The Moon (31 May 2020)

The Ridgeway: from Plumstead (the Royal Borough of Greenwich) to the Thames Path

We ended up bicycling/walking the length of The Ridgeway: from Plumstead (in the Royal Borough of Greenwich) to the Thames Path.

Wild Flower' Species seen included:

Bird's-Foot Trefoil
Black Horehound
Broad-Leaved Everlasting Pea viz.

Cock's-Foot
Common Bramble
Common Knapweed (seen here being visited by a super-early Essex Skipper and an assumed Red-Tailed Bumblebee) viz.

Common Mallow
Common Ragwort
Cow Parsley
Creeping Cinquefoil
Creeping Thistle viz.

Crow Garlic viz.

Crown Vetch (quite a substantial population growing in the section of The Ridgeway, North of Southmere Lake) viz.

Garlic Mustard (assumed)
Goat's-Beard
Goat's-Rue viz.

Green Alkanet
Hedgerow Crane's-Bill
Hoary Cress
Hogweed
Horse Radish
Lucerne (or Sand Medick) viz.

Mugwort
Oxeye Daisy
Perennial Rocket
Phragmites
Prickly Lettuce
Red Clover
St John's-Wort (unidentified)
Sand Medick (or Lucerne) viz.

Teasel viz.

Tufted Vetch viz.

White Campion
Wild Carrot
and Yarrow (see Crow Garlic)

The Crown Vetch in the Garden (at Home) is flowering

In anticipation of the Crown Vetch &c. that grows beside Norman Road North being tidied up (nearby Industrial Development), we took three Plants: two didn't make it but one did and it's flowering:

Really pleased.

To Bostall Heath (the Royal Borough of Greenwich)

Critters seen included our first Meadow Brown Butterfly of the year:

To the Upper College Farm in search of Small Heath Butterflies

Well: despite everything being very dry we spotted nine Small Heath Butterflies viz.

Plus some Holly Blue and Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies although it was generally very quiet:

En-route to the Upper College Farm we stopped briefly to look around the (small) Grounds of St Peter's, Bexleyheath (regularly mown alas) where we saw, inter alia:

Bird's-Foot Trefoil
Cock's-Foot,
Ribwort Plantain
White Clover 
Yarrow (all flowering)
and an unusual looking (assumed) Grass viz.

And on the way Home we walked along the Rough Ground beside Albion Road and spotted, inter alia:

Black Medick
Greater Knapweed
Hairy Tare
Ivy-Leaved Toadflax
Oxford Ragwort
White Clover
and an unidentified Willowherb

The Holly Hill Open Space was pretty much Butterfly-Free

We got the Bicycle out and decided to look for Butterflies &c. beside the Upper Bedon Stream and on the Holly Hill Open Space.

Almost immediately, we found some White Bryony beside the Upper Bedon Stream, and a handful of Bryony Mining Bees (Andrena florea) viz.

A single Borage Plant was in flower: the first we have ever seen in the area viz.

No sign of any new Ivy Broomrape but we found some Common Blue Butterflies viz.

And then our first Large Skipper Butterfly of the year viz.

The Holly Hill Open Space was pretty much Butterfly-Free: apart from a couple of Brown Argus Butterflies and a single Common Blue Butterfly.

But we did spy this Character: our first of the year viz.

Where to next? We decided to go down to the River Thames and Bicycle back Home via Belvedere Station in the hopes of a Train or two (more about that later).

Icelandic Hav and Fluvius Otter were moored at Erith Oil Inner and Erith Oil Outer, respectively.

Wild Flower' Species seen on the Foreshore (not all flowering) included:

Biting Stonecrop (almost flowering)
Bladder Campion (flowering)
English Scurvy-Grass (flowering)
Hemlock Water Dropwort (flowering)
(assumed) Lesser Sea-Spurrey (flowering) viz.

Sea Aster (flowering)
Sea-Milkwort
Sea Plantain (flowering) viz.

Sea Purslane
White Bryony (flowering but no sign of any Bryony Mining Bees)
White Stonecrop (almost flowering)

Birds seen included Canada Geese, Gadwalls, Oystercatchers and a lone Ringed Plover viz.

And at Belvedere Station we were lucky enough to see a Goods Train pass through viz.

To Bostal Heath (the Royal Borough of Greenwich) again

We decided not to get the Bicycle out and instead, wandered over to the Heath.

It was very quiet: still no Common Blue Butterflies although we spotted an itinerant Green Hairstreak Butterfly viz.

And a single Brown Argus Butterfly: plus a single Crane Fly.

But a few Moths, including a couple of Cinnabar Moths viz.

And an unidentified Critter (hanging on to Sheep's Sorrel) viz.

Back Home, the Bryony Mining Bees (Andrena florea) were busy on the White Bryony viz.

[picture to be included]

We Bicycle along the Thames Path from Woolwich to Erith

We Bicycled into Woolwich and then rode along the Thames Path to Erith before returning Home.

There were Baby Mallards, a Baby Oystercatcher and Baby Egyptian Geese.

Some Sea Asters were flowering (very early) and the Sea-Milkwort is coming into flower.

We saw what we assumed were Bryony Mining Bees (Andrena florea) on some White Bryony.

It was High Tide by the time we reached, Ringed Plover Territory, so no hopes of seeing one.

Whilst on the Thames Path we were reminded that Bicyclists can be a Nasty, Unpleasant and Arrogant Breed.

And on arriving Home, we saw a couple of Goldfinches in the 'Back Garden': one pecking at a Sow-Thistle.