A Bird Walk

It has been a while since we have done a Bird Walk: we tend to be too easily side-tracked (we had intended to look for Birds on New Year's Day but got sidetracked by Hoverflies and Wild Flowers). But despite being occasionally side-tracked by Lichens we managed to generally remain focused on Birds. 

We started out by walking through the Norman Road Field: then across the Crossness Nature Reserve up to the Thames Path and then along the Thames Path to Erith. 

We hoped to see Stonechats in the Norman Road Field and Ringed Plovers on the Thames' Foreshore. And we saw both viz.

Bird' Species recorded:

Magpie

Stonechat (first of the year)

Grey Heron

Wood Pigeon

Coot

Moorhen

Shoveler

Shelduck

Black-Headed Gull

Ringed Plover (first of the year)

Dunlin

Cormorant

Teal

Mallard

Gadwall

Dunnock (first of the year)

Linnet

Curlew

Redshank

Black-Tailed Godwit (first of the year)

Black Redstart (first of the year: seen briefly before being frightened off by a bicyclist)

Avocet (first of the year) viz.

Rock Pipit

Ring-Necked Parakeet (heard only)

Pied Wagtail

and Grey Wagtail (first of the year)

A very respectable total (for us) of twenty-six Bird' Species...

The New Year's Plant Hunt (sponsored by The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland)

Our last ever Hunt?

Wild Flower' Species seen in flower on 1 January 2022:

Common Chickweed (TQ5078) viz.

Common Field-Speedwell (TQ4980)

Daisy (TQ4980)

Dandelion (TQ5078) viz. 

Green Alkanet (TQ5078)

Groundsel (TQ4980)

Hogweed (TQ4980)

Narrow-Leaved Ragwort (TQ4980)

Oxford Ragwort (TQ4980) viz.

Primrose (TQ5078)

Red Dead-Nettle (TQ4980)

Smooth Sow-Thistle (TQ4980)

White Dead-Nettle (TQ4980)

Wild Carrot (TQ4980)
Winter Heliotrope (TQ4980) viz.

and Yarrow (TQ4980)

The Records have been submitted...

Footnote: we hadn't actually intended to do the Plant Hunt, initially intending to focus on Birds. We decided to do the Plant Hunt after seeing Hoverflies on Dandelions and Common Chickweed beside the Grounds of St John the Baptist, Erith.

Bird' Species seen in the Thamesmead and Erith areas (in order of sighting):

Black-Headed Gull

Mallard

Coot 

Little Grebe

Cormorant

Grey Heron

Tufted Duck

Pochard

Great Crested Grebe

Robin

Common Gull

Carrion Crow

Teal

Ring-Necked Parakeet

Magpie

Mute Swan

Starling

Canada Goose

Wood Pigeon

Lesser Black-Backed Gull

House Sparrow

Great Black-Backed Gull

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

Shelduck

Shoveler

Wigeon

Curlew

Moorhen 

Gadwall 

and Little Egret

Clovers

One of the Wild Flowers we are hoping, God Willing, to make acquaintance with during 2022, is Woolly Clover: on nearby Blackheath viz. ... https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59f5e6278dd0415634a5d915/t/5afc02ff0e2e72d2d8a67577/1526465415794/An+Introduction+to+Blackheaths+Clovers+and+Allies+Joe+Beale.pdf

Recommended areas for Clovers on Blackheath: TQ 39008 76437,  TQ39907 76820 and TQ39062 76500

During 2021 we saw Clustered Clover, Hare's-Foot Clover, Knotted Clover, Red Clover, Strawberry Clover and White Clover growing locally...

Birds: Our 2021 'Year' and 'Patch' Lists

[i] our 2021 Year List (generally including where first seen)...

Blackbird

Blackcap (Lesnes Abbey Woods)

Black-Headed Gull (the Roof of St Andrew's Church)

Black-Tailed Godwit (Thames Foreshore)

Blue Tit

Buzzard

Canada Goose (Southmere Lake)

Carrion Crow

Cetti's Warbler (heard only: Crossness Nature Reserve) 

Chaffinch (beside the Thames Path)

Collared Dove (Garden at Home)

Common Gull (Thames Foreshore)

Common Sandpiper (Thames Foreshore)

Common Snipe (Thames Foreshore)

Common Tern (close to the Outfall of the Crossness Sewage Works) viz.

Coot (Southmere Lake)

Cormorant (Thames Foreshore)

Curlew (Thames Foreshore)

Dunlin (Thames Foreshore)

Dunnock 

Egyptian Goose (on a disused Jetty/Wharf in the Woolwich area) viz.

