I did my monthly standard bird count on the 17th.
The headline news is that Black-headed gulls and Common Terns were prospecting for nesting sites at the lake. There were a pair of terns flying around and the male was providing small fish to the female. The male's ability at courtship feeding is used by the females in making a choice of mate. But, there's nowhere safe for them to nest. For some 25 years now, I have been advising LB Merton that a tern raft would provide an excellent facility for people to see this lovely species and could be placed so as not to impede watersports. My advice has been totally ignored! Both the Wetland Centre and Pen Ponds in Richmond Park have beeding gulls and terns. The terns can easly lose out to the gulls, but the right design of raft helps them. Wouldn't it be great if the youngsters doing watersports could see these two species breeding to enrich their experience of the lake?
Canada goose numbers are normally high in June as they rise towards the peak in July, but this June there were only 50 birds, lower than usual in recent years, but counts are quite variable, so one low number isn't yet a trend. In contrast, there was another record Egyptian goose count: 70 birds, and Greylag numbers may be levelling off, the 65 birds being well under 110 birds seen this time last year. the There was a Coot sitting on a nest at the corner of the floating pontoons near the waterfall. People may worry that the young will not be able to make the leap down to the water, but a much greter risk comes from Crows and Gulls, which will take any unguarded eggs or young. Even new-hatched Coots can make the leap successfully. Coot numbers remain high, reflecting the health of the lake. Fennel-leaved pondweed is growing well, providing Coot food and making good shelter for other waterlife. This is normally the peak month for Swifts visiting to catch insects emerging from the lake to feed their young, so the zero count was disconcerting. Swift numbers are very variable, so one zero isn't a trend. House martins also visit for this same food, but the zero count for them repeats the pattern of recent years when they have been seen very largely on migration.
At this time of year most songbirds are busy with breeding and so quiet. However, Blackbirds were singing and in Horse Close Wood one each of Blackcap and Chiffchaff were in song. Notable, however, was the Stock dove which sings every month, with a peak at this time of year. Woodpigeons and Wrens also were singing. I don't often hear Coal tits, but they are more noticeable when Blue and Great tits are not singing and there was a Coal tit singing in the Leyland cypresses around the stadium. They prefer coniferous species of tree.
Unfortunately, regular mowing has returned to most of the public park so that the wildflowers that were evident for the first time this year are now topped before people can enjoy them properly. The great display of Cat's-ear in the crazy golf plot has gone. Lower-growing species fare better. There's still a little Germander speedwell to be seen in the odd corner. The south-eastern corner of Horse Close Wood has a good display of Black horehound. The copse beside the grill where the brook leaves the park is fronted by colourful flowers. Surviving from "Wildflower meadow" planting is an abundance of Ox-eye daisy and this is joined by the colourful weeds: Creeping thistle and Bristly oxtoungue. It was great to see the White waterlilies in flower on the lake edge by the Wimbledon Club. Waterlilies were once abundant in the lake and could be again now that the water quality has recovered.
The fox that checks out all the litter from the day before was there again, upsetting the Magpies which have newly fledged young.
The greatly increased rate of visiting the park during lockdown inevitably has led to an increase in antisocial behaviour. A small proportion of people, who come from age groups not very susceptible to covid-19 don't seem to understand that our per capita death rate remains one of the highest in the developed world (currently ranking 7th according to the BBC More or less programme) and that the rules are not just to protect them but to prevent spread to more susceptible people. Fortunately, the advice against BBQs has mainly been heeded. There's also a great increase in littering and gross overfeeding of the waterbirds. There's much uneaten bread floating in the water. Oddly, a notice has appeared pointing people to where to feed the birds. Much better would be a notice stating that overfeeding is harmful and asking people to be restrained. It's possible to enjoy the birds by feeding just a little.
After the dry Spring we can see many crop marks in the great field. Some of these are from recent events, like the various structures used in last year's Wimbledon fortnight, but others show the lines of underground sewers and freshwater supply. Many of these converge on the Revelstoke Road entrance to the park.
