REJECTION OF OUR COMMUNITY PROJECTS BY VIRIDOR COMMUNITY FUND

Inside Croydon tells the story here:

INSIDE CROYDON

and a few pictures of examples of the projects that have been rejected:

Summer Time in Oxfordshire

I truly cannot express in words or song how wonderful it is to get out of Beddington! 

 Forester and Common Spotted Orchid - Bernwood Meadows

 Four-spot Chaser - Otmoor

 Green-winged Orchid- Bernwood Meadow 

Cheloisa sp?

Eyebright

 Green-winged Orchids at Bernwood Meadows a couple of weeks ago 

 Same view today- now covered in Meadow Buttercups and Yellow Rattle and lots more Common Spotted Orchids 

 Bernwood Meadows- awash with Yellow Rattle, Green-winged and Common Spotted Orchids

Common Blues

Glyphipterix fuscoviridella (probably)- Cheers Billy again! 

Lady's Smock 

 Marbled Coronet from the Old Vicarage trap last night 

 Fallow Deer- about 15 or so again in the field near Holly's. This whole area is literally magical!

Now back to the unfolding WAR. 

INSIDE CROYDON ARTICLE

I'm in the local media again. Not sure how long I'm going to last at Beddington?

INSIDE CROYDON ARTICLE

Closer and closer

Spotted Flycatcher returns to the Old Vicarage

Great to see that Spotted Flycatcher has returned to Holly's garden this year. I only saw one today but hopefully a pair will return. There's a lot of territories in the garden including 2 Goldcrest and 1 Coal Tit with Mistle Thrush nearby. Already seen Song Thrush fledglings. 

The bioblitz continues with a few new moth additions and also working my way through the plants as they come into flower.

We also continued with the garden works in the week (unfortunately didn't upset the moody Russian neighbour again this time despite our best efforts to wind her up)  and did some additional tree work and also removed the conifers stumps between the wild area and the lawn. It will now be possible to get the mower and ride on equipment in. Next stage is getting in a landscape designer to finalise the plan- hopefully including a large area of wildflower meadow. 

More on all this here: THE OLD VICARAGE

 Spotted Flycatcher 

 Coal Tit 

 Pale Tussock

Green Carpet

Celypha lacunana

 Stumps removed 

Sweet William- plenty of garden plants now flowering

Viridor Written Warning

Viridor Written Warning by Peter Alfrey on Scribd

Local plants

Took a bike ride round the Gun Site, through the farmlands and into Beddington Park today. Not a lot in the way of birds but noticed a few plants and insects and Nick tipped us off about the orchids in Beddington Park. 

 Southern Marsh-orchids in Beddington Park 

 Oxeye Daisy field near the bird group hide 

The Obs wildlife garden 

TOM BRAKE - LIAR LIAR

Tom Brake is claiming he is going to continue protecting our local Green Spaces.
Despite countless correspondences and meetings with Tom Brake about the unfolding ecological collapse at Beddington Farmlands and the intrusion of waste management facilities across the coreland of the Regional Park by Viridor, Tom has never once ever on any occasion spoke out publicly or privately about the unfolding disaster, the continual illegal breach of environmental planning conditions by Viridor and the escalating degrading and decline of one of the largest and formerly most biodiverse green spaces in South London.
On the contrary he was a very vocal and prominent supporter of the Incinerator and a Viridor facilitator- the largest destroyer of green space in the borough.

Tom Brake:

 "Oaks Park is one of my favourite spots in Carshalton & Wallington. It's great to see a new dog-free play area for children and improvements to the cafe.

If re-elected, I'll continue to make sure our lovely green spaces are protected and enhanced."

GHANA 2017 TRIP REPORT

GHANA, UPPER GUINEA FOREST SPECIALITIES, JAN/FEB 2017 by Peter Alfrey on Scribd

WISE BIRDING

First-summer White-winged Black Tern, Staines Reservoir

What a bird! 

The Big Year WP

Just in case you are not already following this year's most exciting Western Palearctic birding event:

THE BIG YEAR WP
THE BIG YEAR WP FACEBOOK PAGE

Jacob and the Beaver Hunt

Took Jacob on his first camper-vanning (mobile obsing) adventure this weekend, to Devon to see Jaffa and Helen and have a look for The River Otter Beavers. Mission successful (although his mum got a bit stressed while I was trying to moth catch and sound record at night while trying to assist in meeting the demands of a six week old too and also she kicked off when we took the buggy off road through a swampy path- Jacob seemed to love it and slept better in the camper than he does at home). 

We arrived Friday evening and I did a bit round the Ladram Bay camp site that we stayed in, Just a few House Martins overhead, Gannet and Fulmar at sea, Whimbrel and Oystercatcher calling at night and also a Bunting- presumably either Yellowhammer or Cirl Bunting calling at night (see sound files below).

Saturday morning I walked along the South West Coast path from Ladram Bay to Otterton Sewage Works- Cirl Buntings, Stonechats, Sand Martin, Swallows, Whitethroats and Brown Hares. In the afternoon we checked out Jaffa and Helen's wildlife garden, walked along the River Otter to Budleigh Salterton and in the evening we had a look on the river up from Otterton to find the Beavers. 

A few plants I didn't recognise along the coast and also plenty of garden plants around Budleigh which would be very unusual in these parts back home. Will have a look through the pics to see if I can identify any of them later (i.e stick them on I-spot). 

Here's a few weekend picture highlights: 

Female Beaver (known as Patricia) presumably pregnant with swollen teats. Amazing paddle tail, 

The size of a dog! 

Juvenile Dipper 

Rock Pipit (with prominent supercilium, if I saw that at Beddington in autumn I'd string it as a littoralis. This bird was singing and holding territory so presumably nominate petrosus). 

Roe Deer in wetland meadow 

Male Stonechat on Angelica hedges - a stunning bit of farmland between Ladram Bay and Budleigh- with singing Skylarks, Cirl Buntings, Stonechats and migrants. 

Ladram Bay cross bedding- if I remember right from my days studying environmental geology in these parts these are Triassic sandstones laid down in sand dunes at a time when south west England was a desert. The red colour is oxidized iron formed in the arid conditions. Fulmars nesting top left. 

Our Pitch Up at Ladram Bay- complete with moth trap (caught nothing as temperature down to 6 degrees at night). 

Jacob's nest in the front of the camper 

Jaffa and Helen 

Jaffa and Helen's wildlife pond- stunning Foxgloves 

Brilliant and original feature in the front garden with the front wall turned into a west country flowering 'lane bank'. Plenty of Short-tailed Field Voles using the bank. 

View over Ladram Bay 

Oystercatcher calling at night over the camper van and also a Bunting call- Yellowhammer?