Restoration Works at Beddington Farmlands

Well, I'm very glad that the RSPB are coming on Monday because the restoration works at Beddington could do with a top expert opinion. The bottom photo shows the 'finished' lake. Well, I am no expert.

However I do think that big business could benefit greatly from bodies like the RSPB and WWT. These expert conservation bodies could advise and oversee development mitigation programmes such as the one at Beddington . Experience has taught us at Beddington that our big business could do with a helping hand to get things right.
Had a walk round this afternoon- 100+ Teal, 30+ Shoveler, 4 Pochard, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Kestrel. Pretty damn quiet.

BEDDINGTON FARMLANDS AND THE HACKBRIDGE PROJECT MISSION UPDATE

Okay, thought I would do a quick update.
The mission is to help develop Beddington Farmlands into a major urban nature reserve and integrate that into the Hackbridge Project- which is a high profile environmental project aiming to create the UK's first sustainable village.

If all goes to plan things should develop into a forward thinking socio-environmental community in these parts. I hope so anyway, cuz at the moment its literally a dump.

So far, we've reformed the Beddington Farmlands Bird Group and the RSPB are coming on Monday to see how they can help out. Just got back from a Hackbridge Community Action Group meeting and there was talk about some more wildlife gardening and tree planting programmes- also talk about funding for it! The people behind the famous Bed-zed project were there tonight too. Also our band, thee Bryans is hoping to be part of the scene, hoping to get local musicians on board and then perform at carnivals and local events and mini-festivals.

It's all good stuff- social/environmental experimentation. Hoping to change our own world.

GLAUCOUS GULL FROM THE OBS WINDOW- BEDDINGTON FARMLANDS

Just had one of the first winter Glaucous Gulls fly past the window.

Glaucous Gulls at Beddington Farmlands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcIuG_yiUnA&feature=player_embedded

I missed two Glaucous Gulls on the farm today. This is what I missed (by Dodge).

Essex weekend

Two things about this weekend. 1) it was dead (as was a Glaucous Gull that we found- now in my freezer), 2) it was one of the coldest times of my life.

The Slavonian Grebe was still on Vange Wick and there was also a plastic Red-breasted Goose there.

Looking good for the spring.

Photos top to bottom: Little Egret, Mediterranean Gull and Red-breasted Goose .

Mini-Malta

I've got a gun problem. One of the residents down stairs has got an air rifle and shooting my birds on the communal bird feeder. See link: http://peteralfreybirdingnotebook.blogspot.com/2010/01/beddington-farmlands-observatory.html

I am from a hunting family, my mum comes from Malta (pic: Maltese hunter), so it's a familar problem but not one I was expecting to have to deal with in Hackbridge.

Mmmmm..... interesting development.

LITTLE OAK

Trying to get more grounds management jobs at work so we can get more into creating pro-nature garden environments. Got a stab at a pretty big contract but it arrived just before I went away which meant I had only two days to tendor for it. Spent the first half of today feeling good that I got the tendor completed and in by the deadline and the other half pleading with the company if I could get it back and amend it realising that in my haste I had made a fundamental error.... I explained that out of the 14 days I had to work it out I had spent 12 looking for Lynxes and Larid and two doing the tendor so mistakes were bound to happen. Luckily he understood and I got it out of the safe and switched the bad one over for the good one- fingers crossed. Hopefully the start of some really interesting work.