Gadwall (Southmere Lake)

Goldfinch (Crossness Nature Reserve)

Grey Heron (Crossness Nature Reserve)

Greylag Goose (Crossness Nature Reserve)

Great Black-Backed Gull (Thames Foreshore)

Great Crested Grebe (Southmere Lake)

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Plumstead Cemetery) viz.

Great Tit

Green Woodpecker (New Woolwich Cemetery)

Grey Heron (Crossness Nature Reserve)

Grey Wagtail (Thames Foreshore)

Greylag Goose (Crosness Nature Reserve)

Herring Gull (Thames Foreshore)

House Sparrow (the Garden at Home: the first Birds seen/heard during 2021)

Jackdaw (Hall Place North)

Jay (Grounds of St Nicholas, Plumstead)

Kestrel (Bostall Heath) 

Lapwing (Thames Foreshore)

Lesser Black-Backed Gull (Thames Foreshore)

Linnet (Erith Docks area)

Little Egret (close to the Outfall of the Crossness Sewage Works) 

Little Grebe (Southmere Lake) viz.

Little Ringed Plover (Crossness Nature Reserve) viz.

Long-Tailed Tit

Magpie

Mallard (Southmere Lake)

Meadow Pipit (Crossness Nature Reserve) 

Moorhen (Southmere Lake)

Oystercatcher (Thames Foreshore)

Mute Swan (Southmere Lake)

Peregrine Falcon (on the side of the Belvedere' Waste Incinerator)

Pied Wagtail (Thames Foreshore)

Pochard (Southmere Lake) viz.

Red-Legged Partridge (Betsham, Kent)

Redshank (Thames Foreshore)

Redwing (Bostall Heath)

Ring-Necked Parakeet

Ringed Plover (Thames Foreshore)

Robin

Rock Pipit (Thames Foreshore)

Shelduck (Thames Foreshore)

Shoveler (Southmere Lake)

Song Thrush (Crossness Nature Reserve and Surrounding area)

Starling viz.

Stonechat (Crossness Nature Reserve)

Swallow

Swift

Teal (Thames Foreshore)

Tufted Duck (Southmere Lake)

Wheatear (Crossness Nature Reserve) viz.

Whinchat (Crossness Nature Reserve) 

Whitethroat (Woolwich Common)

Wigeon (swimming in the Thames)

Wood Pigeon

Wren (beside the Upper Bedon Stream)

Yellow-Legged Gull (Thames' Foreshore, Woolwich area)

[ii] our 2021 'Patch List': as with 2020, Birds seen on the 'Patch' will include Birds seen from the Footpath which runs up to the Thames from Crabtree Manorway North (in Belvedere) and thence downstream from the Thames Path, to just beyond Corinthian Manorway, in Erith...

Black-Headed Gull

Black-Tailed Godwit

Chaffinch

Collared Dove

Common Gull

Common Sandpiper

Coot

Cormorant

Curlew

Dunlin

Dunnock

Egyptian Goose

Gadwall

Great Black-Backed Gull

Great Tit

Grey Wagtail

Herring Gull

House Sparrow

Lapwing

Lesser Black-Backed Gull

Linnet

Magpie

Mallard

Moorhen

Oystercatcher

Pied Wagtail

Redshank

Ringed Plover viz.

Rock Pipit

Shelduck

Starling

Teal

Note: All Birds seen locally except for the Red-Legged Partridge...

We bicycled along the Thames Path from Erith to Woolwich and back again

Bird species seen (in no particular order): 

Black-Headed Gull
Lesser Black-Backed Gull

Herring Gull

Dunlin

Ringed Plover

Lapwing

Great Black-Backed Gull

Cormorant

Redshank

Carrion Crow

Mallard

Gadwall

Linnet 

House Sparrow

Moorhen

Teal

Shelduck

Magpie

Peregrine Falcon

Shoveller

Black-Tailed Godwit

Grey Heron

Common Snipe

Starling

Mute Swan

and Wood Pigeon

viz. twenty-seven species in total

The Wild Flower Society', Autumn Plant Hunt (for Plants found in flower during the last seven days of October viz. the 25th to 31st October inclusive)

We managed forty-nine (49) species: just two less than last year!

Creeping Thistle

Ivy-Leaved Toadflax

Jersey Cudweed

Smooth Sow-Thistle

Groundsel

Oxford Ragwort

Annual Mercury

Dandelion

Black Nightshade

Herb Robert

Red Dead-Nettle

White Dead-Nettle

Dwarf Mallow

White Clover

Common Field-Speedwell

Yarrow 

Black Horehound

Lesser Calamint

Wild Clary

Common Mallow

Perennial Sow-Thistle

Red Campion

Bristly Oxtongue

Hedge Bedstraw

Rough Hawkweed

Hoary Mustard

Perennial Wall-Rocket

Narrow-Leaved Ragwort

Nipplewort

Common Toadflax

Red Clover viz.

