Fledged kestrel on St. Peter’s Church next to Cox’s Walk (Daniel Greenwood)
In this issue: Volunteers enhance containers Bumper spring for bats Wildlife sightings Kestrels return Contact Daniel Greenwood dgreenwood@wildlondon.org.uk 0207 252 9186 www.twitter.com/wildlondon_SHW www.facebook.com/sydenhamhillwood
Protecting London’s wildlife for the future
Registered Charity Number: 283895
Dawn chorus a hoot for all The annual dawn chorus walk may have been a cloudy affair but it was not short on drama. 42 members of the public attended 2015’s walk and were treated to unrivalled views of a hunting tawny owl as it crashed into an ivy covered oak tree, to the horror of nearby nuthatches. We were treated to stunning views of a song thrush perched low on a trunk, projecting its song into the surrounding woodland of oak, holly and hornbeam. We received a number of emails from very satisfied attendees and would like to take this chance to thank the members of the public who rose in the wee hours to attend the walk. It would not have been as enjoyable without your company and passion for wildlife. Our walks will continue through the year. Here’s to a good year for our wildlife.
Tawny owl (DG)
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Leisler’s bat (DG)
Wildlife sightings Buzzards made their presence felt this spring and struck fear into other hawks On the 12th February mining bees were excavating nest holes and on 11th March wild primrose was in flower. Early bumblebee was observed on 12th when a blackbird was heard singing, an amphibian survey later that evening recorded palmate/smooth newt and six common frog, two of which were mating. Bats were also active, hunting over the Dewy Pond. On the 18th kestrels were mating on the St. Peter’s church spire and a common carder bee was on the wing. Scarlet elf cup was fruiting on the 19th. On the 25th there was lots of frogspawn in the Dewy Pond and wood anemone and red campion were flowering. Chiffchaff was singing on 8th April, when peacock and comma butterflies were seen along with tree, common carder and white tailed bumblebees. Jackdaws were also active again near to their 2014 nest site. Blackcap was singing on 12th, whilst speckled wood, holly blue, orange tip and brimstone butterflies were flying, as well as buff tailed bumblebee. A buzzard was seen on the 15th, red tailed bumblebees were active on the 21st. On the 23rd a bat roost survey was undertaken and Leisler’s bat and soprano pipistrelle were recorded, as well as hornet and a pair of buzzard mobbed high over the glade by a pair of sparrowhawk, when red admiral butterfly was seen for the first time, as well as small and large white. An amphibian survey on the evening of the 23rd recorded five common frog, and more than thirty newts (six male and seven female smooth, as well as one juvenile identified), and tawny owl was heard calling. Another owl was seen hunting during the annual dawn chorus walk on 2 nd May. A cuckoo was heard on the 5th, matching the same date as 2014, another was heard a few weeks later. A treecreeper was seen on the 10th when a colony of honey bees swarmed. Large red damselfly was active on the 13th. Chicken-ofthe-woods was fruiting on the 14th when a juvenile robin was seen. A bat transect on the 18th recorded common and soprano pipistrelle and Leisler’s bats, and a fox. Chaffinches were nest building on the 20th. Bugle was flowering on the 21st. A young great spotted woodpecker was found on the 28th by the path.
Trust condemns garden bridge
London Wildlife Trust has condemned the Garden Bridge, proposed as a pedestrian link over the River Thames, as having little value for Londoners or their access to nature. The bridge, designed to span the River Thames and link Temple with the South Bank, is destined to cost £175m, of which £60m will come from public funds pledged by City Hall and the Treasury. Initially conceived by the actress Joanna Lumley and designed by Thomas Heatherwick, construction has been approved by Lambeth Council, Westminster City Council and Mayor Boris Johnson, despite public criticism of the costs and location. According to Mathew Frith, Director of Policy & Planning at London Wildlife Trust, there is no need for the Garden Bridge: “Londoners didn’t call for it and nature doesn’t need it. The Garden Bridge promises much, but its ecological contribution comes at a cost that is wholly disproportionate to its impact. The only animals likely to use the bridge in any numbers will be pigeons, gulls and cormorants, and the experience of London’s first green bridge at Mile End suggest that a limited suite of plants are likely to cope with the exposed conditions.” “60% of species are in decline across the UK and more and more people are disengaging from the natural world. Meanwhile many of London’s wildlife sites are under threat from declining management budgets and developments. The bridge represents disconnected thinking wholly contrary to the Mayor’s stated ambition.” “£60m of public funding could make a huge difference to the management of our parks and nature reserves across London. Many of our rivers and waterways are polluted; our public woodlands are crying out for better management and most of London’s parks are facing increasing budget cuts. And yet our politicians have chosen to invest taxpayers’ money in a bridge that has little purpose.”
