I had thought that the Dave Lofthouse Glade might be ready for its annual meadow mow, but in mid month I found it to be quite colourful. There was a scattering of the yellow flowers of Bristly Oxtongue and the Creeping Thistle was flowering again. It appears that the return of rain this month has given these a new lease of life. I have been scattering seeds of Meadow Vetchling there in recent years and this month I found it in flower for the first time. That brings the list of species that have been seen there since meadow management began to 147, this year's total to 52 species and the number found on the day to 35. It will need mowing before the end of September with the arisings racked off. I'm hopeful that Merton Greenspaces will help with this, saving much hand labour.
I did the monthly bird count on the 18th. The geese moult was over and many of them were feeding out in the public park or the grasslands of the ex-golf course, those from the public park making their way back to the lake as dog walkers arrived when the gates were opened at 06:50. The 80 Greylags continued to outnumber the 50 Canada Geese and 20 Egyptian Geese. The Mute Swan pair has been remarkably successful, with seven well-grown cygnets. The three Cormorants and two Great-crested Grebes suggest that the fish populations may have recovered somewhat from the recent dearth. A sole Grey Wagtail was feeding along the lakeside promenade. This species is now established and breeding and also often spotted in the brook.
I have continued to prune back around the edges of the perimeter path where potentially invasive Brambles grow. It's possible to remove this year's arching stems, so preventing them leapfrogging out into the adjacent grassland, whilst leaving the flowering and fruiting spurs to be enjoyed by people and by birds. Sadly, the heavy pruning by Idverde at just the wrong time of year removed flowering and fruiting spurs, not only of Bramble, but also Dog Rose, Honeysuckle, Elder, Blackthorn, Wild Cherry and Hawthorn. These aren't invasive and can be pruned back, if necessary, once the fruits have been consumed. The significant early summer drought has left the birds with less natural food than usual and, sadly, there will be little fruit for them in the autumn also. There's also an aesthetic point, which will be a matter of preference. Pruning with machine tools lends itself to "tidy" clean-edged shrubbery in places where an irregular edge would look more natural.
There is a heavy acorn crop this year, unfortunately mainly infected by the Knopper Gall wasp. Fortunately some acorns escape infection and are carried off by Jays and Squirrels and buried. Those not later dug up and in the right growing conditions will germinate and potentially colonise.