Daisy

Bramble

Hogweed

Lucerne

Round-Leaved Crane's-Bill

Buddleia

White Campion

White-Ramping Fumitory

Black Medick

Golden Samphire

Dove's-Foot Crane's-Bill

Shepherd's-Purse

Broad-Leaved Everlasting-Pea

Skullcap

Green Alkanet

Pot Marigold

Gorse

and Sowbread

We will not be submitting Records to the Wild Flower Society...

Wild Flowers in the Gardens (at Home)

We are currently re-organising the Gardens so we can focus on Sedums, Stonecrops &c.: removing many of the Wild Flowers, introduced to attract Wildlife but subsequently becoming essentially un-manageable.

Nevertheless, we will be keeping some Wild Flowers, including:

Bird's-Foot Trefoil (introduced and self-seeded)

Biting Stonecrop (introduced)

Black Horehound (introduced and self-seeded)

Black Medick (introduced)

Bladder Campion (introduced and self-seeded)

Brooklime (introduced)

Common Ragwort (introduced and self-seeded)

Creeping Thistle (self-seeded)

Feverfew (introduced and self-seeded)

Green Alkanet (self-seeded)

Hop Trefoil (introduced and self-seeded)

Ivy-Leaved Toadflax (introduced and self-seeded)

Narrow-Leaved Bird's-Foot Trefoil (introduced)

Navelwort (introduced)

Oxeye Daisy (introduced)

Red Valerian (self-seeded)

Reflexed Stonecrop (introduced)

Sand Lucerne/Medick (introduced and self-seeded)

White Clover (self-seeded)

White Stonecrop (introduced)

Wild Basil (introduced and self-seeded)

The Craneflies are back

We photographed this character on the Crossness Nature Reserve:

The Cranefly Recording Scheme (UK) suggest it to be either Tipula paludosa (fourteen antennal segments) or Tipula oleracea (thirteen antennal segments) viz.

We think we can count fourteen segments so seemingly Tipula paludosa:

Our first Ivy Bees of 2021

Two of four or so Bees on Ivy flowering beside Bourne Road (in Bexley) where it crosses the A2 (the sightings have been submitted to iRecord):

Wild Flowers in the Waterside Garden, Crayford (beside the River Cray)

After finding ourselves in the Garden, we looked around for Wild Flowers: 

Wild Flower' Species seen included:

Bucks-Horn Plantain

Cock's-Foot viz.

Dove's-Foot Crane's-Bill

Gipsywort viz.

Greater Plantain

Great Willowherb

Ivy-Leaved Toadflax

Knotgrass

Narrow-Leaved Ragwort

Pellitory-of-the-Wall

Prickly Lettuce

Purple Loosestrife viz.

Ribwort Plantain

White Clover

Wild Clary viz.

Woody Nightshade

and Yarrow

There is also lots of Himalyan Balsam (an invasive species) present: as may be seen here:

Harebells in the Grounds of St Nicholas, Chislehurst (the LB of Bromley)

We decided to look for Harebells in the Grounds of St Nicholas, Chislehurst viz.

and Yippee, we found some viz.

Other Wild Flower' Species seen included:

Bird's-Foot Trefoil

Black Spleenwort (on the Church' Wall)

Caucasian Stonecrop

Creeping Cinquefoil 

Lesser Trefoil

Mouse-Ear Hawkweed

Lady's Bedstraw

Reflexed Stonecrop

Ribwort Plantain

Selfheal

White Clover

and Yarrow

We had earlier walked round Prickend Pond, on Chislehurst Common viz.

where Wild Flower' Species (some we think probably introduced) included:

Black Horehound

Cock's-Foot

Common Knapweed

Common Mallow

Cow Parsley

Creeping Thistle

Dwarf Mallow

Gipsywort

Great Willowherb

Groundsel

Hoary Mustard

Mugwort

Purple Loosestrife

Redshank

Ribwort Plantain

Teasel

Water Mint

White Dead-Nettle

Wild Carrot

and Yarrow

Golden Samphire on the Thames Foreshore in the Erith area

After bicycling from Woolwich to the Thames Barrier to look at the Dittander growing just west of the Barrier, Marsh Woundwort, Sea Aster and Sea Milkwort were also present, we returned home via Erith where much to our surprise we saw Golden Samphire flowering on the Thames Foreshore viz.