Bats back with a bang Record number of bats discovered during spring roost survey and 170 people turn out for Nunhead Cemetery bat walk
Leisler’s bat (DG)
Spring and summer 2015 was a special time for local bats, with 23 bats discovered during the April roost survey at Sydenham Hill Wood. Bat workers Huma Pearce, Caroline Nash and Ishpi Blatchley volunteered to help London Wildlife Trust survey bats present in the 40 boxes positioned in trees throughout the Wood. Leisler’s bat and soprano pipistrelle were discovered during the survey showing that the boxes continue to support bats in the Wood. We witnessed bats active in February but typically they wake from hibernation in March. Females become pregnant soon after and in May they create a maternity roost, giving birth to one pup in June. The Wood provides excellent habitat for these marvellous animals in its populations of sessile oak trees and large amount of ivy. Ivy can support whole bat roosts and oaks become naturally decrepit meaning that crevices and spaces open up and can be used by bats and other wildlife for shelter.
May saw the opening of the bat walk season, with events taking place at Sydenham Wells Park, Nunhead Cemetery and Sydenham Hill Wood. We were amazed to meet 170 people for our walk at Nunhead Cemetery in partnership with the Friends group. The best news was that everyone present managed to see a bat. There was no shortage of bats to enjoy with common pipistrelle and Britain’s largest bat, the noctule, making appearances. Nunhead Cemetery is a fantastic place for wildlife and is designated as a Local Nature Reserve. The number of attendees meant that Daniel Greenwood, the walk leader, had to be fitted with a microphone and portable speaker. Thankfully this meant that everyone could hear. The annual Sydenham Hill Wood walk attracted 60 attendees and a number of bat species though they were somewhat elusive and did not come too close, probably feeding out of the reach of our bat detectors. In July, Daniel gave a talk at local bookshop Rye Books to raise awareness about bats. A recent poll has discovered worrying attitudes towards bats amongst adults but we are convinced that local people care passionately for these amazing animals.
Nunhead Cemetery bat walk (Kirsty McIver)
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Cleaner, Greener, Safer We have installed green roofs and enhanced our containers with a grant from Southwark Council’s CGS fund
Building the green roofs (DG)
In February and March our volunteers worked with contractors Green ‘’Engineers to build green roofs on our storage containers. Original plans were to remove the containers completely but due to logistical problems in 2014 the plans were altered. This meant that, with extra funding from London Wildlife Trust’s Lost Effra project, rather than replacing the containers we could kit them out with green roofs, a new coat of paint, green walls, a new tool rack inside as well as new tables and chairs for volunteers. Steel gabions and stone were used for drainage rather than timber to deter vandals, and no seed was cast, with the hope that wildflowers in the vicinity would be able to colonise and replicate surrounding plant communities similar to those that flourished after the railway line was closed. Volunteers trained ivy up the wire mesh to allow the containers to merge in completely with their surroundings.
Before
After
Special thanks are due to Dagmar Tolonen, Helen Spring, John Walsh, Charles and Nick Snead, and all our amazing volunteers who worked for over 60 hours towards completing the project.
Bumper kestrel crop For the second consecutive year a pair of kestrels have reared chicks on the St. Peter’s church spire alongside Cox’s Walk
Kestrels (DG)
Devoted London Wildlife Trust volunteer Sarah Robinson has ‘’been keeping a close eye on the kestrels that can often be seen roosting on the St. Peter’s Church spire next to Cox’s Walk, now known as the Deeper Life Bible Church. The kestrels were seen mating as early as March and then again in April so we knew that there was a chance of a new clutch of young. In June, Sarah saw the first sign of an adult kestrel bringing food back to the church to feed young, and what ensued will live long in the memory: four chicks eventually fledged, though they didn’t travel far from their home at first, spending a few weeks on nearby rooftops and hunting on nearby playing fields. Keep an eye out for them this autumn.
Painting the containers (DG)