Sallow/Poplar Kitten

Sallow/Poplar Kitten  

Sallow/Poplar Kitten - a first for Beddington Farmlands 

Green Carpet- first for the year. Not a particularly good moth year with lots of cold nights 

Grass



Recent highlight was a Sallow/Poplar Kitten which is a first for the farmlands.
Also been doing some grass as part of the Beddington Bioblitz- I reckon I've identified Meadow Foxtail, Hairy Brome and Flase Oat Grass with the help of the FSC Guide to common grasses- the FSC guides are the best way to get started on some of these difficult groups.

Red-rumped Swallow

 

Red-rumped Swallow 

Hobby- launched several attacks on the hirundines today

A few pics of todays Red-rumped Swallow.

Some better ones here:

http://www.birdingetc.com/2013/05/second-chance.html

Thanks to finder Jason Simpson and for Devil Birder for getting the news out.

The 4th Beddington record following birds in 1999, 2003 and one a few weeks ago.

TELL BORIS

The Incinerator 

Views of Beddington Restoration Area - Beddington Farmlands is being developed into a 400 acre nature reserve within the heartland of the proposed Wandle Valley Regional Park. The incinerator will cause an absolute change in character of the Regional park, will be built on wet grassland habitat and is contrary to earlier obligations made by Viridor to restore the area to a nature reserve when they were given permission to landfill in this ecologically important area

Lapwings- the incinerator is being built on wet grassland habitat where this important relict population breed

Tree Sparrows- numbers have recently crashed ahead of prepartions to build the incinerator

If you dissapprove of the local council decision to build an incinerator at Beddington Farmlands please email Boris:
 mayor@london.gov.uk
Please include your name and address and reasons for objection including inappropriate development on protected land and conflict with London Plan and Sutton Planning policies.
The scale of opposition is a critical factor when the GLA consider this application so every registered objection is important.
More on the background to this here: http://peteralfreybirdingnotebook.blogspot.co.uk/p/whats-it-all-about.html

WASP

Here's a song about a Wasp
By our e-minstrels
Thee Bryans
www.theebryans.com

May Weekend

Here's a few highlights from this weekend. Was hoping to go for the Dusky Thrush but I couldn't blow my mate out again after I had to dissappear last weekend when the Red-rumped Swallow turned up at Beddington- which I dipped anyway. All pics Beddington Farmlands except the last two from Richmond Park.

Lapwing on 100 acre. Six to seven pairs this year with the first chicks recently 

Pink-footed Goose- presumably from one of the London collections as the bird was sporting a dark plastic ring 

Pink-footed Goose- looking a bit tattered 

The Mute Swan chicks on the Southern Lake hatched this morning. Here they are getting escorted to the water for the first time 

Ringed Plover flying round 100 acre yesterday- also a Greenshank yesterday but not too many other migrants 

Scorpion Fly Panorpa germanica- see Tim Worfolk's id aid here:  http://thetopshamnaturalist.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/scorpion-flies.html

Sepsidae sp- charcteristically walking around vegetation flashing it's wings 

Isabella Plantation Richmond Park 

Isabella Plantation Richmond Park- Azaleas and Rhododendrons are out during May. Also some interesting bog garden, reed beds and other wildlife habitats being created in the Plantation

Incinerator at Beddington Farmlands

The Incinerator is going to become part of this view

The scale of the local opposition is critical in the consideration from the Mayor of London and if over 1000 emails of objection are recieved to the Mayor's Office then a clear indication of local opposition will be logged and will be considered.

Please log your objection with your name and postal address to:
mayor@london.gov.uk

Account from Local Sustainable Development Company Bioregional:

http://www.bioregional.com/blog/energy-from-waste-let-down-by-the-planning-system/

Local Supremacy

Despite a reasoned, balanced and helpful approach in this recent planning matter regarding the ERF at Beddington Farmlands the local social/environmentalists have been more or less completely and totally ignored. Will see if there is anything real and robust about our local democracy at Stage 2 with the mayor and GLA.

Well there should be enough policies in the planning system to achieve a balance to overcome a supremacy of a biased and weak local council and presumably nobbled planning officers. If the planning system itself cannot achieve a balance then some kind of external input will presumably be necessary. One way or another hopefully we will get there.

ERF approval

The ERF got approval tonight. Lib Dem councillors who are in local power, have a majority on the board and their party commissioned the ERF through the South London Waste Plan all voted for and the two Conservative councillors who were presumably looking to gain local political capital voted agaisnt. The planning report recommendations were compiled by two freelance planning consultants . There never was much hope at this stage for a non-bias decision but the final stage in the application is now with the Mayor and the GLA who should have a more far-reaching view and wider objectives than the locals. At the end of the day this is in the interests of Viridor for the ERF to be percieved in the longer term as an enabling development of social and environmental improvement  so that they can replicate the technology elsewhere. We will see if the Mayor and the GLA will balance some of the conflicts better.