The huge scar resulting from the big top last winter has finally been repaired with new grass and is looking much more tidy. The same cannot be said of the Pines and needles site, which is green with two annual weeds. Predominant there is knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare) and standing slightly taller are scattered plants of Pineappleweed (Matricaria discoidea). Whilst providing good food for birds, these will die back in the Autumn, leaving bare ground.
The northern edge of Horse Close Wood where the Ash trees were cut down low is now dominated by Bramble, Ivy and Hybrid bindweed. Some of the coppiced trees and shrubs are showing through and many are likely to survive and eventually overtop.
National Grid plan to undertake works to remove their high voltage cables that run underground in the public park. This will be a big project in the next few months. We have walked the route to see where trees and the Glade in Horse Close Wood may be affected. Clearing the Glade to survey and excavate will replace the overdue annual maintenance strim. The excavations, however, will take parts of the Glade back to bare soil. It's planned to replace the topsoil in these places so that we can continue to manage the Glade as a meadow. We have found 123 plant species in the Glade to date. Now, five years after the establishment of the Glade, most visits find no new species. Indeed last year we found only six new species and so far this year only one. In contrast, we have failed to find 85 species that have been seen in previous years. This is expected, as the perennial plants grow well and come to shade out the annuals that predominated early in colonisation. The works will take parts of the Glade back to an earlier stage.
The cables run directly under two mature trees in Horse Close Wood. Here Merton Council will have to decide whether to leave a length of cable in the ground or to lose the trees. Further trees are close enough to the proposed works that they will lose some roots. We hope most of these will survive. We also hope that National Grid will fund some replacement trees. The cost of this would be tiny in comparison with the overall cost of removing the cables.
During lockdown,work has
The headline news is that Black-headed gulls and Common Terns were prospecting for nesting sites at the lake. There were a pair of terns flying around and the male was providing small fish to the female. The male's ability at courtship feeding is used by the females in making a choice of mate. But, there's nowhere safe for them to nest. For some 25 years now, I have been advising LB Merton that a tern raft would provide an excellent facility for people to see this lovely species and could be placed so as not to impede watersports. My advice has been totally ignored! Both the Wetland Centre and Pen Ponds in Richmond Park have beeding gulls and terns. The terns can easly lose out to the gulls, but the right design of raft helps them. Wouldn't it be great if the youngsters doing watersports could see these two species breeding to enrich their experience of the lake?
Canada goose numbers are normally high in June as they rise towards the peak in July, but this June there were only 50 birds, lower than usual in recent years, but counts are quite variable, so one low number isn't yet a trend. In contrast, there was another record Egyptian goose count: 70 birds, and Greylag numbers may be levelling off, the 65 birds being well under 110 birds seen this time last year. the There was a Coot sitting on a nest at the corner of the floating pontoons near the waterfall. People may worry that the young will not be able to make the leap down to the water, but a much greter risk comes from Crows and Gulls, which will take any unguarded eggs or young. Even new-hatched Coots can make the leap successfully. Coot numbers remain high, reflecting the health of the lake. Fennel-leaved pondweed is growing well, providing Coot food and making good shelter for other waterlife. This is normally the peak month for Swifts visiting to catch insects emerging from the lake to feed their young, so the zero count was disconcerting. Swift numbers are very variable, so one zero isn't a trend. House martins also visit for this same food, but the zero count for them repeats the pattern of recent years when they have been seen very largely on migration.
At this time of year most songbirds are busy with breeding and so quiet. However, Blackbirds were singing and in Horse Close Wood one each of Blackcap and Chiffchaff were in song. Notable, however, was the Stock dove which sings every month, with a peak at this time of year. Woodpigeons and Wrens also were singing. I don't often hear Coal tits, but they are more noticeable when Blue and Great tits are not singing and there was a Coal tit singing in the Leyland cypresses around the stadium. They prefer coniferous species of tree.
