue reading
Posted in Crayford Marshes, Mammals, Recording, River Thames, Rivers
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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 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
Swanscombe marshes threatened by ‘theme park’ bulldozers
Peter Beckenham of Braeburn Park/LWT fame has asked us to put up something about the Swanscombe marshes/peninsula, which we have in fact been meaning to do for some time. What does this have to do with Bexley? Well, the Swanscombe … 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
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
FotS cleans Shuttle and Wyncham in rain and wake of Council’s ‘extreme maintenance’
At FotS’ latest litter pick yesterday [Thursday 26th Feb] along the Hollyoak Wood section of the Shuttle and the adjoining Wyncham stream, volunteers worked stoically in pouring rain to extract 16 bags of rubbish, two safes and assorted bits of … Continue reading
Provisional checklist and account of Bexley mammals published at ‘Bexley Wildlife’ website
Mammals as a group are poorly recorded in London and their distribution is not well understood, partly because many species are small and largely nocturnal. Information about the status of mammal species in Bexley is limited and widely scattered. In … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley, Biodiversity Action Plan, Bursted Woods, Crayford Marshes, Crossness, Danson Park, East Wickham Open Space, Erith Marshes, Erith Quarry, Extinction, Foots Cray Meadows, Friends of the Shuttle, Gardens, Hall Place, Harvest Mouse, London Wildlife Trust, Mammals, Martens Grove, Recording, River Cray, River Shuttle, River Thames, Ruxley Gravel Pits, Thamesmead, Woodlands Farm, Wyncham Stream
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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