Local paper account: http://www.suttonguardian.co.uk/archive/2013/05/15/News_Croydon+%28news%29/10422261.Incinerator_granted_planning_permission/

Inside Croydon account: http://insidecroydon.com/2013/05/16/ashes-to-ashes-only-boris-can-stop-viridor-incinerator-now/

Recent Restoration

Work to the Northern Lake outlet 

Water control on the Southern Lake

Works have been underway recently on the Lakes and also on the Wet Grassland habitat. Spent some time in the last couple of days on survey work on the habitat in the South-east Corner with Phil and Derek yesterday and green space mapping with Claire from Groundwork today.

Quite a few hirundines about and Lapwings seem to be doing pretty well. Looks like it is going to be an awful year for Tree Sparrows.

Its the DCC meeting tonight to decide on the Beddington Farmlands ERF.

Here a link to some stuff we are doing on the bridge:

http://www.suttonguardian.co.uk/news/10421907.Hackbridge_youngsters_discover_insects_for_a__life_beyond_Playstation_/?ref=rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Beddington Farmlands Future

Here's a couple of links to projects similar to Beddington Farmlands which are nearing completion in the UK:

CBBC newsround: Watch David Attenborough opening a wildlife park on a rubbish tip www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/22517416

RSPB new urban nature reserve focused on people and wildlife:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/s/staidans/about.aspx
http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=3785

It's a critical week for the farmlands as the decision for the ERF goes back to committee tomorrow night.

Wild Sounds

Playing around with recordings on Sound Cloud. When I need a break from all this blinking nature recording and conservation stuff I mess about making music in my virtual band thee Bryans- an imaginary group of Socioenviron-minstrels. Working very slowly on putting together a CD and book and then hoping to do an exhibition or two. Here's the facebook page : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thee-Bryans/67571634534
Here's a sample.

Daddy Long Legs (Play track below)

This track is about early experiences with Nature: 

Tree Sparrow with Lesser Whitethroat, Beddington Farmlands

Sounds of our local speciality (click on link)

Tree Sparrow and Lesser Whitethroat, Beddington Farmlands

Prevailing May Day

Male Barn Swallow 

House Martin 

Common Swift 

Adela reaumurella - first one I've seen this year

Helophilus pendulus - note the striped thorax also (click on to enlarge) the first two long veins in the wing reach the wing margin, the third long vein has a deep U-shaped bend and anterior cross vein is near the middle of the discal cell

#### knows!? Click on to enlarge and see some of the bristles and details- complex creature

 

Prevailing weather conditions (or so called) today which usually means that most migration lines drift to the east of us reducing migrant numbers. However seemed to be quite a few Swallows around and the Swift numbers have increased in the last few days to about 80-100. A couple of House Martins too which could be the local birds - a relict population of a once healthy Hackbridge colony. In these kind of weather conditions the hirundines hawk low over the water where presumably the entomolgy is concentrating.

Noticed that the flies were being obliging in these rather cool conditions and many were sunning themselves on the brambles and posing for photos.

Frosted Green

Frosted Green

 

Caught this yesterday night- another first record for Beddington.

Also a few Knot Grass, Oak Hook-tip, still the odd Common Quaker, a few Eriocrania subpurpurella and a couple of Nut-tree Tussocks.

Forecasted to get a bit cooler in the evenings so the moth catch will probably reduce.

Roger had a good day yesterday on the farm:

http://dodge007.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/black-tern-arctic-tern-pom-skua-dunlin.html

The Green, Hackbridge

Here's the results of some of the planting we've done on one of the Beddington Farmlands to River Wandle green corridors.

Planting in progress here.

Banking ticks Holiday

Iron Prominent- a few moths in the trap in recent evenings 

Eriocrania subpurpurella

Willow Flea Beetle 

Rhopalus subrufus

In between some family stuff been bugrying about catching insects while the weather is warm and sunny. Certainly plenty about and my Beddington pan-species list is now on 906. I am aiming for the 1000 as a local patch milestone.

Planted some sunflowers in the hide field yesterday so will see what comes up.

Alright for birds yesterday too with 1 Red Kite, 2 Buzzard, 50+ Swallow, 10+ Reed Warbler, 1 Greenshank and 2 Common Sandpiper.

More on pan-species stuff here: http://peteralfrey.blogspot.co.uk/

Beddington Big Day

Whimbrel- bird of the day 

Swallows- a few tens coming down during the rain storms 

Powdered Quaker- a first for Beddington 

Orange Tip on Red Dead Nettle 

Cuckoo Bee sp

Big Day BBQ

 

Today we had our annual Bird group bird race day and notched up a modest 68 species. Bird of the day was Whimbrel with Lesser pecker and Hobby (first for the year) as other highlights. There was a Greenshank and Common Sand around, a couple of Buzzard over, about 40+ Swallow, 5 Swift and a Garden Warbler too. Noteable ommissions were Chaffinch, Yellow Wagtail, Mistle Thrush, LRP and Peregrine .

Hot Dogs came in during the early afternoon.