Unfortunately, regular mowing has returned to most of the public park so that the wildflowers that were evident for the first time this year are now topped before people can enjoy them properly. The great display of Cat's-ear in the crazy golf plot has gone. Lower-growing species fare better. There's still a little Germander speedwell to be seen in the odd corner. The south-eastern corner of Horse Close Wood has a good display of Black horehound. The copse beside the grill where the brook leaves the park is fronted by colourful flowers. Surviving from "Wildflower meadow" planting is an abundance of Ox-eye daisy and this is joined by the colourful weeds: Creeping thistle and Bristly oxtoungue. It was great to see the White waterlilies in flower on the lake edge by the Wimbledon Club. Waterlilies were once abundant in the lake and could be again now that the water quality has recovered.
The fox that checks out all the litter from the day before was there again, upsetting the Magpies which have newly fledged young.
The greatly increased rate of visiting the park during lockdown inevitably has led to an increase in antisocial behaviour. A small proportion of people, who come from age groups not very susceptible to covid-19 don't seem to understand that our per capita death rate remains one of the highest in the developed world (currently ranking 7th according to the BBC More or less programme) and that the rules are not just to protect them but to prevent spread to more susceptible people. Fortunately, the advice against BBQs has mainly been heeded. There's also a great increase in littering and gross overfeeding of the waterbirds. There's much uneaten bread floating in the water. Oddly, a notice has appeared pointing people to where to feed the birds. Much better would be a notice stating that overfeeding is harmful and asking people to be restrained. It's possible to enjoy the birds by feeding just a little.
After the dry Spring we can see many crop marks in the great field. Some of these are from recent events, like the various structures used in last year's Wimbledon fortnight, but others show the lines of underground sewers and freshwater supply. Many of these converge on the Revelstoke Road entrance to the park.
The huge scar resulting from the big top last winter has finally been repaired with new grass and is looking much more tidy. The same cannot be said of the Pines and needles site, which is green with two annual weeds. Predominant there is knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare) and standing slightly taller are scattered plants of Pineappleweed (Matricaria discoidea). Whilst providing good food for birds, these will die back in the Autumn, leaving bare ground.
The northern edge of Horse Close Wood where the Ash trees were cut down low is now dominated by Bramble, Ivy and Hybrid bindweed. Some of the coppiced trees and shrubs are showing through and many are likely to survive and eventually overtop.
National Grid plan to undertake works to remove their high voltage cables that run underground in the public park. This will be a big project in the next few months. We have walked the route to see where trees and the Glade in Horse Close Wood may be affected. Clearing the Glade to survey and excavate will replace the overdue annual maintenance strim. The excavations, however, will take parts of the Glade back to bare soil. It's planned to replace the topsoil in these places so that we can continue to manage the Glade as a meadow. We have found 123 plant species in the Glade to date. Now, five years after the establishment of the Glade, most visits find no new species. Indeed last year we found only six new species and so far this year only one. In contrast, we have failed to find 85 species that have been seen in previous years. This is expected, as the perennial plants grow well and come to shade out the annuals that predominated early in colonisation. The works will take parts of the Glade back to an earlier stage.
The cables run directly under two mature trees in Horse Close Wood. Here Merton Council will have to decide whether to leave a length of cable in the ground or to lose the trees. Further trees are close enough to the proposed works that they will lose some roots. We hope most of these will survive. We also hope that National Grid will fund some replacement trees. The cost of this would be tiny in comparison with the overall cost of removing the cables.
During lockdown,work has
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| Enchanter's nightshade in Horse Close Wood |
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| The nesting coot |
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| The new tank for the Elizabeth pool |
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| Knotgrass and Pineappleweed |
been done on the Elizabeth pool. A big new tank has been installed beside the existing control building. So, it looks as if the pool may function when children are allowed back in. The play area will need some tidying first. Weeds are springing up all over it. The worst are young Trees of heaven, a well-known invasive species.
The pedestrian entrance from Revelstoke Road was open very early, with the first runner seen at 05:45. Two vehicles were in the park overnight, one in the Revelstoke Road car park and the other beside the rubbish skip near the bowls pavilion.
When monitoring an area of tree planting beside the Horse Close Wood car park I found a nursery web spider tending its newly-hatched youngsters.
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| The web, egg sac to left and spider mum to right |
